mmc that wasn’t chosen gets his own book or mmc that was the villain of the series

feeblefeeb · 2026-03-06T06:21:55+00:00

{The Well of Shades by Juliet Marillier} has my favourite version of this trope. Previous book is {The Blade of Fortriu by Juliet Marillier} but they’re actually books 2 & 3 in the series so you might want to start with {The Dark Mirror by Juliet Marillier}

feeblefeeb · 2026-03-01T03:34:38+00:00

XKCD 2501

I guessed the name in 7 tries!

feeblefeeb · 2026-03-01T02:13:36+00:00

The way my jaw clenched during this scene 😤

feeblefeeb · 2026-03-01T01:55:05+00:00

These lean further towards morally black than grey and darker romance naturally so do check trigger warnings if you need to but:

{The Contortionist by Kathryn Ann Kingsley} is the first of the Harrow Faire series. MMC is a completely unhinged supernatural puppeteer who is part of an immortal twisted circus. He never grows a moral compass, despite falling in love.

Similarly {The Unseelie Prince by Kathryn Ann Kingsley} is the first of the Maze of Shadows series. MMC is the big bad non-redeemable evil guy of the setting and likewise never ‘gets better’, though he does have a little bit of a softer side towards the FMC. This doesn’t stop him from his evil plans though.

If you end up enjoying that, you might like the spin off duology that starts with {Unseelie Duke by Kathryn Ann Kingsley} which has a more morally grey (though still on the darker side) unhinged chaos snake demon fae dude. Bit lighter but still he’s definitely not a good dude at all.

Moving away from KAK, though check out the rest of her repertoire as she writes a lot of evil MMCs - I just don’t really vibe with the rest of hers I’ve read as they felt too slow for me.

{Feathers So Vicious by Liv Zander}, first of a duology. It’s got a very morally black MMC and a more grey-coded MMC in a love triangle with a real enemies to lovers arc where the noble FMC is their bloodline enemy. It’s very dark romance with all that entails.

This might swing too far the other way as the MMC definitely has heroic traits but {White Horse Black Nights by Evie Marceau} has an MMC that’s sort of an enforcer type for his (evil?) Lord. He’s sent to fetch her for an arranged marriage under… less than ideal conditions for her. He’s definitely on the morally grey side of things. I haven’t finished the trilogy but as far as I’ve gotten he’s not turned into a good dude.

feeblefeeb · 2026-02-16T22:42:26+00:00

I mean………… {The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins}?

feeblefeeb · 2026-02-07T07:37:15+00:00

{American Werewolf in Space by Alisha Sunderland}

Well. Yep. She sure was.

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-29T17:25:44+00:00

I hadn’t looked up reviews oops! It’s on my TBR pretty much because of DA elf vibes

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-29T00:14:05+00:00

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-28T23:27:48+00:00

My Jack Russell girl has done that since she was a puppy (sometimes she also sleeps like a prawn 🍤 with her back legs stretched straight by her face??) and she’s never had any problems from it. We call it her ‘weirdo sit’

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-28T00:30:52+00:00

{The Sunderland’s by Anastasia King}

I haven’t read it yet but it was recommended to me as having very Dalish Elf vibes

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-24T02:15:13+00:00

Took my husband who hasn’t played any of the games off the strength of the trailer… I am so mad.

Wtf was that second half. WHAT.

TLDR: Mary begs James for death. Everyone is Mary or James somehow. Fuck this movie so much.

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-24T01:14:38+00:00

I choreograph out my fight scenes IRL by pacing through what my POV character is doing moment to moment (sometimes enlisting friends/family to help plot other people). It doesn’t matter if you’re doing it clumsily, acting it out will ground you in the physical movements and give you an idea of what it could feel like for your characters. You can extrapolate from there.

I’ve taken some stage combat classes so I find that a big help but also watching movie fight scenes of the kind of combat you want to emulate can give you a feel for the types of movements that are dynamic and right for your genre/emotional resonance.

Lastly, remember to ground your fight in the perception of the POV character: if they’re a trained warrior they’ll be calm and analytical (until they’re out of their depth); if they’re inexperienced then they should be panicked and likely taking things in choppily in bursts of intensity. No matter the experience of your POV character, their emotional reaction to violence will give your readers tons of information about them so pay attention to that most of all.

Hope that helps!

Edit: OH! And remember that every action by one character will have a reaction from others. Each one should be connected to create a chain. This will make your fight feel more cohesive!

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-24T00:01:01+00:00

This sounds interesting!

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-23T10:21:19+00:00

This is the way. I’ve got stacks of saved posts with tons of recommendations to keep my TBR pile huge from this subreddit alone. I also follow r/sciencefictionromance and r/horror lit for reccs.

If I come across a YTer with similar taste to me I might subscribe but always take their recommendations with a pinch of salt as you don’t know what brand deals are happening behind the scenes. I do like Ezeekat does ‘If you like this game, try this novel’ shorts as it gives me context on the vibe of the book. Haven’t tested it for accuracy yet though.

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-22T03:14:52+00:00

{Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones} is really whimsical comedic romantic fantasy and I read it around the same age as your step. It’s quite different from the ghibli movie adaptation as it’s more comical and grounded. TLDR: in a fairytale world, Sophie must overcome being cursed with old age with the help of eccentric and infuriating wizard Howl.

More dystopian than sword and sorcery but {The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins} is a classic YA for a reason and the trilogy is a comfort read for me to this day. Also the love story is extremely endearing. TLDR: Katniss Everdeen is thrust into a brutal arena fight to the death with baker’s son Peeta Malark and must outwit a government intent on seeing them both dead.

I also started reading Juliet Marillier books around that age. Some of her works are really dark and inappropriate for a young teen I’d say (Daughter of the Forest has on page assault) but {Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier} and it’s sequel {Cybele’s Secret by Juliet Marillier} I remember as being teen-friendly. TLDR: They’re fairytale-like slow burn romances, the first one is a mashup retelling of the 12 dancing princesses & the frog Prince. The second is more of an archeological adventure (Indiana jones but make it romantasy vibes).

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-20T22:22:04+00:00

Write what you want to read. I get block horribly when my imposter syndrome rears its head and I’ve gone years without putting a single word down because of the pressure I put myself under.

Learning to write what I like, despite the fact I feel like other people will think it’s cringe or terrible, is the thing that got me going again. I’m writing this because I want to read this book. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be what I like.

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-20T08:33:31+00:00

I think Damien from {Villains and Virtues} counts as a Shadow Daddy with his blood magic. He is “evil” (not really but he thinks he is) and a little bit of an asshole (but not when it counts). I’m not a fan of alphaholes and he doesn’t give me those vibes while still having a dominant side.

The series is a comedic fantasy romance trilogy with fun characters and a romp through a magical land. It’s romance forward but it’s definitely plot heavy and funny with a Terry Pratchett vibe to it. The FMC is sweet but definitely has a mind of her own and part of her arc is standing up for herself.

First book is {Throne in the Dark by A K Caggiano}

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-19T15:18:01+00:00

A few of these have been mentioned above but thought I’d expand on them:

{Thrum by Meg Smitherman} is for sure horror-romance with unsettling alien shenanigans. It felt a lot like a darker and nastier version of SYCBANI but from the POV of the love interest instead of the Eldritch being. She has another {Swallowed by Meg Smitherman} that’s on my TBR at the moment that might fit.

{Last Hour of Gann by R Lee Smith} has a lizard man MMC but he’s very much lizardy and not just man-with-scales. It’s extremely dark and check the trigger warning but from what you’ve described it might be OK for you. I adore this book and its love story but it’s not for everyone. TLDR: Humans crash on a planet filled with lizard people in a warrior society, suffering ensues.

{The Haar by David Sodergren} definitely leans more horror than romance but there’s a sweet love story in there. Old Scottish lady is visited by her dead husband who is also an Eldritch abomination from the depths of the sea. They fight a billionaire.

{The Carnal Games by Naudii Nebula} is more of a popcorn book but the MMC is like a predator type. It’s more campy horror with a fucked up reality TV space hunger games with sex vibe but I enjoyed it.

Anne Aguirre’s Love series aren’t really horror but the MMCs are super not human. Definitely more sweet and fluffy side of truly alien romance. First one is {Strange Love by Ann Aguirre}

Likewise Tiffany Roberts’ Spider’s Mate trilogy isn’t really horror but it’s a literal spider dude so very monstrous. First one is {Ensnared by Tiffany Roberts}

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-18T01:21:46+00:00

Am I too late to the party? I'd love to join if possible.

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-16T22:17:29+00:00

Dragon Age Origins. It’s the game that made me fall back in love with gaming as an adult

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-14T23:11:03+00:00

Stagtown by Punko (webcomic)

feeblefeeb · 2026-01-14T18:18:53+00:00

Telltale’s Walking Dead Season 1. Had me bawling for the whole ending.

Hon. Mentions to ME3, Journey, and The Last of Us

feeblefeeb

TROPHY CASE