Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

A book with a “shadow daddy”

I admit that (1) I had to Google "shadow daddy" and (2) once I knew the meaning of the term, I groaned and said, "Ugh!" The book title that immediately popped into my head was Fifty Shades of Gray! And I had sworn years ago to never ever pick up that book! It is DEFINITELY NOT in my wheelhouse!

Upon researching a bit further it sounds as if a 'romantasy' may fulfill this prompt. I may have to cheat a bit for this one! 😬

Listopia: A book with a “shadow daddy”

Someone who's read the book, pls confirm this for me bc I'm not that familiar with the term "shadow daddy" lol but I think would count

I'd never heard of a "shadow daddy" and now, after doing some research, I've discovered there is ALSO a "fire daddy." What is going on???

I was planning to read Spark the Flames for this, but when I googled to confirm that it has a "shadow daddy" (seriously I can NOT with this terminology), I learned it actually has a "fire daddy." I'm still penciling this one in as my top choice, to heck with the shadows and fires.

Here is a very long list from two years ago (seriously??? this goofy term has been in use for TWO YEARS???) on reddit listing lots and lots of "shadow daddy" books. I was going to add them to the listopia, but there's too many here, so I'll just include a link, maybe it will help someone.

https://www.reddit.com/r/fantasyroman...

I found one on that reddit list for those of you who don't like explicit smut! The Shadows Between Us

Ugh, that's exactly the type of male character I tend to hate in romantic fantasy. I'll check out that one that you suggested, Nadine.

Here is the Popsugar article about Shadow Daddies:

https://www.popsugar.com/books/shadow...

They lead with Xaden of Fourth Wing, and go on to mention others, including Nahodeth of Jesimin's Inheritance trilogy.


And here is the GR shelf they reference in the article:
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

The Popsugar article leads with this description:

...A morally gray bad boy with a heart of gold, deadly to his enemies but sweet to his lover. He's the type to ask, "Who did this to you?!" He's tall, dark, and handsome. He might be a fae, a god, a vampire, or some other kind of supernatural creature. Most importantly, he has the power to wield shadows

While this is most typically romantasy, if you leave out the shadow wielding, the character type is common in many genres. The first one to come to mind is Gale in The Hunger Games.

Alternately, you can read mythology. I think anything with Hades would fit.

My romance reads are pretty exclusively sapphic, so thinking I might cheat a bit and find something with a shadow mommy instead? >:)

I thought this was going to be a nightmare prompt for me, but it turns out I had two books on my TBR that look like they fit:

Chosen by Death, which despite the English title is actually in German
Belladonna

I may just use any book with a father for this one. As long as he casts a shadow, then it fulfills the literal meaning of this prompt.

Brandon wrote: "I may just use any book with a father for this one. As long as he casts a shadow, then it fulfills the literal meaning of this prompt."

LOL!

There are several well-known books on the list, that I'm sure lots of people here have read, so I'd love a recommendation. I have no problem with smut, but cannot stand "woman wants to be dominated" tropes. So with that in mind, which of these am I better off with?

Fourth Wing
A Court of Thorns and Roses
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Shadow and Bone

Laura Ruth wrote: "There are several well-known books on the list, that I'm sure lots of people here have read, so I'd love a recommendation. I have no problem with smut, but cannot stand "woman wants to be dominated..."


I'd vote for Fourth Wing. Personally, I cannot stand Maas's writing, and I also do not care for Schwab's writing or Bardugo's writing. So this depends on whether you tend to agree with me or not LOL. If you ALWAYS disagree with me, and you love fluffy smut, read Maas. If you've occasionally found yourself thinking "wow she is SO wrong, this book was GREAT!" then you should read Shadow and Bone. If you don't really like YA, read Schwab. If you tend to agree with my take on books, read Fourth Wing.

I think Witch King and/or Queen Demon by Martha Wells might qualify, though I have yet to read them to know for sure.

Ruth wrote: "My romance reads are pretty exclusively sapphic, so thinking I might cheat a bit and find something with a shadow mommy instead? >:)"

Excellent.

Nadine in NY wrote: "I'd vote for Fourth Wing. Personally, I cannot stand Maas's writing, and I also do not care for Schwab's writing or Bardugo's writing. So this depends on whether you tend to agree with me or not LOL."

Thanks, that's helpful. The only one of them I've read before is Bardugo, and I did like Six of Crows.

Acidic Quagga wrote: "
I think Witch King and/or Queen Demon by [author:Martha Wells|873..."

They're a decent way to cheat it. Shaddow Daddies (I hate that term, and I only just learned it) are romantic leads, that's not what is going on in that series. Though it definitely has the who hurt you and I can fix him vibes.

Damnit, I've been avoiding this type of character for years. They are so toxic.

For those interested in going down the more classic route, I think Heathcliffe of Wuthering Heights fame might be the original.

Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine) wrote: "Acidic Quagga wrote: "
I think Witch King and/or Queen Demon by [a..."

I'm 100% going with these, then. I don't really read a lot of romantic books to begin with, and I'm not crazy about stories about toxic relationships, perhaps excepting escape and recovery stories. Even then, I can only stomach so much.

Ruth wrote: "My romance reads are pretty exclusively sapphic, so thinking I might cheat a bit and find something with a shadow mommy instead? >:)"

Yeah, I'm taking the same liberty with this one.

Laura Ruth wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "I'd vote for Fourth Wing. Personally, I cannot stand Maas's writing, and I also do not care for Schwab's writing or Bardugo's writing. So this depends on whether you tend to ag..."



Shadow & Bone is probably right up your alley then!!

Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine) wrote: "Damnit, I've been avoiding this type of character for years. They are so toxic.

For those interested in going down the more classic route, I think Heathcliffe of Wuthering Heights..."



LOL Heathcliff was all "who hurt you? I will hurt them, and then I'll hurt you, and then I'll hurt myself, and then I'll spend the rest of my life hurting every one else I can find!!" (To be clear, I loved Wuthering Heights, so I dont' mean anything bad by this.)

I put this in the speculation thread, but since people are also saying they're not big on romantasy here: the PS article uses Nahadoth from The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms as an example. I adore that book (the whole trilogy really) but it's solidly fantasy. I don't remember specifically if there are any explicit scenes, but there certainly aren't many - I wouldn't consider it a "spicy" book at all.
So if you like the fantasy but not the spice of romantasy, and haven't read it, that would be my rec!

Nadine in NY wrote: "Shadow & Bone is probably right up your alley then!"

I was checking the descriptions on Amazon, and realized I'd already seen the TV series. But there's a prequel, Demon in the Wood, about the "shadow daddy" character, that appears to fit my main requirement (no "woman wants to be dominated" tropes). And it's a graphic novel, so I can knock this one out quickly.

Nadine in NY wrote: "I'd vote for Fourth Wing. Personally, I cannot stand Maas's writing, and I also do not care for Schwab's writing or Bardugo's writing. So this depends on whether you tend to agree with me or not LOL. If you ALWAYS disagree with me, and you love fluffy smut, read Maas. If you've occasionally found yourself thinking "wow she is SO wrong, this book was GREAT!" then you should read Shadow and Bone. If you don't really like YA, read Schwab. If you tend to agree with my take on books, read Fourth Wing.
"

Love this choose your own 'Nadine' adventure!! 😁

Dea wrote: "The Popsugar article leads with this description:

...A morally gray bad boy with a heart of gold, deadly to his enemies but sweet to his lover. He's the type to ask, "Who did this to you?!" He's t..."

Hmmm....Maybe The Nightmare Before Kissmas? It ships the princes of Christmas and Halloween. There is a fair bit of smut, but everything else is so wholesome and fun.

I've never heard that term before either. Apart from the Fourth Wing series, the only other male character in fantasy I've read in recent past that seems to fit would be Nathaniel Thorn in Sorcery of Thorns.