#like the author is ace but yknow sometimes intention =/= being able to portray things with nuance in writing

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

Adrift In Starlight

space opera adventure romance

a courtesan is hired to seduce the soon-to-be-wife of a famous actor

a historian who’s focused on her career & has no idea her marriage has been arranged by her rich parents

after a museum tour they and two co-workers accidentally resurrect an ancient alien artifact and end up on the run from the law, traveling from planet to planet

pan nonbinary transfemme MC, touch-averse ace MC

#adrift in starlight #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #I enjoyed this to an extent! but there's also things i'm iffy about. #while there’s clearly a lot of thought put into the worldbuilding and plot; it still ultimately feels like it’s built around the romance #pacings a bit weird. it goes from a to b very fast. #it really very suddenly pivots to Surviving In The Wild On A Random Planet like……..was that really your only choice?????? #and then suddenly not. they resurrect this ancient alien fossil and go to its home planet and then it’s just like. #next scene now we’re on a pirate station lets go to the baths HUH??? #i get that you have a magic thing that teleports you places fast but like. it doesn’t mean the narrative has to be abrupt too #there’s a lot of ace stuff but also some of it made me ???? #like the author is ace but yknow sometimes intention =/= being able to portray things with nuance in writing #allo character hearing she’s ace and being like ‘oh she’ll only want friendship’ despite supposedly ‘knowing all about asexuality’ #and adjacent: kinda has the vibe that her touch repulsion is Caused By something and has to be Fixed #it makes it clear that that and asexuality are two separate things and the asexual thing is def not something to be changed #but also…..regardless of sexuality; does touch repulsion need to be fixed? if someone’s fine with it? #some very….alloromantic monogamous rhetoric that felt a bit off #-and like to be clear this is me being very picky about little things but idk #another thing: the MC’s size is only mentioned in regards to people being fatphobic at her. #like not excessively but her weight is not ever described neutrally or positively at all? and since she’s thin on the cover I was like….. #is she? or is it just normal in this universe to insult someone’s size as an insult regardless? #(I do understand it can be hard for indie authors to get accurate cover models. but you could have made the contents of the book better) #this is all complaints LOL it's not terrible i gave it 3.5 stars? there's many good aspects but idk #asexual books