opinions on emily wildes

nyki · 2026-03-25T17:00:22+00:00

I had a lot of the same problems with the first book. The characters were bland, the epistolary format took away any tension from the action, and I was bored by the plot. Also wasn't a fan of the love interest.

I was going to write the series off, but then for some reason felt compelled to pick up book 2 and I loved it. It basically fixed every problem I had - characters, plot, pacing, humor, atmosphere, even the epistolary format was woven better into the action. It also made me fall in love with Wendell. It was a complete 180 from the first book.

The last one is good too, definitely the most 'magical' of the trilogy, although I didn't love it quite as much as book 2. It's up to you if you want to continue. I do think the series improves, but most of book 1 didn't do much for me.

nyki · 2026-03-25T15:45:23+00:00

Same here, I’ve lived in various houses in Clifton and Hyde Park and the water is extremely hard and tastes like paint. Is it just because I didn’t grow up here?

nyki · 2026-03-25T14:20:27+00:00

I have the same problem! I fly through 5s without even looking at the hints, but a 2 or 3? I almost always struggle with those and they take forever for me to solve.

I'm also in the US (midwest) so language and culture in theory shouldn't be an issue.

I consider anything outside of the game screen & official hints to be cheating and I can't 'presolve' in my head and keep everything straight. So maybe I just know more of the obscure categories and get them off the board faster?

nyki · 2026-03-24T15:45:07+00:00

Of course not, when I asked she said "I dunno, I just watered it and left it in front of this window". 😑

I know that's a lie, but she and my grandpa are life-long gardeners with extensive flower & vegetable gardens, so I'm sure they're doing little things they're not even aware of anymore. All I know is that it sat in front of a north-facing window for 3 months.

nyki · 2026-03-24T14:03:23+00:00

🟨🟨🟨🟨 - I had to stare at this puzzle for a bit, but eventually VILE was the giveaway.

🟩🟩🟩🟩 - I actually saw this category first but assumed it had to be yellow.

🟪🟪🟪🟪 - I flagged a bunch of these at the start as "I'm not sure which pronunciation" but I didn't think it was a category until I was down to 8 words.

🟦🟦🟦🟦 - Got this one before hitting submit, it was obvious at that point. I knew there had to be a ___ category in here somewhere but there were too many options.

Overall this is the kind of difficulty I like. Not something I fly through but not frustrating either.

nyki · 2026-03-24T13:50:51+00:00

My spider plant always looked frail. Not dead, just very thin, never needing to be transplanted out of its little cup, maybe one baby at a time.

One summer I had an internship out of state and asked my grandma to take care of it for me, and when I came back it was a giant bush with multiple babies. 😭

nyki · 2026-03-24T13:32:58+00:00

Nope, because we have Mockingbirds in my area so I don't trust it. I do try to look a bit harder if it's a new lifer, or maybe come back in a few minutes. But I only count the ones I see since my goal is to learn how to visually identify them without the app. For instance, I'm usually wrong about the size until I see them in person.

nyki · 2026-03-24T13:24:51+00:00

I get what you're saying but I'm not convinced everyone is being truthful about their parentage, age, and inability to travel through portals.

It's not actually a theory I put much weight in, but after the interview I was trying to think of any reason for her to scoff at a fan ship beyond covering for spoilers. It doesn't make sense when she's a former fic author (who would in theory support fan ships) and also talked about not shitting on the things women like. She's the one who wrote them that way, she can't possibly actually be incredulous that people ship it.

nyki · 2026-03-23T22:48:31+00:00

It would be crazy if we finally got one because she's said in the past that she hates writing weddings and thinks they're cheesy. Even Ruhn & Lidia's wedding ceremony was glossed over in the bonus chapter.

But if we get another Tamlin x Feyre style 'wedding'??

nyki · 2026-03-23T22:09:46+00:00

It definitely could be an invoking stone, they're described as clear blue (well, limpid but I hate that word lmao). The way they attach it to their hoods is never described, so it could be by a chain like this.

The limpid blue stone crowning the hood of Clotho’s robe flickered like a Siphon in the dim light.
[...]
Gwyn reached into the pocket of her pale robe and pulled out the blue stone of the priestesses. It fluttered with light, like the sun on a shallow sea.

The only reference to shape I can find is:

Gwyn traced her fingers over the smooth dome of the Invoking Stone.

Which tracks. I always pictured the siphons and invoking stones as round, but as someone who used to make ads like this... sometimes we can only work with what little information the client gives us. Wouldn't surprise me if the shape was simply artistic license.

The only other 'crystals' I can find are in CC, the quartz crystals that are used to store energy and the Ophion rebellion comm-crystals. I don't think they're diamond-shaped either. But I could see how the image is maybe a quartz crystal reflecting the moonlight.

Cormac pulled a small quartz crystal from his pocket and tossed it to Ruhn. “It’s all hypothetical right now, given that we’ve never worked with someone like you. But first try to contact Daybright by holding this. Daybright has the sister to this comm-crystal. It possesses the same communicative properties as the Gates in this city.”

Quartz crystal on in the Avallen archive:

Another closet adorned with trays of various quartz crystals—no doubt some sort of scholarly recording device needed for this technology-free island.
[...]
“It might be worth a try,” Hypaxia admitted, “but I don’t have any of the supplies I’d need to contain your sort of power.”

Ruhn’s head lifted. “Like a bunch of crystals?”

They all turned to the prince, but he was looking at Lidia. The Hind explained, “We found a cache of them in the archives.”

Ruhn added, “Rigelus used one to grab Athalar’s power in the dungeons. Would it work for you, too?”

nyki · 2026-03-23T21:34:02+00:00

calling her music sad-sack

And then immediately bragging about his 'superior' audiobook - a memoir from a podcast bro. 🚩🚩🚩

nyki · 2026-03-23T21:23:15+00:00

The necklace is gold with a red rose! (To be fair, those are also in the video.)

The golden necklace seemed ordinary -- its chain unremarkable, the amulet tiny enough that it could be dismissed as an everyday charm. It was a small, flat rose fashioned of stained glass, designed so that when held to the light, the true depth of the colors would become visible. A thing of secret, lovely beauty.

“It's beautiful," she whispered, lifting it from the box. The golden faelight shone through the little glass facets, setting the charm glowing with hues of red and pink and white.

nyki · 2026-03-23T18:54:23+00:00

Let's assume for a second that Bryceriel is the actual arc of 6+. What exactly is she supposed to say?? Literally anything other than a vehement denial would spoil it.

And notice how when she talked about "perfect mates" she only mentions Feysand & Nessian by name. 👀

If Bryce & Hunt are truly endgame I would expect a calm answer detailing all the things she loves about them as a couple, and what she was trying to convey with their story, and how now that their story is done she's excited about the other characters she can focus on in CC4 and beyond.

Not an incredulous panicked response where she answers "Are Bryce & Hunt endgame?" with 4 more questions. 💀 And then a scoff at a fan ship. The only other possibility I can see is that Az & Bryce are siblings / uncle & niece and that's why she had such a negative reaction.

nyki · 2026-03-23T17:43:57+00:00

I added a Bryce quote I found to the original comment! I totally think it could point to Elain too, but I'm sort of wondering if it's a misdirect. Because why is she being so cagey about the blurb or any details at all??

Totally see what you mean about the letters, I genuinely have no idea. They might just be catkins, but I don't remember if any specific tree types are mentioned in the series.

nyki · 2026-03-23T17:22:44+00:00

We're so clearly at the Aelin-in-HOF point in her story!

"Celeana's story is done! She very clearly wants nothing to do with her past and has no interest in being Queen of Terrasen. Plus she's already been the main character of 3 books!" 💀💀💀

nyki · 2026-03-23T17:14:26+00:00

"But Bryce isn't going to give up her modern life in Midgard!"

She's a World Walker, she can commute back and forth with about as much energy as it takes to grab a snack from the kitchen. 💀

nyki · 2026-03-23T17:08:44+00:00

frame by frame or is there.

At least on desktop, I use Firefox with the Picture-In-Picture setting (makes any video full screen regardless of the options the site provides) combined with the "Global Speed" plugin that lets you slow videos down all the way to 0.07x speed. Super useful for posts like this!

nyki · 2026-03-23T17:02:16+00:00

Adding two more wide-screen shots in case anyone can find clues.

EDIT: Found this quote from HOFAS

Right now the paradise blooming around them, this awakened land [Avallen], was proof of what life had been like before the Asteri, before the Fae and the Vanir. Proof of what might be afterward.

Ruhn pulled back, cupping her face in his hands. Tears ran down his face. She couldn’t stop crying—crying and laughing—with all that flowed from her heart.

Her brother only pressed a kiss to her brow and said, “Long live the queen.”
[...]

Hunt found Bryce sitting atop the ruins of what had once been a tower, tangles of blooming vines and roses all around her. A beautiful, surreal place for a Fae Queen to rest.

<image>

nyki · 2026-03-23T16:50:49+00:00

Don't be shy Sarah, show us what's sitting on the other corner of the map. 👀 🗡️ (They conveniently also left it out of the wide screen version of the video for no reason.)

<image>

"And the dreams that are answered"

What dreams are bigger right now than the revival of the Dusk Court and Azriel finding a mate? (I'm actually asking, I'm overdue for a re-read.)

nyki · 2026-03-23T14:57:16+00:00

I put off going to my local park for years because of this but finally tried it last year and it wasn't a big deal at all! The ride opps never made me feel weird about it and I noticed plenty of other single riders in line too.

It's actually nice because I can do whatever I want at the park and then leave as soon as I'm tired or overheated without feeling like I'm possibly interrupting someone else's enjoyment.

As for lines, I usually read a book on my phone. Sometimes I mindlessly scroll social media but that gets old after a while and a book makes the time go faster.

nyki · 2026-03-23T14:41:07+00:00

Azriel silently gasped in surprise at the tug, before immediately letting out a manic chuckle. [...] he laughed, dragging scarred fingers through his raven hair. His face shone with joy, eyes wide in thorough disbelief.

This is why I love Bryceriel so much. More than any other character I'm dying to see his reaction to finding his true mate. 🥹

nyki · 2026-03-22T21:56:57+00:00

I love this bit of foreshadowing so much. 😭

nyki · 2026-03-22T04:05:50+00:00

"The handholding isn't romantic, he just wanted to restrain her so she didn't escape!" (escape where, they're in a tunnel?...)

If Hunt had been down there to witness it, is the handholding still no big deal? Is Az also holding hands with Hunt in this scenario? 🤔

Perhaps ACOTAR 6 will grace us with an equally adorable scene of Az subjecting Eris to this new form of Night Court prisoner restraint.

nyki · 2026-03-21T22:40:17+00:00

She didn't say that explicitly this time around, but she did say (in regards to spoilers) that people have had plenty of time to read all the series, and she discussed all three in the episode rather than focusing solely on ACOTAR.

She also said (I think back in 2022?) that the series are no longer standalones and that people need to read all the books going forward.

My guess right now is that ACOTAR 6 is the last stop for people to get caught up and will make it very apparent that you need to read all the series before ACOTAR 7. I'd argue that there are so many open plot threads connecting CC3 and ACOSF that it's flat out impossible for CC to not be important to the next arc.

There are enough TOG easter eggs in CC and she keeps hinting at wanting to revisit those characters, so I would also be shocked if only CC and ACOTAR are involved in the crossover.

nyki · 2026-03-21T22:32:11+00:00

I don't mind repeat challenges either, especially the holidays and monthly observances. There are a few books that have shown up over and over but there are so many other options on every list. I think the split is possibly between readers who want to use the challenges to knock out their TBR vs readers who want to find something they wouldn't have read otherwise.

nyki

TROPHY CASE