Clary > Recent Status Updates

Novik knows fairytales. Maybe I've been too embroiled in the romantasy mines but this is so refreshing and well done. I think I prefer my beastly husbands out-witted rather than tamed.

The amount of this book that is the couples being absolutely mortified to sleep with each other has given me culture shock.

I can't put this down, to my detriment i think. After a somewhat more bland fantasy, Novik's world is RICH with details rooted in Russian and Jewish tradition. The PoV women are wonderful and seeing each class of woman and her struggles under the expectations of her society feels so good.

Also I usually *hate* the culture mismatch between a fae and human being a plot point but its actually done so fun here.

We're gettin' real close to the end for us to be setting *these* blocks up. I don't know that i am going to be happy with this falling action. For the first time in a while I'm wishing for a SLOWER burn. I want more about the religion. I wanted more politics and court. Its fun, just surface.

The yearning and the plot are going to be a slow burn i see.

I think we're in it now. We have some stakes. We have some weirdness. I love Thadred. Wheatley is not a revalatory writer but she does focus on the places my mind would go which is both satisfying but perhaps not great writing. This dichotomy is making me insecure. I think what would save it is not including or cutting down on some stuff but then I dont get to know she thought about it too in such detail.

I keep running into the same problem with this book, and that is that I have not seen the gender politics expressed in a way that doesn't feel like the author just taking a generic fantasy patriarchy for granted. All the world building feels a little taken for granted: patriarchy, magic, the pantheon of gods. I know it's secondary to the relationship, but I need some side dishes for my steak.

I keep bumping up against this problem.In this book: they have not a tasty what the gender politics, what the norm really is in this world in a way that I have really felt. Instea.\n D, it feels a lot like\n They're taking for granted that we are going to accept that women are considered some sort of submissive second class, as is common in high fantasy Medieval based stories period

He's an advisor to the king.

He's a lawyer.

He sends pretty-sexy dresses.

He seems to know all the intrigue.

The bright flashing sign says this guy might be a villain (unless we want a fun funky fresh twist.)

Wait I was supposed to paying attention to the PLOT of the other books??? I only get this one for 7 days so I'll just have to really try to remember when I go back and catch up.

Okay. Okay. Okay. We've popped a few truths. Weirdly enough the autism kind of excuses a lot of the romance novel tropes I absolutely hate.

No one is going to address the HR violations though?

There's something to the premise that does have a glimmer of interest in that the autistic fmc makes the tropes kind of hilarious. Like, no, Edith, you're not missing social cues, *they're* being weird. And the annoying possessiveness the MMC is upset that she seems cowed by shit men but also... she won't make eye contact because of the autism, not trauma.

Unfortunately every time i consider dnf, Fenris saves it.

Literally everyone needs to come up with new wolf names. Fenrir is now the "John doe" of fantasy wolves.