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as a heavy romantasy reader, I def agree with your ending statement! since there's a bit of a boom going on rn it's getting a bit over-saturated, but I am hopeful it will lead to authors starting to experiment and creating some really unique stories to stand out amongst the crowd
To me a cozy book can have plot, but conflict is the antithesis to cozy imo. I think it’s okay that these books exist, even if they’re not right for everyone, because they are right for some of us.
Right the take of cozy fantasy shouldn’t exist bc I don’t like it and want more from it and people with anxiety or the people who enjoy this genre should just be limited to rereading the same safe books they already know is crazy..
I fully disagree re: the cozy trend, lol. What it is, before hashtags infected irl vocabulary, is low stakes slice of life stories (in this case romantasy) centered on characters, not action. It is a very old and absolutely legitimate genre and type of story. And, with my apologies and respect, The Spellshop definitely has character journeys and plot. That said, not all types of stories work for everyone, and that's ok. And of course, like with any genre, it's not a given that an author will be able to write an excellent slice of life story.
I actually appreciated your perspective as a reader who reads romance and fantasy but not really romantasy. The genre is so saturated right now it is hard to know what I might like or what people are liking when they recommend these books. But your reviews were very, "this book has lots of this and not enough of this and these vibes" which are exactly what I would look for as someone who also doesn't read romantasy but likes romance and fantasy lol
Love the video, but disagree on the cosy fantasy thoughts. Yes rereading books you know is great, but as someone with anxiety I find low stakes stories really soothing.
I'm probably the only person in the world who preferred Apprentice to the Villain to the first book. I found it less annoying, the encounters less repetitive and the fact that things were progressing from A to B helped in keeping me engaged. Or it just helped that I switched to audiobook this time around, IDK. Still not really my thing but it worked as a palate cleanser
I really like the concept of romantasy as a genre too, I haven't read too many books in this genre yet to determine if I love it like I love romance and fantasy, but I've noticed that most of them literally sound the same and it also sounds like you either get a great romance but no fantasy element or the other way around. So for me, it doesn't sound like the genre is doing that great tbh. I think the only romantasy books at the moment I'm excited to pick up are Quicksilver and trial of the sun queen {thanks to you} so thank you for powering through to make this video haha. I remember watching your vlogs a couple of months ago when you mentioned reading some of these books 😄
I’d really love to see you pick up The Aurelian Cycle - especially with the release of Onyx Storm coming up. Its premise of the first book is dragon riding war collage (done WAY better than FW) but it’s a completed trilogy …one of my favorites I’ve read over the past few years. Rosaria Munda should have got all the hype Rebecca got IMO.
ugh i’ve been waiting for you to read zodiac academy, it’s sooooooo ridiculous but i read the first like 7 books in less than a month bc they were so addicting 🤣
Quicksilver was definitely my favorite of the list here. But check out House of Bane and Blood by Alexis L. Menard if you’re looking for something unique. It’s steampunk and gives Six of Crows vibes and is a completed duology!
i wanted quicksilver to win so bad! SJM really effed up w the CC series imo. first book i liked, second book was ok, third book had me speeding through ir bc i just wanted to finish.
the honey witch was such an odd book, it def didn't work for me. the writing was so stilted and I agree: it was FINE, but ultimately forgettable lol (also agree that it was sometimes cozy, but also sometimes... not. it couldn't really decide what it wanted to do)
I’m glad to see someone else struggling with when the moon hatched..i dnf’d it so fast, but felt so bad about it😅 I keep trying to hype myself up to pick it up again.. and a touch of darkness makes me actually mad because I don’t understand why the world of Greek mythology is needed in this series. It adds nothing nor is it acurate in any way so idk how it’s sooo popular.. and continuing 😶🌫️
The only way I finished when the moon hatched was putting the audiobook on 2x speed 😭 I never could have finished reading it physically. The concept is sooo gorgeous but the writing was terrible and the characters made no sense
The only Romantasy I well and truly loved was The Cruel Prince Series by Holly Black and every romantasy I've read since just hasn't measured up at all. I liked the fact that it was a slow burn enemies to lovers and was more plot heavy than romance heavy. I'm also not a fan of smut so I'm glad that wasn't really a part of it either. If anyone has any book recommendations that are similar to this I am open to it. I don't like Sarah J Maas books or Forth Wing just fyi.
I loveeeeeddd The Games Gods Play! I've felt like reading Hunger Games (in terms of feelings). I just had a damn good time and I'll be reading the sequel (that's coming out in september 2025 😭)
I’m so glad you felt that way about Apprentice to the Villain. I liked the first one just enough to get the sequel and I DNF Apprentice. I just… realized I couldn’t stand the way it was written. It felt like it was trying too hard.. I don’t know. I just couldn’t get past the first half.
I really know little beyond the titles, but for some reason my mind goes to Assistant to the Villain being their love story and Apprentice to the Villain being about them having a baby.
There's a book called The Gilded Nexus of Prosperity, and it talks about how using some secret techniques you can attract a lot of money, it's not some bullshit law of attraction, it's the real deal
I'm glad you hated The Veiled Kingdom. The "hero" pissed me off so much. He's *so* possessive and controlling, and I hate how much he enjoys humiliating her
I also don’t like cozy books but your take kind of bothered me tbh. Saying that cozy books shouldn’t have low stakes is equivalent to saying romance books shouldn’t have a guaranteed HEA, it goes against the point of the genre. I’m sure some people would say that knowing a romance book will end with the couple together ruins the tension so romance books shouldn’t guarantee a HEA and people who are nervous about the ending should just reread books they know they like, but that would render the point of the genre and its HEAs pointless. If you want higher stakes you just shouldn’t read cozy fantasy since that’s the whole point of the subgenre existing. Some people just really love slice of life stories so I’m glad the genre has gotten bigger recently.
I listen to audiobooks at 2.5x speed and the amount of passive aggressive comments I get from people when they learn I read that fast... YES I understand what they're saying, YES I "digest" the contents and internalize it and remember it as well as you do while reading with your eyeballs. Sorry my brain works differently I guess??
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i just want romantasy books to give me the same rush i felt reading the shadowhunter books at 13yo😩
Sameeee
So true!
Or the first time i read ACOTAR
that's gonna be difficult because you're not 13 anymore
YES YES TO THIS WHY CANT WE FIND THIS AMYMORE
the warm lighting in the parts where you are sitting in bed chatting at night is sooo calming and cozy
as a heavy romantasy reader, I def agree with your ending statement! since there's a bit of a boom going on rn it's getting a bit over-saturated, but I am hopeful it will lead to authors starting to experiment and creating some really unique stories to stand out amongst the crowd
To me a cozy book can have plot, but conflict is the antithesis to cozy imo. I think it’s okay that these books exist, even if they’re not right for everyone, because they are right for some of us.
Right the take of cozy fantasy shouldn’t exist bc I don’t like it and want more from it and people with anxiety or the people who enjoy this genre should just be limited to rereading the same safe books they already know is crazy..
@ashlieketchum878 yeah I was surprised to hear that take like that's such an insane thing to say???
I think people love cozy for the similar reason some romance readers want a guaranteed HEA. It’s comforting to know things will turn out in the end!
Thank you mother, now I know what to delete from my tbr shelf
I fully disagree re: the cozy trend, lol. What it is, before hashtags infected irl vocabulary, is low stakes slice of life stories (in this case romantasy) centered on characters, not action. It is a very old and absolutely legitimate genre and type of story. And, with my apologies and respect, The Spellshop definitely has character journeys and plot. That said, not all types of stories work for everyone, and that's ok. And of course, like with any genre, it's not a given that an author will be able to write an excellent slice of life story.
i appreciate your perspective, thanks for sharing this
I haven't gotten to this part of the video yet but I appreciate such a well written opinion without being rude.
I actually appreciated your perspective as a reader who reads romance and fantasy but not really romantasy. The genre is so saturated right now it is hard to know what I might like or what people are liking when they recommend these books. But your reviews were very, "this book has lots of this and not enough of this and these vibes" which are exactly what I would look for as someone who also doesn't read romantasy but likes romance and fantasy lol
Love the video, but disagree on the cosy fantasy thoughts. Yes rereading books you know is great, but as someone with anxiety I find low stakes stories really soothing.
I'm probably the only person in the world who preferred Apprentice to the Villain to the first book. I found it less annoying, the encounters less repetitive and the fact that things were progressing from A to B helped in keeping me engaged. Or it just helped that I switched to audiobook this time around, IDK. Still not really my thing but it worked as a palate cleanser
excited to watch bc your opinions crack me up. but i have to say, you look amazing!
thanks 🫶🏻🫶🏻
describing a love interest as a shot of malort I'm crying
So agree with you on Quicksilver. I really haven’t enjoyed romantasy since I gobbled up ACOTAR in 2019. Quicksilver was so very good!
Being super annoying about how much I loved Quicksilver is like 60% of my personality at this point
I love when you do these videos because this is where I try and get my recommendations haha
I really like the concept of romantasy as a genre too, I haven't read too many books in this genre yet to determine if I love it like I love romance and fantasy, but I've noticed that most of them literally sound the same and it also sounds like you either get a great romance but no fantasy element or the other way around. So for me, it doesn't sound like the genre is doing that great tbh.
I think the only romantasy books at the moment I'm excited to pick up are Quicksilver and trial of the sun queen {thanks to you} so thank you for powering through to make this video haha. I remember watching your vlogs a couple of months ago when you mentioned reading some of these books 😄
I’d really love to see you pick up The Aurelian Cycle - especially with the release of Onyx Storm coming up.
Its premise of the first book is dragon riding war collage (done WAY better than FW) but it’s a completed trilogy …one of my favorites I’ve read over the past few years.
Rosaria Munda should have got all the hype Rebecca got IMO.
i'm not really into dragons but i've heard good things about those books!
@ I never was either lol it’s more court politics than anything .. but the yearning and character dynamics is ELITE 😮💨
ugh i’ve been waiting for you to read zodiac academy, it’s sooooooo ridiculous but i read the first like 7 books in less than a month bc they were so addicting 🤣
Loved this! This was so much fun! Quicksilver was my favorite too.
Quicksilver was definitely my favorite of the list here. But check out House of Bane and Blood by Alexis L. Menard if you’re looking for something unique. It’s steampunk and gives Six of Crows vibes and is a completed duology!
yeees! so excited about this video :D
i wanted quicksilver to win so bad! SJM really effed up w the CC series imo. first book i liked, second book was ok, third book had me speeding through ir bc i just wanted to finish.
the honey witch was such an odd book, it def didn't work for me. the writing was so stilted and I agree: it was FINE, but ultimately forgettable lol (also agree that it was sometimes cozy, but also sometimes... not. it couldn't really decide what it wanted to do)
Absolutely loved this video!
17:27 You’re one of the only people I watch that I don’t speed up 😂
I’m glad to see someone else struggling with when the moon hatched..i dnf’d it so fast, but felt so bad about it😅 I keep trying to hype myself up to pick it up again.. and a touch of darkness makes me actually mad because I don’t understand why the world of Greek mythology is needed in this series. It adds nothing nor is it acurate in any way so idk how it’s sooo popular.. and continuing 😶🌫️
The only way I finished when the moon hatched was putting the audiobook on 2x speed 😭 I never could have finished reading it physically. The concept is sooo gorgeous but the writing was terrible and the characters made no sense
The only Romantasy I well and truly loved was The Cruel Prince Series by Holly Black and every romantasy I've read since just hasn't measured up at all. I liked the fact that it was a slow burn enemies to lovers and was more plot heavy than romance heavy. I'm also not a fan of smut so I'm glad that wasn't really a part of it either. If anyone has any book recommendations that are similar to this I am open to it. I don't like Sarah J Maas books or Forth Wing just fyi.
The only one I was planning on reading was Quicksilver and now I'm adding Trials of the Sun Queen to my list.
Spark of the Everflame! Penn Cole and this series was one of my favorite things to come out of the year!
i loved that first book! holding out for the last one to be released to read the rest of the series though
I loveeeeeddd The Games Gods Play! I've felt like reading Hunger Games (in terms of feelings). I just had a damn good time and I'll be reading the sequel (that's coming out in september 2025 😭)
Quicksilver really was the best 😊
I’m so glad you felt that way about Apprentice to the Villain. I liked the first one just enough to get the sequel and I DNF Apprentice. I just… realized I couldn’t stand the way it was written. It felt like it was trying too hard.. I don’t know. I just couldn’t get past the first half.
I think that you would absolutely love Heavenly Bodies, it's soo fun!
I really know little beyond the titles, but for some reason my mind goes to Assistant to the Villain being their love story and Apprentice to the Villain being about them having a baby.
Not a shot of Malort! lol
There's a book called The Gilded Nexus of Prosperity, and it talks about how using some secret techniques you can attract a lot of money, it's not some bullshit law of attraction, it's the real deal
I used some techniques from that book to make money, and I can truly say I'm earning more now
I know about that book, my father told me about it
Me: *does not read romantasy*
Also me: *watched the entire video*
Most authors are writing specific scenes that will go viral on tiktok. They’re not thinking about the story as a whole and how to properly execute it.
Thank you for speaking the truth about When The Moon Hatched 😬
I'm glad you hated The Veiled Kingdom. The "hero" pissed me off so much. He's *so* possessive and controlling, and I hate how much he enjoys humiliating her
I dnf when the moon hatched too ugh 😫
I also don’t like cozy books but your take kind of bothered me tbh. Saying that cozy books shouldn’t have low stakes is equivalent to saying romance books shouldn’t have a guaranteed HEA, it goes against the point of the genre. I’m sure some people would say that knowing a romance book will end with the couple together ruins the tension so romance books shouldn’t guarantee a HEA and people who are nervous about the ending should just reread books they know they like, but that would render the point of the genre and its HEAs pointless. If you want higher stakes you just shouldn’t read cozy fantasy since that’s the whole point of the subgenre existing. Some people just really love slice of life stories so I’m glad the genre has gotten bigger recently.
not out back by the crick hahahahah
I think it’s so silly that the 9th book was nominated 😂😂
I listen to audiobooks at 2.5x speed and the amount of passive aggressive comments I get from people when they learn I read that fast... YES I understand what they're saying, YES I "digest" the contents and internalize it and remember it as well as you do while reading with your eyeballs. Sorry my brain works differently I guess??
LOL POOPY I'm dead 🤣
You don’t really seem to enjoy many books that you read. ??
I also hate cozy books! So boring.
👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻
I’m sorry that When the Moon Hatched didn’t work for you. I love that book so much that after I finished it, I wanted to start back over.