Elle’s Reviews > The Darkness Bites Back > Status Update
Elle
is 20% done
Ok, we just went from lust to "I've never wanted to protect someone like this before" like 10 minutes into a first date. And since Tobias can't magically influence people afaik (only read their emotions), then this doesn't make sense & feels incredibly forced. Also LMAO at the authors' "he told the magic tragic tale I've ever heard" so they didn't have to write something emotional. What editor let this pass???
— Aug 23, 2026 07:39PM
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Elle’s Previous Updates
Elle
is 21% done
THE AUTHORS JUST INSULTED PHYSICAL CARD CATALOGUES AND PRE-COMPUTER LIBRARIES, THIS IS WAR.
(If you're too dumb to manage the systems pre-computer, that is a YOU problem, not a library or organisational problem. Libraries, librarians, and users/borrowers, existed just fine for thousands of years before computers.)
— Aug 23, 2026 07:43PM
(If you're too dumb to manage the systems pre-computer, that is a YOU problem, not a library or organisational problem. Libraries, librarians, and users/borrowers, existed just fine for thousands of years before computers.)
Elle
is 9% done
I don't mind the insta-lust at end of ch2 because it's a deliberate lure by Tobias, targeting Alex's preferences based on centuries of his chosen lovers. That's actually incredibly smart, go Tobias! But everything is still very Telling & that worries me about developing a proper romance.
... So far this novel feels like a first draft, waiting for authors to come back & edit in the Showing, subtext, & emotions.
— Aug 23, 2026 07:14PM
... So far this novel feels like a first draft, waiting for authors to come back & edit in the Showing, subtext, & emotions.
Elle
is 5% done
(Not my palette-cleanser between ML Wangs', btw. Juggling arcs with physical books.)
A bit Telling to start, but I'm here for the revenge goal of ruining someone's life "right fucking back". I like that Tobias doesn't let his self-loathing (UGH, LOUIS! so cliche) get in the way of his plan. I don't know yet if I care for Alexander, the cliche disappointing-son-who'd-rather-whore-about - or at least from his intro.
— Aug 23, 2026 06:50PM
A bit Telling to start, but I'm here for the revenge goal of ruining someone's life "right fucking back". I like that Tobias doesn't let his self-loathing (UGH, LOUIS! so cliche) get in the way of his plan. I don't know yet if I care for Alexander, the cliche disappointing-son-who'd-rather-whore-about - or at least from his intro.