Starfire > Recent Status Updates

I decided I needed something light and fluffy after the gritty intensity that was The Hourglass Throne - so time to throw myself into some low-angst shifter romance. Let's see how the Zoes go with writing older protagonists...

"The vast majority of time, when people say they don’t have the money or they don’t have the time, it’s NOT because they don’t have the money or time, it’s because they’re choosing not to spend it on your product or program." - and euuuchhh once more, because, yes, absolutely, and that is a 100% VALID CHOICE. People are allowed to prioritise other things more than your product!

Euccchhhhh. Could we pretty please have copywriting examples that DON'T promote disordered eating and body dysmorphia? Plus, copy examples that are vaguely readable onscreen? That would be really nice, please and thank you.

Reading this without holding much hope for it. At some point I must have picked up the entire series on Kindle, so I figure that if I don't like it, that's 8 books I can delete from my unread Kindle library. So far I'm enjoying the snark, but that's pretty much it

OK, now that I'm in a better frame of mind, let's see how I go with trying to reread this one.

"“Delilah turned Quinn, and they rampaged around Europe for a century before turning Selene, who I hope you never meet because she is nuttier than a peanut farm. Lucas found his way into the crew after the nut job made him, then he never left." Soooo, Darla, Angel, Dru and Spike then? Got it.

'Mistaking the confused look on my face, she glared and said, “I can still brew one potion at a time. I just can’t do it in bulk.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. “What potion?”

“Oh.” Mariah’s expression might have been readable to someone else, but I only saw a mix of muddled emotions I’d never identify in a million years.'

#tellmeyoureautisticwithouttellingmeyoureautistic

Bahahaha...

“Are you sure? I understand there’s a very handsome reward for finding Baron.”

That made Evy pause. “How handsome are we talking about? Henry Cavill undeniably handsome or Benedict Cumberbatch weirdly handsome but nonetheless compelling?"

It’s another ‘read or get rid of the oldest book on my Kindle’ title. I won’t lie - I’m a tad apprehensive about this one. My LOA days are far behind me, thank gods, for reasons I may one day write a book about… for now, I’m just not up for toxic positivity any more and I suspect that’s what I’m in for with this one. We’ll see…

Zenny holds up a hand... “Don’t give me some patronizing line about the ‘depraved nature of men’. It’s a gender theory that’s about fifty years out of date, for one, and… a convenient excuse for you to avoid taking responsibility for yourself… it neatly precludes the possibility that a woman might also be depraved. And aside from the obviously problematic binary construct.” I REALLY love this

'We poured through the files for hours’ - not the first typo. I’ve come across so far, but the one that’s made me smile the most. I’m really struggling to keep going with this… I just literally don’t care what happens to the characters

Doing a re-read of the Elemental-verse books from beginning to end because damnit, there’s no more till Paladin’s Kiss in August!

Things I’m noticing: Gio starts off the book just a little bit creepy. I’d totally forgotten about Caspar, and I’d also forgotten that Carwyn and Tenzjn had been in it from the very beginning.

And ooof, we’re kicking things off with one hell of an infodump in the first few pages. Hopefully it smooths out reasonably quickly

This was a freebie that I think I picked up in one of the giant romance bundle sales earlier in the year. I’m not going to lie - I don’t have super high hopes for it, but we’ll see how it goes

Tenzin was still staring at him. “Is this your way of suggesting we incorporate role-play into our sexual practices?”

Bahahahaha - I love you so hard, Tenzin

“But Tenzin had vouched for this trader, and she was his partner, so he trusted her.

Mostly.”

Ah, Ben. You’re the only one who does (and indeed, the only one with reason to).

“Women are biologically hard-wired to be more sensitive, empathic, and intuitive” - really, Ms Davenport? I’d love to see a credible source cited for THAT piece of gender essentialism!

"... what we’re really talking about in this book is freedom. Freedom to do what you want, when you want, with whoever you want, from anywhere you want. To achieve this you need to work hard, hustle and be determined to stick it out for the long haul." Bleh. NO. This is EXACTLY the hustle culture mentality I want freedom from.

At best, it shows that some people (presumably people who already choose to travel a lot, since they answer a survey from an adventure company, see also: sample bias) *believe* that travel is important to their happiness. Dear Ms Sisson: dubious correlation =/= factual causation.

"It’s a proven fact that travel does indeed cultivate happiness. In 2013 G Adventures surveyed over two thousand people and found that 83% considered travel very important to their happiness." Yeah, ummm, no. That is NOT evidence that "proves the fact that travel cultivates happiness".

I know people keep talking about a futuristic Bonnie & Clyde, but I can't be the only one getting Micky & Mallory from Natural Born Killers vibes as well, can I?

So far, I haven't see anything to refute those low expectations. The whole 'sold to demons to pay off a gambling debt on her 18th birthday' isn't a plus... and actually, nor is the fact that the protagonist is a teenager. And yet, apparently I'm not ready to DNF it yet.

I'm not going to lie: I'm going into this one with SUPER low expectations. I think I picked it up free in the 750+-book romance giveaway last weekend. I'll see how it goes

Bahahahahaha. "I'd never been very good with technology. I tried to find my way back to the screen. A message popped up asking me if I wanted to begin a factory reset.

'For fuck's sake,' Brand said. 'It's like watching Gilligan try to make a radio out of coconuts. Give me that.'"

And yes, OK, if I'd checked the comment I'd left myself, I'd see that it was someone from the fans of UF FB group, who described it as "Ilona Andrews, but gayer". Also, I would add, snarkier.

I'm really enjoying it so far

"A discordant buzzing woke me up. It sounded like a thousand seagulls with laryngitis whisper-squawking over an overturned truck hauling fresh bread. Oddly specific, I know, but I was only semiconscious. And hungry."

Snerk. And now I'm hungry too

I'm trying to remember where I heard about this book and what the context was. I know it was recommended by SOMEONE, but I have no idea who or why right now.

"The whole thing was insane. You could write an entire book about that shitshow."

Bahaha - nicely played, Ms Marie 🤣

Huh. OK, well, that was a fairly violent start to the book. And can I just note my frustration that the ONE Black character we've met in the book so far gets killed off in the first 20 pages? To be fair, so does everyone else Lisbeth works with, so it's not just the Black character, but I still find myself hoping we get at least a few more POC key characters in this world where they obviously exist.

"I’m not gonna lie. Being restrained by handcuffs in a room with two powerful, beautiful women has a certain appeal. However, when those two women are cops and the room is a cold, barren box used for interrogations, the allure diminishes dramatically"

Snerk... this is definitely going to be my kind of snarky humour.