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avarice-n-spice-blog · 8 months

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The Shift Key: Book 1 of Key Connections

Summary:

Humans have long since roamed the Earth, but beside them there has always been... The Others.

As the first human to work for Ironside Security's cyber division, Raina knows she has a precedent to set. With a shiny new degree and the knowledge that she is the best at what she does, it should be easy so long as she follows the rules.

One assignment is all it takes to ruin her carefully made plans.

What happens when a stubborn techie and a surly tiger cross paths?

Soren had thought the hardest part about becoming the Warden of the Northern region would be keeping his temper in check. Then when people start mysteriously disappearing, his responsibilities put the one person he thought he'd never see again directly in his path.

One mistake could send her back into his memories.

Preorder:

This is my first book and as of right now I'm shooting to have it done by end of year! Please check it out, and enjoy the first ever excerpt below the cut!

Excerpt:

“Soren, just because no one else has physically touched the cameras, doesn’t mean that they can’t just hack the cameras.”

She was back around, hands flying across her keyboard before she could get anxious over how he would take that news. She was already in the midst of pulling up the information on each camera stream access when she heard the sound of something breaking.

Temen’s following gasp but lack of reprimand confirmed that it was probably Soren who had caused the ruckus, as Raina couldn’t imagine Temen letting anyone else get away with it.

Raina felt more than saw Soren come up behind her, her back heating with his proximity. His shadow fell over her shoulder, and she fought down a shiver when he gripped the back of her chair and his knuckles brushed her back.

“Rain, I need you to explain exactly what you mean by that.“

She hadn’t been so close to a man since her brief stint in the dating scene during her undergraduate studies, and she rationalized that was why her entire body suddenly felt like her skin was far too tight.

‘Oh I need you far, far, away from me,’ she thought to herself as she turned her nervous energy into her job.

“What I mean,” she started quickly,” is that if you wanted a truly isolated camera system you should have gone a little more old school and kept it to physical tapes. Downside to that would be the endless reels you’d need to keep confidential, but then,” she said, beginning to punctuate each word with a quick snip and enlargement of specific text-

“-you wouldn’t have this problem.”

Before them were a series of IP addresses that Raina had surmised did not match anyone currently allowed access to the feeds.

She had thought jumping ahead of the curve and showing him the problem would get him out of her space faster, but instead he leaned far enough in that she could feel his hard stomach against the back of her head. Suddenly he was close enough that she could smell him: clean, woodsy, and something that was utterly Soren.

The unexpected familiarity of it broke something in her, the crack beneath her rib cage as sharp as any bone. This was why she hadn’t wanted to come back. At sixteen she had been afraid she couldn’t live without him. Now she was twenty six, and once again she wanted nothing more than to turn into his arms and bury herself in him.

Worse, he wasn’t even in his furry form.

“You wanna translate for me?”

She could practically feel the bass in his voice, the rough under current of his near constant growl rolling through her and making her nipples peak against her will.

There was one haunting second where he leaned in impossibly closer, the heat between them suddenly stifling, everyone else forgotten to her human senses except for the shifter caging her in. She felt trapped in way she couldn’t decide if she loved her hated.

When she saw him brace a hand beside her keyboard, she fought not to think about how the too sharp tips of his claws would feel against her skin.

She was a scant second away from embarrassing herself in front of her entire team when she managed to find the will to bring her chair back in a hard spin, jumping up and knocking him off her.

He was, of course, staring at her with a shit eating grin. Those bright blue eyes of his were shining with the same heat currently burning through her body, so she opened her mouth and killed it as brutally as she killed.

“Translation? Those are all the times someone has accessed your security feeds without your permission.”

The smirk finally fell off his face, but it didn’t make her feel better.

“Who?” he questioned.

Raina eyed him for a second, trying to decide the best way to approach the situation.

“Right now I just know that the feeds were accessed, the who will take more time,” she told him truthfully. She had automatically ran the addresses as soon as they were tagged as unknown, but they had all been fake.

Evidently having finally decided it was safe to join the conversation, Temen said asked “How much time?”

Raina understood the severity of the situation given the fact that the creeps they were looking for where in the people snatching industry. It was a time sensitive situation, and as Raina ran through the possibilities in her mind, the options were not looking pretty.

She could do it for sure, though requesting the necessary access to certain databases would take time. That was what she couldn’t accurately gauge, as her first instinct was to bypass those databases to get to what she wanted. One route was right, and one was illegal.

She knew the right thing to do, though.

Her mouth had barely opened to tell them it would take 5-7 business days to get the proper clearences before Soren was once again demanding her attention. He was in her space in seconds, large body moving with grace.

“You can do it now cant you?”

From inches away, he looked down on her, gaze sure.

So she sidestepped towards her team lead like a coward and shook her head.

“No, I can’t-“

“Can’t or won’t?” he pressed, moving forward.

She threw up her hands in defeat, as if that would stop him.

“Soren its not legal for me to-“

“Legal?” he bit out, voice dropping into something less human, “Since when have the rules ever stopped you?”

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rockislandadultreads · 1 year

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New in Horror: Oct 2022 Releases

It Rides a Pale Horse by Andy Marino

The Larkin siblings are known around the small town of Wofford Falls. Both are artists, but Peter Larkin, Lark to his friends, is the hometown hero. The one who went to the big city and got famous, then came back and settled down. He’s the kind of guy who becomes fast friends with almost anyone. His sister Betsy on the other hand is more… eccentric. She keeps to herself. When Lark goes to deliver one of his latest pieces to a fabulously rich buyer, it seems like a regular transaction. Even being met at the gate of the sprawling, secluded estate by an intimidating security guard seems normal. Until the guard plays him a live feed: Betsy being abducted in real time. Lark is informed that she’s safe for now, but her well‑being is entirely in his hands. He's given a book. Do what the book says, and Betsy will go free. It seems simple enough. But as Lark begins to read he realizes: the book might be demonic. Its writer may be unhinged. His sister's captors are almost certainly not what they seem. And his town and those within it are... changing. And the only way out is through.

The Hollow Kind by Andy Davidson

Nellie Gardner is looking for a way out of an abusive marriage when she learns that her long-lost grandfather, August Redfern, has willed her his turpentine estate. She throws everything she can think of in a bag and flees to Georgia with her eleven-year-old son, Max, in tow. It turns out that the estate is a decrepit farmhouse on a thousand acres of old pine forest, but Nellie is thrilled about the chance for a fresh start for her and Max, and a chance for the happy home she never had. So it takes her a while to notice the strange scratching in the walls, the faint whispering at night, how the forest is eerily quiet. But Max sees what his mother can't: They're no safer here than they had been in South Carolina. In fact, things might even be worse. There's something wrong with Redfern Hill. Something lurks beneath the soil, ancient and hungry, with the power to corrupt hearts and destroy souls. It is the true legacy of Redfern Hill: a kingdom of grief and death, to which Nellie's own blood has granted her the key.

The House at Phantom Park by Graham Masterton

n this abandoned hospital, pain lives on... and it wants revenge. St Philomena's military hospital has been abandoned for over three years. Now Lilian Chesterfield, who works for one of the most successful building companies in England, is in charge of developing it into a luxury housing complex. But as soon as she and her colleagues start work in the Jacobean-style mansion, their dream turns into a nightmare. They hear screaming from wards full of empty beds. They hear doors slamming and find cutlery scattered over the kitchen floor. Then they see faces peering at them from the mullioned windows. Lilian is pragmatic – she doesn't believe in the supernatural. But just when she's put her mind at rest by scouring the mansion from top to bottom and finding nothing, a former patient of St Philomena's arrives with a warning. The hospital is haunted. And it is haunted by something a thousand times more terrifying than ghosts...

Lute by Jennifer Marie Thorne

On the idyllic island of Lute, every seventh summer, seven people die. No more, no less.

Lute and its inhabitants are blessed, year after year, with good weather, good health, and good fortune. They live a happy, superior life, untouched by the war that rages all around them. So it’s only fair that every seven years, on the day of the tithe, the island’s gift is honored.

Nina Treadway is new to The Day. A Florida girl by birth, she became a Lady through her marriage to Lord Treadway, whose family has long protected the island. Nina’s heard about The Day, of course. Heard about the horrific tragedies, the lives lost, but she doesn’t believe in it. It's all superstitious nonsense. Stories told to keep newcomers at bay and youngsters in line.

Then The Day begins. And it's a day of nightmares, of grief, of reckoning. But it is also a day of community. Of survival and strength. Of love, at its most pure and untamed. When The Day ends, Nina―and Lute―will never be the same.

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alixx-black · 2 months

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Books! Books! Books! Read My Books!

I am #writing #books and they obvs are my #readingrecs - so let me tell you all about them.

I know! I know! What do you mean books? You’ve been posting poetry every day. That is a factual statement. However, I wrote all of these poems over the course of several months and have been scheduling them to post regularly. What I’m proactively working on right now are multiple novellas and an anthology series over on WattPad. It was always the plan to put multi-chapter works on a different…

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#anthology #author #book rec #books #fantasy #LGBT stories #new adult #novellas #paranormal #romance #scifi #self promo #Short Fiction #short story #story rec #wattpad #young adult

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jessread-s · 2 years

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✩🌑⚔️Review:

THIS. NOVELLA. IS. EVERYTHING. We FINALLY get to read from Des’ point-of-view and the wait was certainly worth it!

Thalassa shares snippets of Des’ life, ranging from his childhood to the events leading up to “Dark Harmony.” Through Des, the reader is also able to piece together his mother Larissa’s past. We learn of the sacrifices she made for her son, making her death all the more devastating and impactful. The loss Des experiences fuels his anger, motivates him to exact his revenge, and sheds light on the choices Des makes later in life.

My heart nearly burst at the seams after discovering that Des knew that Callie existed before actually meeting her. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about this time in his life—a time when he swore off falling in love, but could not deny the strong feelings that developed as soon as Callie called upon his services as the Bargainer. Thalassa perfectly captures the exact moment Des realizes that he is in love and I savored every interaction with Callie written from his perspective thereafter.

My heart felt so full only to be shattered once Callie’s final wish separated the two of them. Though painful, knowing how Des spent his seven years parted from Callie answered a lot of my lingering questions from the previous two books.

While this novella does not come close to telling Des’ whole life story, Thalassa cleverly highlights the most important moments in his past that helps us finally understand why he is the way he is. For that reason, “The Emperor of Evening Stars” is a necessary read for fans of “The Bargainer” series!

➤ 4.5 stars

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

@laurathalassa

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bookish-wanderer · 5 months

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Book Review & Excerpt: Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

Sparks fly when an occult expert and a disgraced archeologist become rivals with benefits in this steamy opposites-attract romance from “go-to author” Rosie Danan (The New York Times Book Review). Riley Rhodes finally has the chance to turn her family’s knack for the supernatural into a legitimate business when she’s hired to break the curse on an infamous Scottish castle. Used to working alone…

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#2023 new release #bloggers #book bloggers #book recs #book reviewers #Book Reviews #bookish #contemporary romance #enemies to lovers #fantasy #new adult #paranormal #romcom

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laurenevers · 5 months

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It’s been a while! After a hiatus, I am announcing my next book, POSSESSION. Description, details, and links below!

Thanks to everyone who has followed. Reach out to me if you’d be willing to obtain a review copy ❤️

To be released December 30th, 2023.

A GOD CANNOT REMAIN TRAPPED. NOT FOR FOREVER.

No one knows what Aris really is. He came to this world three years ago and was stopped just before he managed to destroy it. But he wasn't exactly stopped, more like locked away. Inside of a person.

Mary was a regular girl before she became the host of a homicidal entity. Though powerless and nothing more than a voice in the back of her head, his presence changed everything for her. Now imprisoned and shunned, she's learned to cohabitate and converses with Aris to stay sane. They read books, watch movies, and she listens to his plans for world domination.

Maybe they've even become something like... friends?

As the years pass, she's come to accept that this is all her life will ever be. Until, one day, the amulet keeping Aris inside of Mary begins to malfunction. With the threat of his escape imminent, faced with the possibility of having a real life again, Mary starts to fight for freedom…. forgetting all the while that Aris might have become a little too attached during their time together.

With cults, magic, and gods, Possession tells the story of a girl desperate for her own life, and a god, more interested in keeping her trapped in his own.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/184912074

#new author #publishing #writing #book recommendations #possession #young adult #paranormal romance #book recs #book recs 2023

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darkriter · 7 months

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The Nomad, 16th story in No One of Consequence Vol.V, now on Amazon in paperback and hard cover, as well as Kindle Unlimited.

#books #booktok #horror #indie author #kindle unlimited #short story #spooky season #book launch #new books #book recs #good reads #halloween #scary stories #paranormal

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lexxwithbooks · 2 years

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📖: 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏'𝒔 𝑺𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 (𝐼𝑐𝑒 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝐵𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 #17) ❄️🇫🇷🌨

✍🏽: 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐱𝐨𝐧

Get the book! 🌟

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ejunkiet · 1 month

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ej's adventures in romance: the good, the bad, the ugly

i've had kindle unlimited for the few months, and have been on a deep deep dive into all the recs from the romance genre that i can get my grubby little paws on. I've read.... many, many books. so many.

I've made a rec list of my new fave authors in the genre before, and this is not that. I'm just gonna list what I've read, by tropes, with ratings, and you can read my full reviews on goodreads. I've gone there. there are quite a few of the booktok hits here, because they came up on rec lists, and I'm gonna give my honest opinions on them okay. my goodreads!

Before we get down and dirty, have my actual recs from the last month: Heather Guerre remains a diamond in the rough, although she can now be joined by a further two authors: Kathyrn Moon (smutty RH queen) and Zoey Draven, a surprise last minute entry that doesn't shy away from darker themes, but handles them maturely.

other recs are the obvious: Talia Hibbert, Katee Roberts, and our very own @dominimoonbeam (whose book Doors I've been reccing a LOT lately, as I love it so much, and the sequel will be out soon >:3)

Okay. lets do this. this gets long, be warned. >:3

the "grovel" trope

books where the MMC fucks up and tries to make up for their mistakes. a good read where you get a healthy dose of angst and then a lot of making up for it. can be a great cathartic read.

Cate C. Wells has a whole series dedicated to this, "the five packs", one of which I already recommended as a guilty pleasure: the lone wolf's rejected mate". Now look, these books are ridiculous, the worldstate is terrible, each pack is a dude fest that reeks of misogyny, but they're pretty fun. I've read book 1 and book 3. I want to stab the MMC of book 1 with a rusty spork. you can skip it.

the lone wolf's rejected mate however is a ride, with a broken MMC who rejects his soulmate because he thinks he's too broken (literally, his wolf tries to kill her), and then they get captured, save each other, and he builds her a treehouse, yada yada. mind the content warnings, but if you want to read something OTT that basically epitomises the craziness that is the PNR and "grovel" romance genre, read this, and hold onto your butts.

the paranormal romance genre: shifters, vampires and more

Heather Guerre's books. okay, so actual recs. She focuses on characters from working class backgrounds with a sprinkle of the paranormal thrown in, everyone is over the age of 25 (thank god, most are in their 30s), and she can really write. I won't tag Eeshley again, but the "Tooth and Claw" series was their rec and *chefs kiss*. this is still the self-published romance genre, so these books could use an editor/polish, but honestly, I'm a big fan of her writing, and have picked up all her books. (her contemporary romance is also excellent.)

post-apocalyptic trope

Claire Kent's books. Imagine Joel from the last of us as a book series. I've only read Last Light so far, which is the prequel to a longer series that explores life in america 5+ years after an asteroid collides with western europe, causing global environmental catastrophes. I'm not 100% sold on her world building, but this is a romance novel, and the way she writes the characters and their relationships are human and organic, and the most realistic I've come across so far. the world state is the walking dead, with evil biker gangs that rape and pillage. i'm assuming this is an american thing, but can't comment on what it'd be like in the UK considering we no longer exist, due to aforementioned asteroid collision. probably for the best.

omegaverse and reverse harem tropes

yeah, I thought omegaverse was just a fanfic thing too. it's not, and it is super prevalent in het romance. it was never really my thing in fanfic, and the fact it is not a shifter thing was very surprising to me, as knots/packs/heat/rut still exist, but it's just humans with animalistic traits. I kept on waiting for the motorcycle gang in 'baby and the late night howlers' to turn into wolves, and they never did.

So Kathryn Moon writes some delicious reverse harem books. I read the first of monsterfucker series 'a lady of rooksgrave manor' years ago, and liked it, although there wasn't enough plot for me to continue. she writes excellent smut. Seriously, just really, really good smut. BIG FAN. I've been making my way through her 'Sweetverse' series, which has more connections and actual relationships between the characters, and polymances, and I recommend starting with Lola + the millionaires, if you can handle a little omegaverse. mind the content warnings, this is a book about recovering from trauma, which happened in the first book (baby's book, although offscreen. Lola has a lot of flashbacks in italics.)

Otherwise, you can stick with the monsterfucker books! I bought her latest monster series off of regular kindle, instead of KU, and I'm really excited to read it hehehe

"mars need more women" and "fated mate" tropes

hehehe okay HERE WE GO. these books are all about women ending up on planets where due to some sort of cataclysmic event - disease, mostly - 80% of the female population of the planet has died. now as we're not here for angst, the arrival of these women are usually due to some other species abducting them, and they are then "rescued" or recovered after a crash on metaphorical mars, which needs a better sex ratio to ensure the survival of the species.

this trope is coupled with "fated mate" tropes, where basically the rescued/recovered women end up with a devoted alien husband, who yearns until he can win her over (we're all about consent here folks)

the ice planet barbarians series by ruby dixon. this is basically na'vi aliens that crashlanded on an ice planet 250 odd years ago, and have made it their home, living in tribal colonies. to survive in this planet's toxic atmosphere, they've taken in a native parasite called a 'khui' which helps their bodies adapt to the climate and atmosphere. the women in the books also receive the same parasite to survive (they're given the choice), and this is the basis of the "mate bonds" formed throughout the series.

now book 1 is a rocky start, and the weakest of the series. I nearly put it down because of the first 20 pages. you can skip the first 20 pages. it basically recounts the abduction of the women from their home planet, and mistreatment by their captors (tw for sexual assault of a side character, not explicit). the ship malfunctions, and the women "cargo" are dropped onto the ice planet, where they are found by the not-na'vi, who are called sa-khui, because of the parasite.

now the rest of the series is about adapting to life on an alien planet, understanding the culture of the sa-khui, and gaining a devoted alien hubby. look, I read four books in a week. they're fun, they're exciting, the smut is good, and it's an easy read. it's also written by an experienced and practiced author, as the topics are handled maturely, it doesn't take itself too seriously, and it has great representation.

(one of my favourite books in the series, book 7, is centred around Lilah, who was born deaf and had a cochlear implant that was surgically removed during the abduction. the book focuses on her struggling to adapt to life on the planet, aided by a sa-khui that rescues her and learns ASL to communicate, and it's an excellent read okay)

I'd say read book 1 (maybe skipping first 20 pages, or even to part 2) for context, read book 2 (my favourite of the series omg), and then pick and choose from there!! I've read 1,2,4,7, and I'm gonna end up coming back for more hehehe.

"choosing theo" is another in this genre, but it didn't quite vibe with me. it leans into the 'rescued human ends up on a planet that needs women for propagation', with a matriarchal society where the men go to husbandry school to learn how to please women, and all residents of the planet are required to participate in three month long marriages to try to find potential mates to propagate the species. the premise is a fun one, but the first book is not the strongest, and I didn't continue from there. (another rusty spork for the MMC...)

dothraki in space trope

we're at the end of my trope list! I liked the ice planet barbarian series a lot, and I'd kept on seeing the Horde Kings of Dakkar by Zoey Draven recommended, and they are good. (thank you woofs >:3) think dothraki from GoT in space; humans live in small, poorly maintained colonies on the Dakkar planet, where they aren't allowed to hunt or damage the earth. offenses are punishable by death. these books lean into the captive trope, and handle the issues of the worldstate and navigating cultural differences super well, with a heavy dose of consent and BAMF heroines that rise up to their situation and make a place for themselves in their new (objectively better) lives.

i'm on book two now, and I love the maturity in the characters and the writing (which I did not find in 'choosing theo'), and they're an excellent romp. fantastic rec, really glad I picked this up >:3

am I finally going to take a break from my reading binge now? I keep on saying I will, and then not doing that ahahahaha. my kindle library is still stuffed full, mainly with other books from my fave authors above, but also some nice space horror to round it off.

next on my list is gonna be either 'Haunt, Heart, Havoc', a horror romance that I've been meaning to read forever, or 'Dead silence', which is aliens meets titanic in space. >:3 if you read all of this, KUDOS TO YOU, have a lovely sunday ahahaha!

#ej adventures in romance #so nobody asked for this but I've been keeping track hehehe and honestly it's been super interesting diving into romance land #you can still find better writing - especially with actual smut - on ao3.#in general romance authors go for volume and tropey plots that don't do the subjects justice! major romance pitfall #which I blame on the need to churn out full books for consumption. commercialisation ruins quality #tmi

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antimony-medusa · 3 months

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Finding Stories

Okay so I started a conversation/poll the other week about anon fics, which clearly made it clear that I had the wrong impression about anon fics. I thought that people avoided them, whereas it turns out most people don't even notice if a story is anon.

However, it started me thinking about how people find stories in general. Because this would imply that anon stories get found because people are reading new in a fandom, are they actually doing that? And do people find published books the same way, just reading in the bookstore or free-scrolling on a site? So. I ran two new polls. Fandom. Published books.

And I gotta say that this was clearly something fired off while I was avoiding my communications class, and I have never taken stats. This is in no way formal. But I was really interested in the things that are similar and the things that were different. Do patterns change when you're actually spending money for things? What happens when people click boxes?

First off, in both cases, the thing that won the poll was "browsing new", either in the fandom or in the bookstore. But the percentages were quite different.

I figured that knowing "I want to go to the paranormal shifter romance section of the bookstore" is approximately equivalent to "I know I want to read Stucky Omegaverse" so I compared those two percentages. 49.3% of fic readers were out here just scrolling new, whereas only 28.4% of people would just rock up to a bookstore and start looking around. (or IS this true? A lot of people in the "several of these" (24.2%) said they did a lot of these, but they did not regularly specify if that meant they just browsed in a bookstore.)

I figured that sorting by kudos or hits would give you a similar impression as being on a book social media, where the popular books rise to the top. 24.8% of people were looking for what was popular in fandom, whereas 11.2% of book people were looking for buzz books. On the fandom side people said frequently that when they were new to a fandom they would read by kudos to get a sense of what the fandom was like, whereas there wasn't really an equivalent experience reported on the book side of discovering a sub-genre and reading popular in it. People just didn't mention it? Possibly. It's noteworthy that on the fandom side being able to target your search specifically by tag or ship was wildly popular and came up again and again in the notes, whereas on the book side I saw less people saying things like "when I know I want a cozy mystery"— possibly the poll didn't hit cozy mystery or paranormal romance readers.

Getting personal recs: this was a Very big one on the book side and less on the fandom side. 18.2% of people on the book side would go to librarians or friends, whereas only 12.4% of people on the fandom side would look in bookmarks or get recs from people. Possibly that is because a book club is thing and in many circles reading books is a social activity, whereas while being in fandom is a social activity, the specific fics you are reading is not as much the same thing. I know a lot of people mentioned in the fandom side that matters of taste would come up, and that they'd be aware that what other people would rec wouldn't be of interest to them. One big thing on the fandom side though, people mentioned very frequently going through the bookmarks of authors they trusted, so if you are an author, people are begging you to leave your bookmarks public.

Sticking with authors you trust: this is something that I expected to be much bigger on the fandom side than it was, and part of that may come down to how I phrased the poll, as I had people saying that their subscriptions aren't "new fics", they already found them. However, the result that I got was 2% of people read from their subscriptions for fic, and 4% of people stick with trusted authors for published books. Clearly more people will get auto-buy authors in the published world, but it's still a comparatively small percentage.

And then closing it up: 0.9% of people read for specific themes or events on the fandom side, and 2.2% of people read things like best of genres or horror recs on goodreads, 0.2% of people read ARCs, and 0.2% of people read email blasts like book funnel and their "best regency paranormals" emails. Is this a perfect comparison? No. Mostly I was impressed that any people still selected that they read for specific events on the fandom side, though I think some of that was people meaning that they read In The Gore Tag, and not reading like, Goreswap 2024 Exchange.

Do I have any conclusions? Not really, other than going oh man, people do legitimately just find the stories they want to read by browsing. A good summary/cover copy+cover legitimately can help people find your story. And please please please make at least some of your bookmarks public people are crying.

#poll

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rockislandadultreads · 2 years

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Romance & Epic Fantasies: a booklist

checkout these ebooks on Hoopla with your local library card!

The Night & Its Moon by Piper C.J.

Farleigh is just an orphanage. At least, that’s what the church would have the people believe, but beautiful orphans Nox and fae-touched Amaris know better. They are commodities for sale, available for purchase by the highest bidder. So when the madame of a notorious brothel in a far-off city offers a king’s ransom to purchase Amaris, Nox ends up taking her place — while Amaris is drawn away to the mountains, home of mysterious assassins. Even as they take up new lives and identities, Nox and Amaris never forget one thing: they will stop at nothing to reunite. But the threat of war looms overhead, and the two are inevitably swept into a conflict between human and fae, magic and mundane. With strange new alliances, untested powers, and a bond that neither time nor distance could possibly break, the fate of the realms lies in the hands of two orphans — and the love they hold for one another.

King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair

Their Union Is His Revenge. Isolde de Lara considers her wedding day her death day. To end a years-long war, she is to marry vampire king, Adrian Aleksandr Vasiliev, and kill him. But her assassination attempt is thwarted and Adrian threatens that if Isolde tries to kill him again, he will raise her as the undead. Faced with the possibility of becoming the thing she hates most, Isolde seeks other ways to defy him and survive the brutal vampire court. Except it isn’t the court she fears most — it’s Adrian. Despite their undeniable chemistry, she wonders why the king — fierce, savage, merciless — chose her as consort. The answer will shatter her world.

Songs of the Wicked by C.A. Farran

Fear is not my master. I will never submit. A grave threat looms over the mortal world. The veil that separates the realms has weakened over time, and monsters-Undesirables-claw their way out of the Netherworld to torment the living. What once dwelled in whispered stories now stalks the shadows. The only guard against chaos is balance. Reapers are duty bound to uphold that balance, tasked with guiding mortal souls to the afterlife. Lark secretly dreams of shedding her immortal chains and forging her own path. She's captivated by the humans and envies their freedom, their passion, their anguish. Her master, Thanar, god of death, forbids this fascination and demands her utmost loyalty. When Lark encounters a mortal whose fire and suffering awakens something in her, she denies fate and saves him, refusing to guide him to his death. To escape Thanar's wrath, Lark makes a deal with the witch-queen of the Netherworld and is remade as human-trading her power for mortality. She flees through the veil and enters the land of the living, unaware she isn't the only one freed from the clutches of the Netherworld.

A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

KINGDOMS WILL RISE AND FALL FOR HER... Cat Fisa isn't who she pretends to be. She's perfectly content disguised as a soothsayer in a traveling circus, avoiding the destiny the Gods—and her dangerous family—have saddled her with. As far as she's concerned, the magic humming within her blood can live and die with her. She won't be anyone’s pawn. But then she locks eyes with an ambitious warlord from the magic-deprived south and her illusion of safety is shattered forever. Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker—the woman able to divine truth through lies—and he wants her to be a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm. Kidnapping her off the street is simple enough, but keeping her by his side is infuriatingly tough. Cat fights him at every turn, showing a ferocity of spirit that burns hot...and leaves him desperate for more. But can he ever hope to prove to his once-captive that he wants her there by his side as his equal, his companion—and maybe someday, his Queen? Discover the white-hot fantasy willing to break all the rules.

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belle-keys · 1 year

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My Hogwarts House book recs

Okay, ever since some of my favorite booktubers made posts like these many a year ago, I always wanted to make a book rec list like this because I still genuinely do like the Hogwarts Houses. Enjoy!

Gryffindor

Graceling by Kristen Cashore - she walked so these new fantasy girlies could run, fantasy kingdom with assassin main character, the original ya high fantasy killer girlboss imo

A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin - all of the sympathetic leads are classic heroes (dany, jon, arya), adventure and politics and battle and dragons, nuanced outlooks on honor

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - ww2 novel, deals with the french resistance during the occupation, hit every spot in my cold black heart, emphasis on sisterhood and endurance

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - what is bravery if not a broke woman telling a rich man to get a grip, og strong female lead overcoming many challenges, criticisms of polite society

Hufflepuff

Crave by Tracy Wolff - big on found family, paranormal romance shenanigans in a boarding school, somewhat satire, unserious and just very wholesome, steeped in nostalgia uwu

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir - unapologetically written to heal and explore trauma, cathartic, wholesome and pure relationships, emphasis on self-growth and overcoming abuse and pain

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali - historical, about the value of relationships in war and hardship, themes of growth and acceptance and promises, beautiful story

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic - what happens when you let a bunch of mentally ill kids play a made up sport, angsty but feels like a big hug, contemporary fiction, just genius ok

Ravenclaw

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake - very slytherclaw, philosophy and physics as the basis, dark academia urban fantasy, character-driven, multiple POVs, morally grey academics

Babel by RF Kuang - this book has been likened to a history textbook, by a nerd girlie for the nerd girlies, linguistics and languages, super well-researched, condemns colonization

Disorientation by Elain Hsieh Chou - witty and sharp narration and dialogue, set in academia and deals with east asian literature, satire and black comedy, explores racial fetishization

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - only a ravenclaw could appreciation its complexity, so many literary references, stylistically immaculate, lots of room to debate its message and themes

Slytherin

Vicious by VE Schwab - perfect moral quandaries demonstrated here, everyone is morally dark grey, supervillains, very angsty and also profound at times, dark academia

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - my man makes a deal with the devil for eternal youth and beauty, everyone here is morally dubious, murder and orgies and philosophy

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - exhausted woman does what she needs to do, female rage book, does some interesting things with pov, justified evil, amy dunne is insane and it's great

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao - tired chinese woman does what she needs to do and kills men, very unhinged queen behavior, ambition and god complexes, pacific rim but in china

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oswednesday · 3 months

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do you have any podcast reccs

yes! we have a fine selection! might i recommend the house's podcast: creepypasta book club by myself and @withswords

if you have a craving for a narrative story, well, there are plenty in stock! but if you're new to this medium, you could start with knifepoint horror or the black tapes or welcome to nightvale ; i suppose if you're looking for something new and (have a strong stomach) then i rec the story must be told but if that's a bit much then the magnus archives and unwell would be my new to go to-s for introducing people to narrative podcasts; once you have acquired the taste for narrative podcasts, i love everything about zoomdoom: my recs listening order is mirrors, the six disappearances of ella mccray and then SPINES

if you're into batman things or open to getting into batman things then you Simply Must try rogues! the podcast

are you looking for something nonfictional? then i would rec nocturne a podcast about people who live their lives at night and the politics of nighttime, if you are into the personal, single moment memoir style then terrible, thanks for asking would be my go to for that!

if you have an interest in a sort of fusion cuisine, the museum of vanishing dog weaves topics of interest through a fictitious museum and snap judgement presents: spooked the stories are presented as true accounts of the paranormal by those who submit but i suppose thats up to the listener to decide!

if you are looking for tabletop podcasts well the most obvious one would be the adventure zone ah i feel like i should have more rec's for this, well if you want more i can pull that menu out later

and while i dont recommend starting if you dont listen to "true crime" now, it would be ignorant to act like it doesnt take up a sizable space of the podcastosphere but if youre already taking part then i would rec bear brook

#whats everyone listening to these days!

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fearthefluff · 1 year

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Fantasy Romance Recommendations Pt.2

This is list number 2 and it will be focusing on Urban Fantasy and Contemporary romance with fantasy elements. For more traditional Fantasy recs, check list 1! Maybe it will help someone somewhere. XD ***Some of the books listed here are not Romance novels officially but all have romance and have HFN or HEA endings Urban Fantasy Romance (Paranormal Romance)

Hidden Legacy Series by Ilona Andrews 2 Trilogies Nevada Baylor is a Truthseeker; she is able to tell when people lie. When her family's detective agency is tasked with apprehending a powerful fire wielding psychopath, it puts them on the path of collision with the powerful magical elite who rules Houston. Guildcodex Series by Annette Marie 4 Series. Spellbound, Demonized, Unveiled and Wraped. When feisty redhead Tori landed a job at a sketchy pub, she had no idea she'd just joined a magic guild. And the three guys she drenched with a margarita during her first shift? Yeah, they were mages. She's about to get a crash course in the world of magic and mythics. Mercernary Librarians Trilogy by Kit Rocha Meet the Mercenary Librarians: a trio of information brokers who join forces with a squad of elite super-soldiers to use their knowledge to help the hopeless in a dystopian post-apocalyptic United States ruled by a corporate autocracy. Psy-Changeling Series by Nalini Singh A world shared by Changeling, a race of animal shifters , the Psy, a race of powerful psychic who live without emotions and Humans. Tension between the 3 races are rising. The Firebrand Series by Helen Harper Emma, an aspiring detective, is placed with the Supernatural Squad in London. Soon she is brutally murdered by an unknown assailant, wakes up twelve hours later in the morgue – and is very much alive. Contemporary Romance with Fantasy Elements The Dead Romantic by Ashley Poston Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem... she no longer believes in love. Then her new editor shows up at her front door as a ghost. Romance is most certainly dead... but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family--and a new love--changes the course of her life. A Stitch in Time by Kelley Armstrong Thorne Manor has always been haunted...and it has always haunted Bronwyn Dale. As a young girl, Bronwyn could pass through a time slip in her great-aunt’s house, where she visited William Thorne, a boy her own age, born two centuries earlier.

#Fantasy Romance Recommendations Pt.2 #fantasy romance #fantasy #romance #fantasy books #urban fantasy #paranormal romance #ilona andrews #annette marie #kit rocha #nalini singh #helen harper #ashley poston #sangu mandanna #kelley armstrong

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