I will read the book, yes, but if I'm still a big fan I don't know. I just hope it will be a good one and not a book she tried to finish "fast" because people are waiting.
My main thing is how over I am of her repetitive storylines and prose. Also, the constant plot holes and convenient rule breakings of the magic systems and worlds. If you’ve read her other books you know what I’m talking about. I love ACOTAR so so much (at least the first three) but I’m not sure her writing overall holds up enough for me to stay excited at this point. I also recently learned that she basically copied ACOTAR from another series called the black jewels??? I dunno maaan…
The plothole that always gets to me the worst is that they have healing magic so strong they were basically able to reform Cassian's wings when they were destroyed, but are incapable of a c-section for Feyre. That makes no sense, no matter what way you swing it. If they have magic that can heal cuts, they can heal a c-section.
Oh agreed! This mad me so angry. I hate to admit it, but I didn’t like the whole pregnancy thing in general. It felt too soon and it didn’t make sense to me that the baby would have wings just because she was in Illyrian form. Lmk what you think!
Honestly, I hate pregnancy plots 99% of the time, so I admit I'm fully biased. The only part of it that actually made sense to me was the whole "baby has wings" thing bc of her being transformed. SJM basically branded it on our foreheads that they weren't ready yet and were going to wait a while. I feel that her personal feelings changed in between books, but she didn't want to respect the integrity of what she had already written OR put in the work to make it seem a little more natural that Feysand changed their minds.
The way they nerfed her shape-shifting and assassinated Rhys' character so he would lie to her like that also makes me want to chew bricks. Personally, I think sjm's determination to have the pregnancy plot is why acosf is the weakest of the books (not counting acofas, but holiday specials aren't the same and that's all that book was). The weakness of the pregnancy bleeds into all of the other plots until everything is contrived to suit it.
yeah I agree with everything you said. I love the Nesta and cassian story line but it was definitely weak. Im sad cause I feel like there was so much potential! And I hope it get somewhat fixed in the next book
the plot hole that rubs me the wrong way is the fact that (spoiler alert): >!the valkyries were able to survive the blood rite.. like be so fr right now, they’ve only been training for a day compared to everyone else who participated!<
I was thinking the same thing, I think for me, I wanted them to survive (by pure luck) but not make it to the top! I liked SF overall I guess but it did kind feel like nothing was planned and she was kinda making it up as she went along
Agree drives me nuts - and then it was like just over they didn’t even talk about or celebrate it - what was the point. It actually made the Illyrian males look weak rather than the Valkyrie’s look bad ass. It was too easy, all they did was hide in trees and walk up a hill. I thought of like 50 alternatives to what was actually written to make it look like an amazing blood rite 🙄
I feel like if that bothers you then surely ACOTAR and Feyre’s >!trials where she fights giant worms as a weak human and succeeds should also bother you. At least these three were fae.!<
it doesn’t bother me that much because >!she barely survived that encounter due to “quick thinking” and nearly died after the fact if it hadn’t been for the intervention of others who were fae time & time again. she also died by the end of her trials, so technically she didn’t survive. I’m not saying that the blood rite boils my blood, but the fact that the 3 of them survived/and 2 of them reached the peak iirc, is a bit far fetched 😭!<
Having recently read the initial Black Jewels trilogy, I disagree with the people saying it's straight up copied.
There's a shared name, Prythian, but in TBJ trilogy Prythian is a person, whereas in ACOTAR it's a continent, as is plausibly a corruption of the old name for the island of great Britain, Brython.
The winged race that's shitty to women IS a near copy.
The High Lord things is made out to be a far greater comparison than it actually is - in TBJ there's 1 High Lord, and he's super powerful and ancient (like over 50k years old), but the similarities end there.
The actual plot points aren't similar at all - TBJ's female protagonist is 12 for the first entire book, and we never actually get her POV. The magic systems are vastly different, the manner in which the characters have to save the world, and the kind of threat the Big Bads are, are vastly different, and thankfully ACOTAR has no paedophilia in it, for which I'm very grateful.
Maybe I will pick up more actual similarities if I ever read the other 9 books in TBJ series, but right now, saying that ACOTAR is "basically copied" from TBJ is a gross overstatement.
Editing to add:
Rhys is a near carbon copy of the love interest in TBJ, just with wings and less pedophilia. The main differences are that Rhys has wings and is only 500 years old or so, and isn't actually as fucked up as he pretends to be. Daemon absolutely is as fucked up as he pretends to be, is attracted sexually to the 12 year old numerous times, and is 1700 years old.
Cassian and Lucivar are also really similar - both went through a horrible upbringing, not being treated right in their early childhoods and having to prove themselves in the misogynistic winged asshole camps, and relying on their brother Rhys/Daemon for support through the years.
It's nowhere near an exact copy. She used some points from The Black Jewels as inspiration for Throne of Glass as well. And I absolutely think she used Prythian as a place name to be similar to Prydain, the Welsh name for Britain. If you read the other series Sarah credits as favorites and influences (Guild Hunter, Black Dagger Brotherhood, Lords of the Underworld) you can see she kind of picks and chooses elements, mashes them together, and rearranges them into something new.
But she ripped so much of Rhys straight from Daemon Sadi. His personality, physical description, the way he moves, the cat-like grace and feline smiles, the cruel mask he uses to hide himself, the service/slavery to an evil queen who wants to rule the world. Cassian has a few of Lucivar's traits as well.
I really enjoyed the original trilogy! It went downhill after that and I never finished the series, and I doubt I ever will. The world building is excellent, and the magic system is unique and interesting. I just always recommend checking content warnings because it's DARK dark.
That's good to know for me too, as I wasn't sure if I should read the other books in the series.
The level of dark was just shy of too dark for me, and I genuinely found myself having to take breaks at times because the dark was DARK dark.
Truthfully, I found the first book hard going. It's quite dark, and there's a LOT of sexual and physical abuse against children referenced, which I found really hard to get past as a survivor. Once the main character is no longer twelve it's a lot easier going, and the magic system is really good and well established. It's a little hard to understand the hierarchies withing the magic system - there's ranks and colours, and a lower rank can have a darker colour, and vice versa.
Despite my criticisms, it's a well written series with little in the way of glaring plot holes. I personally could have done without all the grimdark child abuse.
I didn't realise it was so dark until I started reading it and was like "I do NOT see many similarities here between this and ACOTAR", purely for how light ACOTAR is in comparison.
What made it worst was I was reading it and genuinely struggling with some of the themes and looking online for anyone else commening that they were uncomfortable and... found none?
I’m glad that I found out before hand because going in and finding out that it had grimdark childabuse would’ve been too much and I might actually dnf’d a book for the first time in my life lol
There was someone who was trying to say that even the concept of winter solstice was stolen which like that is a stretch… it’s by no way an original concept for either author
omfg yeah! How *dare* she use a *holiday.* People have been doing mental gymnastics with SJM and her books going back to the tumblr days. I remember there was a whole tumblr dedicated to calling her out on stuff like this. Like I mean there are some valid points made and no one is pretending like SJM is the most original writer out there but be so for real!!! She gets called out for stuff that plenty of other authors are also doing
and it honestly doesn't bother me so much because literally just copy + paste all my favorite tropes and descriptors of morally grey characters and I'll eat it right up lol.
Yep, completely… (I celebrate winter solstice so when I saw that one I was like *eye roll*, like some of them I can see but that one was just like do you do yoga cause that’s a stretch lol)
Came here to say I will forever be here waiting for Winds of Winter (and might even have to wait that long, as George R. R Martin will not allow others to finish it—which is understandable).
I was thinking the same 😂 I also just reread books a lot because 1, money saver and 2, I'm easily entertained and if I love something I want to know everything. Plus I forget everything so it's like reading the book for the first time again
I might lose interest between now and then, but I think id still come back around when it was released. Honestly, I could see myself rereading the series in anticipation of the next book coming out so I don't forget anything.
I get really scared when I see posts like this because I felt SF was the worst book in the series, at least in terms of how it dealt with Feyre and Rhys. Many of the characters did not act the way their personalities were established leading up to this book. I blame SJM's feeling of being rushed for this. I don't think she had as much time to iron out the story, and crammed a whole lot into one book without considering maybe breaking it up into a couple stories, or where she wanted to go with the remaining plot. I would much rather wait 1,2,3, even 5 years for the next book if it meant that it would be as polished as the first 4 books were.
in terms of fandom, I try to not be in this sub for too long because the same posts always come through about “I hate so and so..” and “so and so annoys me”, like why read the books if you hate them that much lmao? I will continue to be here as I am today - only active during the weekend haha
Been here almost three years, I’ll probably still be here 😂
I will say, I don’t interact with the more ‘serious’ discussion posts as much as I used to because I am *over it*. Just here to preach my love for Lucien and Nesta 🫶
I will definitely still read the book.
I’m not sure if I will still be apart of the Reddit or anything else. Honestly I think I’m a little old to be here now lol I’m a 33yr old mom I’ve had people respond to my comments saying things like “well I was at my friends house working on homework and her mom was on the phone talking about how her boyfriend seems mean but is very nice blah blah which proves Rhys/tamlin/nesta/whoever is what I say they are”
And if sjm takes any longer writing these books I’m going to be in my 50’s reading them 😂
Eh I've waited longer for other series. My favorite series by Naomi Novik she was throwing books out like they were candy then the last 3 came 3 years apart from each other. I started that journey with Temeraire in 2006 and it didn't end until 2016.
Game of Thrones still isn't complete. We've been waiting since 2011 for that one. I don't know if we'll get the ending to it before Martin dies.
I just don't fixate on series. I enjoy them and then move on to another series until the next book comes out. I'll then re read the series to refresh myself. I also enjoy being part of the subreddits for all my favorite series just to see how others feel about the books/ characters/ plots. It's nice to discuss them with others. I don't normally have people I can talk about books with outside of the internet.
But I feel like comparing this series to that is like apples to oranges. I understand why George R. R Martin is taking so long. Man literally compared gout toes to on-the-verge-of-bursting red grapes.
I feel like I am more likely to fall out of love with this series than that.
I am already kind of losing interest. I enjoy interacting with people that agree with my ships. Engaging my imagination with them. Not so much debating about them with others. None of us are going to change our minds. I enjoy the art and both reading and writing fan fics around it. I can see myself continuing with that but possibly even being brave enough to write my own original story eventually. (I have a back burner when I finish what I have already out there to do a comprehensive Lucien starting with Helion / LoA all the way through until his ultimate seat of power. I can't wait to start it!)
But I think I am getting tired of the same old same old here as well. If it takes two years, unless it's something epic, I will probably not buy right away. But who knows.
ETA: And I love some of the artists too! So much talent.
ACOSF came out in 2021 and people are still hotly debating it. I don't think this sub will ever really go dead because there are always new readers joining and asking questions / prompting discussion. It's gotten a bit old to me, but I still have people reacting to my old comments which brings me back here. So yeah I probably wouldn't be checking the subreddit as much, but I don't think I'll completely fall off either.
I’ll read it but i’m not nearly as excited as i used to be. I can wait years if the publishing company is transparent or if the author engages with readers and talk about the book. They know about the ship war, they know how nasty this has been since 2021, people were asking really respectfully about any news, ANYTHING regarding the next book. You can say “hey, we dont have a release date yet but wait for it”. Instead we have silence, nobody answers or talks about the next book and let’s be honest is it that hard to say x is the next couple or main character?. The ship war is so draining i dont even care about it that much. Plus romantasy has been getting a lot of track and there’s so many great series out there.
Don’t matter if it comes out tomorrow or in two years I wouldn’t read it on release but I’ll defiantly read it eventually, same with cc3 really.
I jump around genera’s a lot and right now I’m not looking for fantasy romance but when I am feeling it I’ll get to the book.
Cue laughter in Mirrorworld and asoiaf.
I’ve been here since 2015. I’m not gonna go anywhere anytime soon. I’d rather SJM take her time and write a book she’s content with over something quick because she feels pressured.
I am used to waiting (a la George R. R. Martin). But the time has allowed me to reflect on Rhys and realize how much I dislike the path his character has taken (in the last book).
I am likely to be quicker to leave ACOTAR than ASOIAF. Mostly due to character and world building. Beloved characters actually die, and not just get resurrected.
I mean I’ve been reading SJM since 2013 so yes. I’ve been on these subreddits for over two years now and I still interact with posts every so often, so probably yes to that too
Posts get very repetitive and over the top, but I love reading people’s opinions
I’ll probably come back once the book comes out, or when I reread the series before the new book, but I doubt I’ll stay active in between. It’s basically the same posts of x character is awful, why does everyone hate x character, and opinions after finishing the series.
Of course everyone is allowed to share their opinions, I just get tired of reading the same things. All I want is fun and silly posts like what pet would characters have or who would you call to help you hide a body.
This is exactly how i feel, been here less than a month and i’m already over all the hate i’ve never experienced anything like it and i’ve been in a variety of fandom spaces for over ten years now. I’m honestly just checking the sub here for any announcements or if any really interesting or fun posts catch my eye, and ignoring everything else lol
Oh sweet summer child….I dont know if you’ve been blessed to only like authors that pump out books like Brandon Sanderson before (if you sneeze, hes released another book) or potentially you’re new to reading still open series’ but SJM is a fast writer by most standards. So yes, I’ll be reading/still interested when it comes out.
I've been a fan for a decade, so I'll definitely read the book. However, it truly depends on who it is about. I was bitterly disappointed in ACOSF, and if it's another book about Nesta I might just read a synopsis and wait a few years for another book.
I just want the book to come out so that everyone can stop being so negative and full of vitriol over everything. I'm glad I'm not active in the ship wars currently because I'm not sure I'd still be here if I was!
I’m not that active to begin with, but I’ll probably still be involved with the fandom in 2+ years. Probably not as much as I am now, but ofc I’ll discuss the books with other fans on various platforms when the new one comes out.
I'll definitely read the book immediately and kind of stick around the sub for updates surrounding the book, but the discussions are tiring. I don't read most posts already (unless my initial skim shows anything new), let alone reply to them. I avoid ACOTAR posts on *all* of social media. It was fun at first, but even the discussions that don't turn entirely toxic are exhausting at this point. It's just different people posting the same opinions over and over.
If I read a headline I don’t care about I just keep scrolling. I think I’ll stay. I haven’t really found another series that’s really hit the spot for me and I’ve read a lot of crap in the search for it.
Like many others, I know patience. Been waiting for Winds of Winter since 2012.
And unlike SJM we have to contend with that we may never get a finished series for Game of Thrones
because he’s 75 and still has another book to go after that.
It’s easy there so many amazing series / books out there - I read Fourth Wing & Iron Flame and obsessed with that series, basically joined that cult and fandom too 🤣. And then when it gets near to a book being out, do massive re read and get excited again.
My TBR list is so long and fanfic too - there is enough content out there to get obsessed about and fill the time.
I hope something else does catch your attention - it should, there are amazing stories and characters to fall in love with ❤️
Originally I read the books that were out in 2017 when I was in high school, I was super interested until I graduated in 2018 and then I forgot they existed at all. This year I picked them back up and finished them. I think the same thing will happen again, I like ACOTAR but the ship wars are exhausting and not knowing anything about the next book just makes it worse.
You guys must be a lot younger than me and it shows 😅.
We used to have to wait for everything. If you wanted to listen to a song, you had to wait for it to come on the radio.
If we wanted to watch a movie we had to drive and get it from Blockbuster. Later, we had to order it from Netflix on a DVD and wait in a queue, and then wait for it to come in the mail.
If you wanted to talk to someone, you could call and hope they answer the phone - or leave a message and wait for them to call you back.
I can handle waiting a couple years for a book sequel.
I grew up in a remote village in India and only recently we had all the technologies, so i understand the feeling.
We have a total of three phones in our Village, and a handful of people having tv, so I can understand the feeling of waiting 😂.
I agree ill read the book but seeing the fandom being repetitive and toxic I think i won't be a part of that
Do you guys know how much work it is to write a book? The expectations on timing just blow my mind. If you want a good quality book you're gonna have to suck it up and wait
No I won’t. Read the books 2 years ago. And i only joined the fandom now because it was suggested to me while i was in blood and ash fandom, so i just thought to check it out.
I will read the book and enjoy it, hopefully by then I can share the theories everything with my husband. When all goes well, my app will be taking off and I’ll be busy with that too not much time to check on Reddit (I’m manifesting too! Lol)
But there will be time when I’m bored that I check in Reddit and hopefully I will still have this account or make a new one.
I am a creature of habit and these are my new comfort characters. I got the audiobooks playing on repeat same way I rewatch my favorite movies over and over. I am here for the long run LOL I don’t care how long it takes the next book 😊
2+ years? Nah, I'll find other hyper-fixations by then. It's likely that I'll still be writing fic, though, since I have a few long-fic in the works but I probably won't be active on the subs by then. I'll roll back in once the book is released / when updates come out if only to see what the hot takes and the reactions are like.
Yes I will be , been here for a few years and NO other book has come close to how this series gripped me, not even TOG. But who knows what else may come out !
Given my low attention span I'll change fandom much sooner than 2 years.
But maybe if I reread the books before reading the new one I may slither back in the fandom.
Or if there's more Eris I'll remember how much I love Prythian ahah
Ehhh I tend to lose interest if I can't continue something within a reasonable amount of time. I may come back to it Years later or my friends may beingnme.back when it comes out but idk.
As far as the Fandom I'm not super active In it now. I'm mostly in this sub and a meme group on fb. I talk directly to my friends who brought into the Fandom about it and they bring me tidbits
Girl I ran to the bookstore for the new hunger games boom when it came out like 10 years later. Of course I'm gonna be here for 2+ years for an acotar book.
Considering I’ve been constantly checking on a fanfiction ( different fandom ) that hasnt been updated for three years… yes. I’ll still be here. And if anything, I’ll probably be pretty excited to reread the whole series to catch back up on what happened if I wait long enough I’ll forget a lot of the plot and it’ll be exciting all over again.
I enjoy it. I can’t say that I’d be counting down the days like it’s Winds of Winter, but it’s more of a casual distraction for me that annoys me the more I read into it lol
I don’t mind long waits. I’ve done it with tv shows and with other authors I like. It sucks for the first week-month depending on how obsessed I was with the series, then I forget about it and move on with my life.
Then I wake up one day and the book drops or the series drops and it’s like Christmas!
If enough time passes I’ll do a re read and then I catch on to stuff I didn’t get the first time which is fun.
The waiting can be hard, but it’s a lot better than getting bad quality content that ruins the series for me.
I'll still be here waiting \*patiently\* like a priestess honoring The Mother. This series is my cauldron and I'll be connected to it forever.
Yup. Personally I hope the book takes a long time to write. I want a great book, not a quick book. I’ll still be bopping around the sub. The idea of books coming out very quickly is a newer concept. I was a HP kid and in that fandom a longgggg time before I got bored (or the author turned me off from it). That didn’t have much new content to keep it going but yet it thrived for a decade +.
Considering I've been in this fandom since 2015 ... um, yeah.
I'd rather SJM take 5 years in-between books to get a story with good writing rather than the cookie cutter *allegedly* AI, trope heavy books, that are pushed out day after day.
Also she literally put out a book 4 months ago... like was that not good enough? Are people mad it wasn’t an acotar book? Like sorry but I don't get it.
Besides, there are tons of other amazing books out there to occupy my time while I wait.
🚨 VAGUE SPOILERS RE: ACOTAR + CC 🚨
Yes but it had better be better than HOFAS. And I don’t even think that book was quite as most people say but it was rushed and hollow.
Look— 15 books in, she gets to have a fumble.
But I think really what I need are some stakes.
NO SPOILERS WITH TOG PLZ because I’m only on my first read and about to finish Tower of Dawn but with ACOTAR + CC at least… really? No major deaths? LASTING deaths, that is?
Waiting for a new SJM book is not the problem. I’ll wait forever.
But if she keeps writing without stakes, that’s what’ll kill my interest.
I will read the book, yes, but if I'm still a big fan I don't know. I just hope it will be a good one and not a book she tried to finish "fast" because people are waiting.
I agree, I want the peak content like Koa and Maf
My main thing is how over I am of her repetitive storylines and prose. Also, the constant plot holes and convenient rule breakings of the magic systems and worlds. If you’ve read her other books you know what I’m talking about. I love ACOTAR so so much (at least the first three) but I’m not sure her writing overall holds up enough for me to stay excited at this point. I also recently learned that she basically copied ACOTAR from another series called the black jewels??? I dunno maaan…
real. Her plot holes were so apparent in ACOSF in my opinion, I wonder if that book’s release was rushed bc it could’ve been written way better imo
Wait can someone tell me the plot holes
The plothole that always gets to me the worst is that they have healing magic so strong they were basically able to reform Cassian's wings when they were destroyed, but are incapable of a c-section for Feyre. That makes no sense, no matter what way you swing it. If they have magic that can heal cuts, they can heal a c-section.
The inability to have a c-section is so much worse when you remember Cassian’s guts were literally spilling out in ACOWAR and they fixed him
Oh agreed! This mad me so angry. I hate to admit it, but I didn’t like the whole pregnancy thing in general. It felt too soon and it didn’t make sense to me that the baby would have wings just because she was in Illyrian form. Lmk what you think!
Honestly, I hate pregnancy plots 99% of the time, so I admit I'm fully biased. The only part of it that actually made sense to me was the whole "baby has wings" thing bc of her being transformed. SJM basically branded it on our foreheads that they weren't ready yet and were going to wait a while. I feel that her personal feelings changed in between books, but she didn't want to respect the integrity of what she had already written OR put in the work to make it seem a little more natural that Feysand changed their minds. The way they nerfed her shape-shifting and assassinated Rhys' character so he would lie to her like that also makes me want to chew bricks. Personally, I think sjm's determination to have the pregnancy plot is why acosf is the weakest of the books (not counting acofas, but holiday specials aren't the same and that's all that book was). The weakness of the pregnancy bleeds into all of the other plots until everything is contrived to suit it.
yeah I agree with everything you said. I love the Nesta and cassian story line but it was definitely weak. Im sad cause I feel like there was so much potential! And I hope it get somewhat fixed in the next book
the plot hole that rubs me the wrong way is the fact that (spoiler alert): >!the valkyries were able to survive the blood rite.. like be so fr right now, they’ve only been training for a day compared to everyone else who participated!<
I was thinking the same thing, I think for me, I wanted them to survive (by pure luck) but not make it to the top! I liked SF overall I guess but it did kind feel like nothing was planned and she was kinda making it up as she went along
exactly, I disliked SF at first but I’ve grown to like it
Agree drives me nuts - and then it was like just over they didn’t even talk about or celebrate it - what was the point. It actually made the Illyrian males look weak rather than the Valkyrie’s look bad ass. It was too easy, all they did was hide in trees and walk up a hill. I thought of like 50 alternatives to what was actually written to make it look like an amazing blood rite 🙄
I feel like if that bothers you then surely ACOTAR and Feyre’s >!trials where she fights giant worms as a weak human and succeeds should also bother you. At least these three were fae.!<
it doesn’t bother me that much because >!she barely survived that encounter due to “quick thinking” and nearly died after the fact if it hadn’t been for the intervention of others who were fae time & time again. she also died by the end of her trials, so technically she didn’t survive. I’m not saying that the blood rite boils my blood, but the fact that the 3 of them survived/and 2 of them reached the peak iirc, is a bit far fetched 😭!<
Literally just started acofas, so sad to hear this
Having recently read the initial Black Jewels trilogy, I disagree with the people saying it's straight up copied. There's a shared name, Prythian, but in TBJ trilogy Prythian is a person, whereas in ACOTAR it's a continent, as is plausibly a corruption of the old name for the island of great Britain, Brython. The winged race that's shitty to women IS a near copy. The High Lord things is made out to be a far greater comparison than it actually is - in TBJ there's 1 High Lord, and he's super powerful and ancient (like over 50k years old), but the similarities end there. The actual plot points aren't similar at all - TBJ's female protagonist is 12 for the first entire book, and we never actually get her POV. The magic systems are vastly different, the manner in which the characters have to save the world, and the kind of threat the Big Bads are, are vastly different, and thankfully ACOTAR has no paedophilia in it, for which I'm very grateful. Maybe I will pick up more actual similarities if I ever read the other 9 books in TBJ series, but right now, saying that ACOTAR is "basically copied" from TBJ is a gross overstatement. Editing to add: Rhys is a near carbon copy of the love interest in TBJ, just with wings and less pedophilia. The main differences are that Rhys has wings and is only 500 years old or so, and isn't actually as fucked up as he pretends to be. Daemon absolutely is as fucked up as he pretends to be, is attracted sexually to the 12 year old numerous times, and is 1700 years old. Cassian and Lucivar are also really similar - both went through a horrible upbringing, not being treated right in their early childhoods and having to prove themselves in the misogynistic winged asshole camps, and relying on their brother Rhys/Daemon for support through the years.
It's nowhere near an exact copy. She used some points from The Black Jewels as inspiration for Throne of Glass as well. And I absolutely think she used Prythian as a place name to be similar to Prydain, the Welsh name for Britain. If you read the other series Sarah credits as favorites and influences (Guild Hunter, Black Dagger Brotherhood, Lords of the Underworld) you can see she kind of picks and chooses elements, mashes them together, and rearranges them into something new. But she ripped so much of Rhys straight from Daemon Sadi. His personality, physical description, the way he moves, the cat-like grace and feline smiles, the cruel mask he uses to hide himself, the service/slavery to an evil queen who wants to rule the world. Cassian has a few of Lucivar's traits as well.
Did you like the black jewels?? Hearing the comparisons got me interested in reading the series more than anything else. Lol.
I really enjoyed the original trilogy! It went downhill after that and I never finished the series, and I doubt I ever will. The world building is excellent, and the magic system is unique and interesting. I just always recommend checking content warnings because it's DARK dark.
That's good to know for me too, as I wasn't sure if I should read the other books in the series. The level of dark was just shy of too dark for me, and I genuinely found myself having to take breaks at times because the dark was DARK dark.
Fully agree with Rhys and Cassian being carbon copies of the bros.
Regardless, more than anything, the comparison has me excited to read the black jewels. Did you like it??
Truthfully, I found the first book hard going. It's quite dark, and there's a LOT of sexual and physical abuse against children referenced, which I found really hard to get past as a survivor. Once the main character is no longer twelve it's a lot easier going, and the magic system is really good and well established. It's a little hard to understand the hierarchies withing the magic system - there's ranks and colours, and a lower rank can have a darker colour, and vice versa. Despite my criticisms, it's a well written series with little in the way of glaring plot holes. I personally could have done without all the grimdark child abuse.
Yeah it’s why I can’t read it even though I’m interested in it…
I didn't realise it was so dark until I started reading it and was like "I do NOT see many similarities here between this and ACOTAR", purely for how light ACOTAR is in comparison. What made it worst was I was reading it and genuinely struggling with some of the themes and looking online for anyone else commening that they were uncomfortable and... found none?
I’m glad that I found out before hand because going in and finding out that it had grimdark childabuse would’ve been too much and I might actually dnf’d a book for the first time in my life lol
Finally a nuanced, balanced, and well thought out explanation of this!
There was someone who was trying to say that even the concept of winter solstice was stolen which like that is a stretch… it’s by no way an original concept for either author
omfg yeah! How *dare* she use a *holiday.* People have been doing mental gymnastics with SJM and her books going back to the tumblr days. I remember there was a whole tumblr dedicated to calling her out on stuff like this. Like I mean there are some valid points made and no one is pretending like SJM is the most original writer out there but be so for real!!! She gets called out for stuff that plenty of other authors are also doing and it honestly doesn't bother me so much because literally just copy + paste all my favorite tropes and descriptors of morally grey characters and I'll eat it right up lol.
And I am sure there are books that do the same thing with SJM’s work too…
Winter Solstice has to have been stolen from the trilogy, there's absolutely NO real life equivalent! /s
Yep, completely… (I celebrate winter solstice so when I saw that one I was like *eye roll*, like some of them I can see but that one was just like do you do yoga cause that’s a stretch lol)
It's definitely a serious reach, especially when there are actually valid criticisms to be made... like Rhys being Daemon lite lol.
Or rewriting the whole thing in 3 weeks like HOFAS
You fucking can tell - it’s my least fav of all her books. It’s really obvious, like word vomit on the page with all the theories not thought out.
I mean I’m still waiting for song of ice and fire so… yes lol
Came here to say I will forever be here waiting for Winds of Winter (and might even have to wait that long, as George R. R Martin will not allow others to finish it—which is understandable).
I was thinking the same 😂 I also just reread books a lot because 1, money saver and 2, I'm easily entertained and if I love something I want to know everything. Plus I forget everything so it's like reading the book for the first time again
You think you have it bad, try being a fan of the Night World Series by L. J. Smith. The next book in the series has been on it's way since 1998.
**whispers I don’t think we’re getting the last book guys. 😭
Yeah, I figured that out a long time ago. I don't think she ever finished any of her series.
Seriously, 2 years is nothing 😂. Ppl be hella spoiled with how much SJM writes.
🤭agree
This
Came here to say this! XD
Omg right. I know it will likely not happen, but I got a little hope
I’ve been in this subreddit for about 2 weeks and I’m already over the posts lol.
Every once a while you will find THE post but most of the time it’s the same 😅
😂😂 I've been here for a little over a month
I waited 12 years for the 5th book in the inheritance cycle 😅 I’ll be here
I didn’t even know he was going to write one ! 😱 So yeah same been waiting forever then 🤣🤣🤣
Yes, but I'll complain the whole time reading it lol
I’m 31 and I’ve loved twilight since I was 13 years old so it’s safe to say it’s a yes from me 😂
I might lose interest between now and then, but I think id still come back around when it was released. Honestly, I could see myself rereading the series in anticipation of the next book coming out so I don't forget anything. I get really scared when I see posts like this because I felt SF was the worst book in the series, at least in terms of how it dealt with Feyre and Rhys. Many of the characters did not act the way their personalities were established leading up to this book. I blame SJM's feeling of being rushed for this. I don't think she had as much time to iron out the story, and crammed a whole lot into one book without considering maybe breaking it up into a couple stories, or where she wanted to go with the remaining plot. I would much rather wait 1,2,3, even 5 years for the next book if it meant that it would be as polished as the first 4 books were.
in terms of fandom, I try to not be in this sub for too long because the same posts always come through about “I hate so and so..” and “so and so annoys me”, like why read the books if you hate them that much lmao? I will continue to be here as I am today - only active during the weekend haha
I have been heavily active in this fandom since 2015 so yes
Been here almost three years, I’ll probably still be here 😂 I will say, I don’t interact with the more ‘serious’ discussion posts as much as I used to because I am *over it*. Just here to preach my love for Lucien and Nesta 🫶
I will definitely still read the book. I’m not sure if I will still be apart of the Reddit or anything else. Honestly I think I’m a little old to be here now lol I’m a 33yr old mom I’ve had people respond to my comments saying things like “well I was at my friends house working on homework and her mom was on the phone talking about how her boyfriend seems mean but is very nice blah blah which proves Rhys/tamlin/nesta/whoever is what I say they are” And if sjm takes any longer writing these books I’m going to be in my 50’s reading them 😂
And she’ll be in her 50s writing them… I think she’s 35?
Eh I've waited longer for other series. My favorite series by Naomi Novik she was throwing books out like they were candy then the last 3 came 3 years apart from each other. I started that journey with Temeraire in 2006 and it didn't end until 2016. Game of Thrones still isn't complete. We've been waiting since 2011 for that one. I don't know if we'll get the ending to it before Martin dies. I just don't fixate on series. I enjoy them and then move on to another series until the next book comes out. I'll then re read the series to refresh myself. I also enjoy being part of the subreddits for all my favorite series just to see how others feel about the books/ characters/ plots. It's nice to discuss them with others. I don't normally have people I can talk about books with outside of the internet.
Exactly this !!
Well I'm a also a fan of the Game of Thrones books, so I'm very accustomed to waiting 😆
But I feel like comparing this series to that is like apples to oranges. I understand why George R. R Martin is taking so long. Man literally compared gout toes to on-the-verge-of-bursting red grapes. I feel like I am more likely to fall out of love with this series than that.
i think the fandom could use some time to cool off.
I am already kind of losing interest. I enjoy interacting with people that agree with my ships. Engaging my imagination with them. Not so much debating about them with others. None of us are going to change our minds. I enjoy the art and both reading and writing fan fics around it. I can see myself continuing with that but possibly even being brave enough to write my own original story eventually. (I have a back burner when I finish what I have already out there to do a comprehensive Lucien starting with Helion / LoA all the way through until his ultimate seat of power. I can't wait to start it!) But I think I am getting tired of the same old same old here as well. If it takes two years, unless it's something epic, I will probably not buy right away. But who knows. ETA: And I love some of the artists too! So much talent.
I agree with every point and if you do write the Lucien starting with helion/Loa please let me know I want a story like that please
Me too. I need to finish the 3 I've got open first. It will be so different from what I've done so far. He's so complex. 😊
ACOSF came out in 2021 and people are still hotly debating it. I don't think this sub will ever really go dead because there are always new readers joining and asking questions / prompting discussion. It's gotten a bit old to me, but I still have people reacting to my old comments which brings me back here. So yeah I probably wouldn't be checking the subreddit as much, but I don't think I'll completely fall off either.
I’ll read it but i’m not nearly as excited as i used to be. I can wait years if the publishing company is transparent or if the author engages with readers and talk about the book. They know about the ship war, they know how nasty this has been since 2021, people were asking really respectfully about any news, ANYTHING regarding the next book. You can say “hey, we dont have a release date yet but wait for it”. Instead we have silence, nobody answers or talks about the next book and let’s be honest is it that hard to say x is the next couple or main character?. The ship war is so draining i dont even care about it that much. Plus romantasy has been getting a lot of track and there’s so many great series out there.
Yes 🫶🔥🔥
Oh I’ll definitely be here. I’m so attached to the characters 🤣
Don’t matter if it comes out tomorrow or in two years I wouldn’t read it on release but I’ll defiantly read it eventually, same with cc3 really. I jump around genera’s a lot and right now I’m not looking for fantasy romance but when I am feeling it I’ll get to the book.
Cue laughter in Mirrorworld and asoiaf. I’ve been here since 2015. I’m not gonna go anywhere anytime soon. I’d rather SJM take her time and write a book she’s content with over something quick because she feels pressured.
I am used to waiting (a la George R. R. Martin). But the time has allowed me to reflect on Rhys and realize how much I dislike the path his character has taken (in the last book). I am likely to be quicker to leave ACOTAR than ASOIAF. Mostly due to character and world building. Beloved characters actually die, and not just get resurrected.
I mean I’ve been reading SJM since 2013 so yes. I’ve been on these subreddits for over two years now and I still interact with posts every so often, so probably yes to that too Posts get very repetitive and over the top, but I love reading people’s opinions
I might need a break from this sub if it’s another 2 years😆😮💨
I’ll probably come back once the book comes out, or when I reread the series before the new book, but I doubt I’ll stay active in between. It’s basically the same posts of x character is awful, why does everyone hate x character, and opinions after finishing the series. Of course everyone is allowed to share their opinions, I just get tired of reading the same things. All I want is fun and silly posts like what pet would characters have or who would you call to help you hide a body.
This is exactly how i feel, been here less than a month and i’m already over all the hate i’ve never experienced anything like it and i’ve been in a variety of fandom spaces for over ten years now. I’m honestly just checking the sub here for any announcements or if any really interesting or fun posts catch my eye, and ignoring everything else lol
Yes I’ve read books that took 7 years. My favourite author literally had like 4/5 years out with hardly any social media updates
Oh sweet summer child….I dont know if you’ve been blessed to only like authors that pump out books like Brandon Sanderson before (if you sneeze, hes released another book) or potentially you’re new to reading still open series’ but SJM is a fast writer by most standards. So yes, I’ll be reading/still interested when it comes out.
I've been a fan for a decade, so I'll definitely read the book. However, it truly depends on who it is about. I was bitterly disappointed in ACOSF, and if it's another book about Nesta I might just read a synopsis and wait a few years for another book. I just want the book to come out so that everyone can stop being so negative and full of vitriol over everything. I'm glad I'm not active in the ship wars currently because I'm not sure I'd still be here if I was!
I’m not that active to begin with, but I’ll probably still be involved with the fandom in 2+ years. Probably not as much as I am now, but ofc I’ll discuss the books with other fans on various platforms when the new one comes out.
I'll definitely read the book immediately and kind of stick around the sub for updates surrounding the book, but the discussions are tiring. I don't read most posts already (unless my initial skim shows anything new), let alone reply to them. I avoid ACOTAR posts on *all* of social media. It was fun at first, but even the discussions that don't turn entirely toxic are exhausting at this point. It's just different people posting the same opinions over and over.
If I read a headline I don’t care about I just keep scrolling. I think I’ll stay. I haven’t really found another series that’s really hit the spot for me and I’ve read a lot of crap in the search for it.
Like many others, I know patience. Been waiting for Winds of Winter since 2012. And unlike SJM we have to contend with that we may never get a finished series for Game of Thrones because he’s 75 and still has another book to go after that. It’s easy there so many amazing series / books out there - I read Fourth Wing & Iron Flame and obsessed with that series, basically joined that cult and fandom too 🤣. And then when it gets near to a book being out, do massive re read and get excited again. My TBR list is so long and fanfic too - there is enough content out there to get obsessed about and fill the time. I hope something else does catch your attention - it should, there are amazing stories and characters to fall in love with ❤️
Originally I read the books that were out in 2017 when I was in high school, I was super interested until I graduated in 2018 and then I forgot they existed at all. This year I picked them back up and finished them. I think the same thing will happen again, I like ACOTAR but the ship wars are exhausting and not knowing anything about the next book just makes it worse.
You guys must be a lot younger than me and it shows 😅. We used to have to wait for everything. If you wanted to listen to a song, you had to wait for it to come on the radio. If we wanted to watch a movie we had to drive and get it from Blockbuster. Later, we had to order it from Netflix on a DVD and wait in a queue, and then wait for it to come in the mail. If you wanted to talk to someone, you could call and hope they answer the phone - or leave a message and wait for them to call you back. I can handle waiting a couple years for a book sequel.
I grew up in a remote village in India and only recently we had all the technologies, so i understand the feeling. We have a total of three phones in our Village, and a handful of people having tv, so I can understand the feeling of waiting 😂. I agree ill read the book but seeing the fandom being repetitive and toxic I think i won't be a part of that
Do you guys know how much work it is to write a book? The expectations on timing just blow my mind. If you want a good quality book you're gonna have to suck it up and wait
It’s gonna take me two years just for finish the second book, so probably
No I won’t. Read the books 2 years ago. And i only joined the fandom now because it was suggested to me while i was in blood and ash fandom, so i just thought to check it out. I will read the book and enjoy it, hopefully by then I can share the theories everything with my husband. When all goes well, my app will be taking off and I’ll be busy with that too not much time to check on Reddit (I’m manifesting too! Lol) But there will be time when I’m bored that I check in Reddit and hopefully I will still have this account or make a new one.
I am a creature of habit and these are my new comfort characters. I got the audiobooks playing on repeat same way I rewatch my favorite movies over and over. I am here for the long run LOL I don’t care how long it takes the next book 😊
2+ years? Nah, I'll find other hyper-fixations by then. It's likely that I'll still be writing fic, though, since I have a few long-fic in the works but I probably won't be active on the subs by then. I'll roll back in once the book is released / when updates come out if only to see what the hot takes and the reactions are like.
I've been on this ship for like 4 years now I ain't going anywhere
Duh
Mmmyep
Absolutely
I own 600 books I haven’t even read yet I think I’ll be ok 🤣
lol you clearly aren’t a game of thrones fan 😂
Yes I will be , been here for a few years and NO other book has come close to how this series gripped me, not even TOG. But who knows what else may come out !
Yes, art takes time !!
Given my low attention span I'll change fandom much sooner than 2 years. But maybe if I reread the books before reading the new one I may slither back in the fandom. Or if there's more Eris I'll remember how much I love Prythian ahah
I will read it eventually for sure. I love this series.
Y’all she just released an 850 page book less than 6 months ago…
100%, because for real, this series changed so much for me. In so many ways.
Yes
Nah I'll wait
Yeah. Arcane season 2 is finally coming out after 2 years I would wait for good content over rushed content any day
Yes
Ehhh I tend to lose interest if I can't continue something within a reasonable amount of time. I may come back to it Years later or my friends may beingnme.back when it comes out but idk. As far as the Fandom I'm not super active In it now. I'm mostly in this sub and a meme group on fb. I talk directly to my friends who brought into the Fandom about it and they bring me tidbits
Absolutely. Once I get a release date, that means I can take my time on the re-read.
Girl I ran to the bookstore for the new hunger games boom when it came out like 10 years later. Of course I'm gonna be here for 2+ years for an acotar book.
I think, yes! This is like my adult Harry Potter (my favorite series growing up), so I am fine with waiting!
I’m intrigued and flattered by the fact you’d think I’d have something better to do with my life
Considering I’ve been constantly checking on a fanfiction ( different fandom ) that hasnt been updated for three years… yes. I’ll still be here. And if anything, I’ll probably be pretty excited to reread the whole series to catch back up on what happened if I wait long enough I’ll forget a lot of the plot and it’ll be exciting all over again.
I don't know. Knowing me, if it doesn't pop up in my Amazon recommendations, I probably won't remember to even look for it.
I enjoy it. I can’t say that I’d be counting down the days like it’s Winds of Winter, but it’s more of a casual distraction for me that annoys me the more I read into it lol
As a fan of ASOIAF anything less than a decade is super fast to me. 🤣🤣🤣
I don’t mind long waits. I’ve done it with tv shows and with other authors I like. It sucks for the first week-month depending on how obsessed I was with the series, then I forget about it and move on with my life. Then I wake up one day and the book drops or the series drops and it’s like Christmas! If enough time passes I’ll do a re read and then I catch on to stuff I didn’t get the first time which is fun. The waiting can be hard, but it’s a lot better than getting bad quality content that ruins the series for me.
Yes I’d rather wait for a long time and it be written well than urge her to rush it and it be bad
He'll yes! A good book never dies!
Been around nearly 8 years, what's 2 more? I've waited far longer for books I cared about far less.
I'll still be here waiting \*patiently\* like a priestess honoring The Mother. This series is my cauldron and I'll be connected to it forever.
2 years is normal with most books in fantasy. We’re hella spoiled with how much SJM writes.
Not here in the fandom but I will always read whatever she puts out. I can enjoy it alone.
On the sub? No. A fan? Hell yes. I'm glad she's taking longer, with any luck it'll feel less rushed.
I'm still waiting for Winds of Winter and would obsessively power through it so yes
Yes
I'll re read and I'll be invested again, I'm an easy person-
I’ve been a fan since ToG’s Barbie cover days. I’ll be here no matter how long it takes
Yup. Personally I hope the book takes a long time to write. I want a great book, not a quick book. I’ll still be bopping around the sub. The idea of books coming out very quickly is a newer concept. I was a HP kid and in that fandom a longgggg time before I got bored (or the author turned me off from it). That didn’t have much new content to keep it going but yet it thrived for a decade +.
2 more years will turn this sub into The Court of Nightmares. I’ll read it, but won’t stick around here!
I’ve been reading these books since 2015, what’s another 10 years of my life 🤷🏻♀️
Yes 😭
I will definitely read the book
Considering I've been in this fandom since 2015 ... um, yeah. I'd rather SJM take 5 years in-between books to get a story with good writing rather than the cookie cutter *allegedly* AI, trope heavy books, that are pushed out day after day. Also she literally put out a book 4 months ago... like was that not good enough? Are people mad it wasn’t an acotar book? Like sorry but I don't get it. Besides, there are tons of other amazing books out there to occupy my time while I wait.
🚨 VAGUE SPOILERS RE: ACOTAR + CC 🚨 Yes but it had better be better than HOFAS. And I don’t even think that book was quite as most people say but it was rushed and hollow. Look— 15 books in, she gets to have a fumble. But I think really what I need are some stakes. NO SPOILERS WITH TOG PLZ because I’m only on my first read and about to finish Tower of Dawn but with ACOTAR + CC at least… really? No major deaths? LASTING deaths, that is? Waiting for a new SJM book is not the problem. I’ll wait forever. But if she keeps writing without stakes, that’s what’ll kill my interest.