Beginner Fantasy

  • Darling, fucking what?

    Darling, fucking what?

    So, I finished The Poppy War. I’m devastated, and I have some thoughts. Let’s unpack if this series lived up to they hype. 📚 Spoiler-Free Reviews: The first book was tricky. It was good and it was a fun read but it started out very YA coded so I was a little confused about what

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  • 🗡️When your favorite trope stabs you in the back

    Serious spoilers for The Dragon Republic ahead. Ah, enemies to lovers.That wonderful slow burn. The bickering. The tension. The awkward but heavy eye contact. The- knife in the back? Sure, the trope has its flaws. (A little toxicity never hurt… until it does.) But what happens when the tension doesn’t spark love and instead, it

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  • God’s Will; With a Gun. The Hesperians and the Horror of Holy Colonization

    Light spoilers for The Dragon Republic ahead They came bearing gifts of medicine, technological progress, and God. In The Dragon Republic, the Hesperians arrive in Nikan with promises of enlightenment, science, and salvation. All Rin — and the fragile Republic — had to do, is fall in line. Sound familiar? Kuang draws unmistakable parallels between

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  • The Most Swoon-Worthy Moments in ACOTAR 💘

    Spoilers up to ACOSF ahead 1. Rhys betting on Feyre during Amarantha’s trials Rhys placed his bet on Feyre out-maneuvering Amarantha— not out of arrogance, or even blind hope but genuine and quiet confidence. He saw Feyre as strong and capable before she even acknowledged it about herself 2. Sending music to the cell Rhys

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  • When Fantasy Gets Too Real: The True Story Behind The Poppy War

    Spoilers for book one The Poppy War ahead The Poppy War is the newest fantasy book series that’s headlining social media. I finally checked out book 1. Admittedly, the beginning threw me. Though it’s marketed as a dark historical fantasy, the first 60% feels very YA-coded: a poor girl earns a spot at a prestigious

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