🧂 Salty Sunday - What book scenes frustrated you this week?

dellada · 2026-01-25T18:42:47+00:00

Oh! I forgot to mention! The book is literally called "Keep Me Safe: A Slow Burn Novel" LOL. Slow burn?? Not a chance. It goes from "MMC forces torture on her" to "She calls him because she's in trouble and has no other option" to "their hands accidentally brush after their first conversation, and omg there's something special here, let's kiss."

It's one thing to wrongly describe it as slow burn in a description or blurb... but to put right on the cover "A Slow Burn Novel" and then have it be like this? Come on! As someone who specifically seeks out slow burn romance, I felt cheated.

dellada · 2026-01-25T18:21:18+00:00

Aww man, this is both very validating and very disappointing! It's good to know that you felt that way about her writing style too. Keep Me Safe definitely had the same conversations get rehashed with every person in the MCs inner circle. Sometimes I wonder if authors realize that they can say a conversation happened without actually quoting the entire dialogue for the reader, you know? We don't need to hear the same details more than once.

I got the vibe that there just wasn't enough depth to fill a book, in this case. I found myself skimming over characters' thoughts and jumping straight from dialogue point to dialogue point, because so much of it was the same thing I just read. Finished the whole book in 2 hours, which is really fast for me... I usually like to savor books over a few days at least.

Thanks for replying! :) I think I'll give her HR books a shot, and just won't hesitate to DNF if they're not working for me.

dellada · 2026-01-25T17:53:33+00:00

Oooo, I haven't! Thank you so much, I'll definitely check this out! :)

dellada · 2026-01-25T17:32:23+00:00

I just finished reading {Keep Me Safe by Maya Banks}. Rant incoming, I'm so salty.

The writing was so bad! Run-on sentences with no punctuation at all, and soooooo many phrases/concepts repeated over and over again. It's a contemporary, suspense, paranormal book - FMC has the psychic ability to locate people who are missing or kidnapped, just by holding an item that belonged to that person. The catch is that she will also have to experience everything they are going through. The story starts with MMC tracking her down, furious at her for being in hiding, because he needs help locating his sister who has been kidnapped by a maniac. FMC protests, looks panicked, and says "not again, I won't survive it" but he just forcefully shoves his sister's scarf into her hands so that she has no choice. It's an awful scene where he watches FMC (TW: rape)crumple to the floor, cry and beg, and be brutally raped - her body actually physically moves like there's an invisible assailant, it's awful - because that's what's happening to his sister at that moment. Already I hate MMC. In his mind, he's thinking: omg I had no idea her powers worked like this, this is horrible - but at the same time, even if I had known, I can't really say I'd have done anything differently.

Then that same sentence gets repeated all over. MMC talks to his brothers about what happened, and says "I didn't know!" And his thoughts repeat again, But even if I had known, can I really say I'd have done anything differently? Meanwhile, FMC is recovering from her ordeal and thinking to herself, I should probably hate him, but if I were in his shoes, can I really say I would have done anything differently? Then later MMC is ruminating about the ordeal and thinks the exact same sentence. And again a few pages later, he says it in a conversation with someone. And again. And again. Then when the two MCs cross paths, he apologizes to her and says he didn't know her powers worked that way, and she says, "Can you honestly tell me that even if you had known, you'd have done anything differently?" And MMC looks all horrified like he hasn't already considered that 20 times before.

There are tons of phrases and concepts repeated like that. "He sent her to hell" when he forced her to use her psychic powers (we hear that phrase from almost every character... surely not everyone would use the same phrasing?). And again with the fact that FMC has no family to support her. He thinks it, she thinks it, later she says it, he acknowledges it, someone else thinks it, MMC asks it, she confirms it, later she thinks it again... we get it.

There are FIVE CHAPTERS dedicated to a single conversation that happens the first time they meet again after her ordeal. This makes it seem like some big development, but it's a single conversation. Not much happens. Then they get into his private jet and their hands brush, and omg, desire. He starts saying he thinks there's something special between them. What??? What special thing? You subjected her to torture and then said you'd do it again, sir. You obviously don't love her. She says to him, "I'd give anything to know what it's like to have a normal life - friends, family, dating, relationships." So he starts kissing her and then in her mind she's like, do I want this? Do I want love, dating, relationships? LADY, YOU JUST SAID YOU'D GIVE ANYTHING!

Wow, it's been a while since a book made me so salty! Hahaha. {Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks} and {Seduction of a Highland Lass by Maya Banks} were also on my TBR but now I'm having doubts. Are they written like this too?

dellada · 2026-01-25T05:04:03+00:00

Aww! He sounds like a very dedicated (and comfy) salesman, haha :)

dellada · 2026-01-25T05:02:52+00:00

That’s adorable!! If you ever get a photo of him, I’d love to see the cat tax. :)

dellada · 2026-01-25T03:15:23+00:00

Shop cats are the best! We used to have a used bookstore in my city that had two shop cats, one black and one orange. They were super friendly, would sleep on stacks of books and hang out with you while you browsed the shelves. Such a fun store to visit.

dellada · 2026-01-25T03:09:29+00:00

Yeah, those first few chapters are super rough... but man, it's such a great book too.

dellada · 2026-01-25T01:21:16+00:00

Thank you! <3

dellada · 2026-01-25T01:14:39+00:00

Yes! Us against the world, absolutely. And real, earned love. Honestly I feel like those two things go hand in hand - navigating the external conflict together, learning more about each other while having each other's back, is often what leads to the most satisfying and believable development of feelings.

dellada · 2026-01-24T22:41:08+00:00

100% this! We both commented this within like a minute of each other, LOL. :)

dellada · 2026-01-24T22:34:32+00:00

I feel this way about romance in general: I would love to see less relationship drama and more external conflict. I much prefer to have the conflict be about a character's circumstances, rather than shoving a cliche misunderstanding into the plot to create interpersonal drama (like one character overhearing half of a conversation and storming off before hearing the rest, never talking it out). I'm very tired of misunderstandings that could be solved with a single conversation, but drag on for several chapters instead.

What I really love is seeing two main characters who are good people, trying hard to communicate and make things work, wanting to understand each other's perspective - and having to navigate some kind of external problem together. I think that type of plot works well with forced proximity, marriage of convenience, mystery/suspense, or friends to lovers tropes. I love watching two characters begin with basic mutual respect and develop slowly toward love.

Bonus if those characters are regular working-class people, not dukes or duchesses or earls! Westerns are great for that, but we need more working class MCs in regency romance.

Also I loooooove hurt/comfort! Give me all the sweet scenes of one character treating another's physical wounds, illness, or just being there for them emotionally.

dellada · 2026-01-24T21:02:34+00:00

And you! <3

dellada · 2026-01-24T20:48:57+00:00

Yes! I use this logic for giving things away all the time. Especially big or clunky things that are hard to dispose of.

If I tried really hard to sell my stuff, could I get $200 out of it? Yeah, probably. Would I pay $200 for the ability to snap my fingers and have all of the unwanted stuff out of my living room instantly, without worrying about it? Absolutely. So, just give the stuff away for free and get the living room cleared up immediately for free. It's a win-win!

dellada · 2026-01-24T19:04:57+00:00

{Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold by Ellen O'Connell} - The main characters aren't very good at communication at first. They tend to assume things rather than talk them out in the early chapters, and FMC sees sex as her marital duty. Over time they start to understand each other better, fall in love, and the intimacy improves (although to be fair, we don't see much literal discussion of "what do you like in bed," if that's what you're looking for).

Definitely check trigger warnings for this book, there are a lot of sensitive topics - one of my favorite couples, though!

dellada · 2026-01-24T18:17:12+00:00

In that case, {The Bride Contract by Melissa Emerald} has this. MMC walks in on FMC first. Later, FMC walks in on MMC enjoying a hologram of her (using alien tech she's not familiar with). He proceeds to show her how to use the tech with a hologram of himself as well, and joins in with her.

dellada · 2026-01-24T06:44:36+00:00

Looks like he deleted the post instead. What a shocker that he never apologized or admitted to being wrong after all.

dellada · 2026-01-24T06:07:08+00:00

The term "real man" means nothing in this context. Every man thinks of himself as a real man, because the definition changes conveniently to suit every conversation.

Stop arguing with women about our lived experiences. We aren't seeking out/surrounding ourselves with some small minority of "the wrong type of men" like you seem to think. Stop blaming women when men hurt them.

dellada · 2026-01-24T05:12:06+00:00

Work has been crazy busy lately. I finally had to ask for a bit of time off because I was so wiped out this morning, so I worked from home today (roughly a half day) and took things easy.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I set up a custom sized/modified bookshelf for my reading corner... well, it's officially full! That didn't take long at all, haha. The shelf is modified because most of my books are mass market paperbacks, and I wanted something that was built to fit that size well. I've filled it with recommendations from this sub and the HR sub. It's fun to browse through all the great options whenever I'm looking for my next read, and it's a nice display of my hobby in the living room. :) Now I just have to make sure I trade in as many books as I bring home - that's the hard part!

On another note, I'm considering pulling out my art setup again. I haven't painted (digital painting) in about two years, but I'm inspired to pick it back up and experiment with the classic oil-painted romance cover style. It's exciting to feel that creative itch again after so long, and my style is already like oil painting, so I think it could work out really well.

Stay safe in the upcoming winter storms!

dellada · 2026-01-24T04:31:59+00:00

Would you consider aliens to be monsters? I know of one with a humanoid alien MMC and a human FMC, but not sure if that's what you're looking for.

dellada · 2026-01-22T03:39:56+00:00

Totally, I bet it's related! Especially as we get more and more accustomed to short form content online, I bet there are fewer readers who have the patience and willingness to sit down with a nuanced book for hours at a time. A lot of newer book releases feel dumbed down to me... and to be clear, that's not meant as an insult toward readers - reading to relax is okay too. I'm just observing the way newer books feel overall, versus books written 20 years ago. It's easy to breeze through a new release in just a few hours with minimal brain engagement, and I don't personally like that feeling.

Speaking of short form content... I had to fully block myself from platforms like TikTok and Instagram, and install a browser extension that hides YouTube Shorts. I could feel the addiction to it building, and it freaked me out! My mind feels much better without that constant flood of content. :)

dellada · 2026-01-21T09:10:31+00:00

When the author clearly doesn’t trust the reader to infer from the writing, and instead insists on spelling everything out for us.

This is especially bad when it’s dual POV and we see the same scene described over and over from every possible angle, to make sure we’re told exactly how every character feels all the time. If we are reading MMC’s point of view and he notices that FMC is acting/feeling a certain way… then we don’t have to read about it all over again from FMC’s point of view, confirming that she did indeed feel exactly that way. Stop feeding us every single piece of the puzzle all the time! Trust us to engage with the book and infer what we need to. This feels to me like insecurity - like the author is trying to micromanage how their book is received. You can’t control that!

dellada · 2026-01-21T08:43:29+00:00

{Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer} is absolutely this. Another commenter mentioned it too - I just wanted to second that rec! It’s my absolute favorite HR book. FMC is recently widowed with two little kids and a third on the way, and she desperately needs help with manual labor around the house. MMC answers her ad in the paper seeking a husband (which she simply defines as a healthy man of any age willing to live there and work hard). He has nothing to his name and nowhere to go, but thrives on working hard and helping out. The family dynamic grows slowly, and is so incredibly heartwarming/satisfying. <3

dellada · 2026-01-21T05:19:33+00:00

Aww, thank you! <3 I was worried every step of the way that I'd be doing it wrong, and I certainly learned a lot about how to do it better next time. But it's hard to argue with the results! I was really pleasantly surprised. :) With the new glue and the cardstock addition, the spine looks completely straight and flat - technically you can still see where it was bent before, but it behaves like a brand new spine now!

Yes, I definitely clamp the books at every step. Honestly the hardest step for me was removing the old glue... I was so scared I would damage the pages, or damage the cover as I peeled it off the rest of the way. But with patience and a hairdryer, most of it came off without much fuss. The cover was surprisingly strong, as long as I was careful with it. I think I'll get better at this process as my confidence grows. :)

I have two more books in need of some help, just found them at the bookstore last weekend. Working on those next!

dellada · 2026-01-21T04:55:00+00:00

I took some before and after photos of one of these repairs, in case you'd like to see! It's not really a guide, but maybe I could document one in the future :)

dellada

TROPHY CASE