This is a blog for my book reviews and fics!
I'll be editing this post as my masterlist as I add links to my reviews, live reads, and fics, so be sure to come back and check it out! More under the cut

@theartofmadeline
Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her

Origami Around

pixel skylines
Claire Keane

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RMH
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
taylor price
h

★
$LAYYYTER
KIROKAZE
dirt enthusiast

ellievsbear
NASA
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me

Discoholic 🪩
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@enchantedscribblings
This is a blog for my book reviews and fics!
I'll be editing this post as my masterlist as I add links to my reviews, live reads, and fics, so be sure to come back and check it out! More under the cut
hesitant love prompts
+ accommodating love interest dialogue :)) feel free to use <3
“how many times do i have to tell you you can trust me?”
“what can i get you? do you need water? a hug? space?”
“i’m sorry. i just don’t think i’m ready.” “don’t apologize. it’s okay.”
“i think i’m ready.”
“thank you for being patient.” “you never have to thank me for that.”
“are you frustrated with me?” “never.”
“i just don’t want to be hurt again.” “i understand.”
“can you give me a second? i need a moment.”
“don’t apologize.” “sorry.” “name.”
“it’s okay. take your time.”
“if you tell me you want me to leave i’m gone, okay? don’t ever feel like you can’t take a break from me.”
when the love interest first asks them out and they’re like i’m really sorry but no… but the love interest doesn’t mind
“would you like to go on a date?” “i could do a date.”
more promrps like this in my healthy relationship prompts in my pinned master list…
Bad pacing is the most common problem I see in stories, regardless of medium. I tried reading a new fantasy book today that had good prose, decent characters, and a world with a lot of potential. But the way it was paced killed all investment I had or could’ve had in it.
Also, the way people talk about pacing is very rudimentary and shallow. The criticism is either “pacing too slow” or “pacing too fast” and that’s it. No room for nuance and no explanation for what makes a certain pace too fast or slow.
Makes me want to write a short guide on how to pace stories properly, or at the very least a “what to avoid” guide.
Charles Oberonn’s quick guide to pacing in storytelling:
Keep reading
The other day one of my friends was like “Where on earth do you hear about all the books you read?” and I’m honestly trying to think about that because I don’t really pay attention to Booktube, Booktok, Book Twitter, or Bookstagram, only occasionally dip back into book blogging, and mostly use Goodreads as a place to track books I want to read or have read rather than searching for recommendations, so I’m trying to make a list of the places I hear about books from besides a few trusted social media mutuals.
Tor.com is one major place I hear about science fiction and fantasy books–they do deal announcements, cover reveals, lists of new releases, and reviews, as well as columns reviewing backlist work. I really like “The Book Queered Me,” for instance, which is people looking back on books that were important to their understand of identity.
The Book Smugglers isn’t really that active anymore, but they reviewed science fiction and fantasy media, as well as publishing essays and short fiction and I read them religiously for a long time.
Book Riot I read occasionally and they publish bookish news and essays. I forgot I was subscribed to their LGBTQ+ book newsletter for a while and went through the emails I’d been sent earlier this week and that particular newsletter is nice because it highlights a couple books and does a round-up of recent news about queer books.
Austraddle’s book section, especially the Rainbow Reading column, does reviews, interviews, and news related to queer books, mostly queer women. It’s helpful for non-SFF stuff because I’m usually very up-to-date on news in the science fiction and fantasy world but they cover poetry, nonfiction, romance, etc.
We Need Diverse Books is a great resources, of course, and I really like the interviews they do with authors of recent releases.
LGBTQ Reads is an invaluable resource for queer literature–new release highlights, author interviews, lists of books by representation or age/genre if you’re looking for something specific.
Electric Literature is where I hear about more adult lit fic/nonfiction stuff, they also have a column called Novel Gazing in which people write about books that have impacted them and I find that really interesting. They also publish poetry and short fiction but I haven’t read much of that.
The Lesbrary does reviews of books about lesbian and bisexual women, as well as round-ups of new releases. Good resource for keeping up with sapphic books.
Rich in Color reads and reviews diverse YA books and is a good place to keep up with books by authors of color.
"AITA a bird dude just crash-landed on my balcony and I’m hiding him from my shitty parents so they don’t call the police and send him back to the traffickers he just escaped from"
pls pls pls elaborate. winter i neeed to know mooore
urban fantasy au where dick is an avian who was stolen from his roost by traffickers who stuck him in a cage and were gonna take him to a fucked up zoo full of nonhuman creatures but he escaped after a few months there but was too weak to make the flight home (birdfolk live in cities in the clouds that travel with the seasons and at this time of year Bruce and the others were Very far away) and he crashlands, wounded and starving, on a young lightning mage's roof.
wally finds him, nurses him back to health, and hides him from his parents because there's word of a dangerous avian fugitive on the loose but wally sees the ribs showing through and the raw skin where cuffs once sat and he knows dick isn't the dangerous one
cue lots of shenanigans where they have to keep dick a secret from everyone and so dick is just Living On Wally's Roof except when it's raining and cold and he has to sneak inside to sleep I'm wally's bed with him where it's warm 👀
wally keeps his window unlatched and open just a crack so dick can come in whenever he needs to. one day they finally get caught and dick gets the hell outta dodge before they can catch him, makes it home, and brings his entire flock to come bust wally outta jail <3
wip ask game
Aaand here's my masterlist for The Priory of the Orange Tree!
Pt 1
I started the Priory of the Orange Tree yesterday and here's my thoughts so far (spoilers btw):
First off it has two maps and an illustration of two dragons in the front, and when I checked the page number (804) I found out it has a 23 page glossary at the end, which made me veeery excited to read it, even more than I already was.
So far my favorite part of this book is the world building. I'm only 30 pages in but I can tell that so much work went into this book. I mean it has a fuckin map for fucks sake. Specifically im fond of the part where they show an obvious language barrier, but they don't act like Sulyard is incompetent because of it.
Ead is pretty badass imo. I mean, the very first time we see her she's leaping from the rafters to kill an intruder. And especially bc she keeps it secret that she's responsible for stopping him.
I like Tané. She's calculating and knows what she wants and will do what she has to in order to get it. She's also very pretty in my mental image of her and I think she deserves that
I was really curious about what her Choosing Day would be. I thought it was 'get chosen to be wed' kind of thing for half a second but I'm very happy to discover it involves dragons.
Speaking of them. I'm so excited about the thought that went into them. And they're eastern dragons! That's so cool! I never see them used in fiction and they're so cool!
That's all for now! Btw here's a link to a post where the author talks about the pronunciation of names for anyone who's curious
Hi how do you pronounce Ead and Truyde's full names? Also Inys and Chassar if you don't mind.
AY-daz Du (rhymes with ‘you’) ZAR-la Uq is tricky – somewhere between ‘ook’ (like in ‘book’) and ‘ack’ (like in ‘acknowledge’) NAR (like ‘star’)-a
TROOD AT ZAY-dure (to rhyme with ‘lure’)INN-iss
CASS-ar
Some additional notes:
1) I pronounce Ead as Eed when shortened, not Aid. I imagined AY-daz is the ancient Silenyi pronunciation of the name and EED-az as a modern alternative, so technically both are correct, but she’s more often called AY-daz by her sisters, since they still speak Silenyi in its oldest form.
2) These are just how I personally pronounce the names in my head when I write. Pronunciation is always an area I’ve found a little difficult to navigate with readers, because often people want to know how the ‘correct’ way (i.e. the author’s way) but then find it jarring when it’s very different to how they’ve been pronouncing it. For example, I believe the real, modern name Truyde is pronounced with two syllables. I’ve always just said it with one. She was Trood in my head, and it was spelled that way, and I couldn’t shake it. This is part of why I’ve been reluctant to make an Official Pronunciation Guide – for some readers it seems to make the experience harder, not easier. More confusing, not less so. If a book is set in the real world, then pronunciation is clearly important to establish, and I both understand and encourage the instinct to get the right pronunciation in life in general – but in the context of a fantasy novel, I don’t really see the issue with readers saying the names in whatever way makes the most sense to them personally. You’ve already got so much to absorb and remember without trying to bend your tongue around Truyde or Eadaz in a way you find strange or jarring. I suspect even the audiobook narrator pronounces some of the names in a way I didn’t intend, because Audible didn’t ask me about every pronunciation. TL;DR – Always establish that you’re pronouncing a person’s name correctly in real life, but this author, for one, really doesn’t mind how you say the names in her fantasy book.
I recently finished reading Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria and let me tell you it was a ride
Spoilers and thoughts under the cut. My thoughts are very scattered and I apologize
not enough people talking about this
105 Comfort Prompts
As usual, my requests and asks are open! if you do request, no smut please :)
TW: PANIC ATTACK, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION. ALCOHOL MENTION. CHEATING MENTION.
DIALOGUE:
GIVING COMFORT:
“Hey, tell me what’s wrong?”
“I’m here for you.”
“It’s going to be okay.”
“Are you all right?”
“You’ll be okay, I promise.”
“What’s going on?”
“Come here, let me hold you.”
“Please, don’t cry.”
“I have you.”
“Take a deep breath.”
“Tell me what you’re feeling.”
“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry.”
“I won’t leave.”
“Why don’t we go on a drive?”
“Let it out.”
“Everybody makes mistakes.”
“You’re all right.”
“Shh, shh, it’s okay.”
“Can I hold you?”
“Do you-- can I-- do you want to be held?”
“Do you want solutions, or comfort?”
“I have chocolate/flowers?”
“Do you want to watch a movie with me?”
“Tell me what I can do for you.”
“...Who do I need to punch?”
“Come on, breathe with me.”
“You don’t have to be perfect.”
“You’re perfect just the way you are.”
“How can I help you?”
“Can I touch you?”
“Where does it hurt?”
“You’re allowed to be weak, you know.”
“You have this.”
“You’re never a burden.”
“You aren’t weak.”
“We’ll get through this.”
“Relax, I got you.”
“Please, just open up. I don’t want to leave you alone.”
“They’re not going to get to you, I promise.”
“Follow my breaths.”
NEEDING COMFORT:
“This is stupid--I’m stupid.”
“‘M so weak.”
“I’m sorry I’m not strong enough.”
“I’m a burden, aren’t I?”
“I-- please, help.”
“I can’t breathe, I don’t know what to do-- I can’t--“
“I feel lightheaded.”
“I’m sorry. We were supposed to have fun today.”
“I’m getting your shirt wet...”
“Are you sure this is okay?”
“I should be stronger.”
“I don’t want to get out of bed today.”
“Hold me, please.”
“Why won’t you let me apologize?”
“Thank you for this.”
“I feel safe with you.”
“...You bought me chocolate/flowers?”
“Did you really drive all this way just for me? It’s two in the morning.”
“Is that my comfort movie?”
“You came all this way? For me?
“I’m not worth the time you spent coming over here.”
“Please, leave. I’m--”
“...Why are you here?”
“My problems are mine, I don’t want to be a burden on you.”
“You’re too nice to me.”
“I’m a mess…”
“I’m broken, don’t you understand?”
“It’s raining. You should be inside. I’m fine.”
"I'm sorry."
"Why can't you understand? You're too good for me!"
"I can't do this. I can't-- I can't-- I can't--"
"Just shut up! I'm not as good as you say I am!"
"Why do you care so much?"
"Am I really worth it?"
"Thank you for being here."
"I thought I'd be alone today after what happened... thank you."
"You don't know how much I appreciate you."
"Do I really mean that much to you?"
"Stop banging on my door!"
"I love you."
SCENARIOS
Your lover isn't feeling well, and even though it's probably dangerous to drive this late at night, you have to make sure they're all right.
Head between their knees, your lover has their back against the wall, and you're by their side, and trying to help them through whatever is troubling them.
Your best friend's lover broke up with them, and despite having no idea, you supply them with snacks and horrendous movies. At least they smiled at the end of it all.
Trying to keep a smile on your face through the weight of the world to not worry your lover. They figure it out anyway.
Standing in front of a mirror, hands against the counter, with tears dripping down your cheeks, struggling to get everything under control. Everything’s going well until your lover cracks the door open and asks if everything’s okay. It isn’t.
Seeing your lover break down over work/school/family, and trying to comfort them to the best of your abilities, heart breaking with every sob out of their lips.
Struggling to sleep in you and your lover’s shared bed because they’re working in the living room/kitchen/their office and the bed feels far too cold and empty. Seeking their comfort, you curl up on their lap/beside them/around them.
Knowing from the moment they said good morning that something was wrong, and trying to schedule your day to spend the most time with them; arms around their neck, waist, shoulders, to provide comfort.
Your lover’s back against your chest, you curled around them. Every agitated breath and erratic heartbeat pulsing through your skin, but slowly, it starts to fall over time.
Your back against your lover’s chest, their slow heartbeat stark against your stressed one. Gently, the rise and fall of their chest lull you back to safety.
Sitting in the car, your head against the headrest and mind spinning, but your lover’s hand firm against your thigh keeps you grounded to reality.
Your ex is trying to embarrass you in public, but your lover steps in as a shield, eyes ablaze in a fury.
Your head against your lover's chest, tears drenching their shirt, they don't care about the wet fabric and just rub your back.
Lungs squeezed to death, you try to breathe through the overwhelming suffocation on your shoulders. Patiently, your lover holds your hands and squeezes them in time with their breaths, eyes gentle.
Your lover made a small/big mistake and they can’t get it out of their head. To everyone else, it was just a small mishap, so you spend a few minutes/an hour/the rest of the night holding and comforting them.
Done with the feeling of being an burden, you try to push away from your lover's comfort, only for them to drag you back into a firm hold.
Something horrible happened, but your lover won't answer the phone/any texts. Standing outside of your door, you threaten to start throwing rocks at their windows/slamming on their door if they don't give any proof that they're all right.
You found your lover on a cold metal bench, hair and clothing drenched, tears pooling down their cheeks. Instead of asking what's wrong, you put your jacket over their shoulders and open up an umbrella.
Your lover's burning up and for some reason keeps bursting into tears at the smallest things. You're a little bewildered, but stay near them all the same.
After an all-nighter, your lover's brain is scrambled, and they keep shedding tears when they think nobody's looking. After coaxing them into your arms, you curl into one another on the couch.
Your lover wakes up to you gasping for air, eyes wide as you just saw horrors beyond your own comprehension. They sling an arm around your waist and pull you close, face tucked against your neck.
Underneath the blankets, you refuse to get out of bed. Despite feeling horrible about yourself, your lover refuses to leave you be and makes you breakfast, all with a gentle smile.
Your best friend's spouse cheated on them right before valentines day, so as their best friend, you spend the rest of the night trash-talking over bad rom-coms.
Your lover right beside you, comforting you as you weren't able to get the job you wanted/into the university you applied to. Their encouragement makes one more attempt seem not so bad.
Your best friend's drunk and wailing, and you're trying to both comfort them and stop them from climbing into the washing machine.
people bitching about the usage of "too modern" words in fantasy or historical fiction is sometimes justified, but ultimately I think it's a waste of time because
all words exist within a specific time frame and it's pointless to avoid the fact that you're writing with the language of your own time
which words are actually "newer" than other words is sometimes wildly unintuitive
according to the dates given in the Oxford English Dictionary, if you wrote a book set in 1897, you could have your characters say "fuckable," (1889) "sexy" (1896) "uncomfy" (1868) "hellacious" (1847) "dude" (1877) "all righty" (1877) and "heck" (1887), but not "wiggly" (1932) "moronic" (1910) "uptight" (1934) "lowbrow" (1901) "fifty-fifty" (1913) "burp" (1932) "bagel" (1898) or use the word "rewrite" as a noun (1901)
Some more words where the date of their first known usage just Doesn't Sound Right:
hangry, as in the portmanteau of 'hungry' and 'angry' (1912)
dildo (1590)
yucky (1970)
grungy (1965)
freebie (1925)
shitty (1768)
boost (1815)
boss (1856)
TGIF, as in Thank God It's Friday (1941)
yay (1963)
Fucked up (1863) is much older than fuck you (1943) but older still is the now-obscure fucked out (1862) which means what it sounds like—exhausted from too much sex.
When writing always remember… a character flaw is only a flaw until becomes useful.
Is your protagonist manipulative? Well that’s awful… until they manipulate the antagonist into making a decision that saves the lives of their friends.
Is your protagonist a skeptic? Well that’s not good… until someone tries to lie to them.
Is your protagonist overprotective? That sucks… until someone they love is in danger.
Is your protagonist remorseless? Well that makes them pretty unlikeable… until a hard decision has to be made.
The flipside is also true!
Your protagonist is honest? That’s good… until their survival depends on them being able to lie convincingly.
Your protagonist is brave? That’s good… until they foolishly run headlong into danger without a thought for the consequences.
Your protagonist is forgiving and able to see good in everyone? That’s good… until they continually forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it, and get taken advantage of because they can’t fathom that some people just suck.
Your protagonist is funny? That’s good… until they piss off everyone around them because they don’t seem to be taking the situation seriously, and they keep avoiding dealing with their problems by hiding behind humor.
Most personality traits aren’t inherently good or bad. It’s all about context, and how far they go.
i couldnt figure out a way to add an audio file to a reblog so i made a separate post
Dick: What if I bought a duck-
Barbara: Okay.
Dick: And I made it a little costume-
Barbara: Not tracking so far.
Dick: and then I put the duck in Red Robin’s spot for the league meeting?
Barbara, looking over at the 96 hour sleep deprived Tim Drake who is passed out on her sofa:
Barbara: Best plan we’ve had. Go ahead!
Hal: Does Red Robin look a little... different today?
Bruce, tired and grumpy: Different how?
Hal: Well for one, he has a beak
Bruce: ... Goddamnit the kids better not have replaced him with an animal again-
Again, AGAIN! What happened last time?
Damian sent batcow in Tim’s place and had an entire presentation on why it was the superior option
You cannot tell me Tim didn’t at least listen to the presentation.
Tim gave a follow up presentation with supporting arguments
Tim Duck works so well...
that he makes himself a Duck Grayson.
This is amazing yes
They get a large bat plush for Bruce for his birthday one year and Bruce gets Diana to agree to put it in his spot for a meeting
It works a lot better than the live bat did
Or, and hear me out, Bruce installs a camera, microphone, and voice box in said plush and uses it to freak Hal out halfway through the meeting
I love that Tim gets a rubber duck while dick gets a live goose, I think it’s very fitting
“One man’s cringe is another man’s epic” and “a flawed story is still a thousand times better than a story never told” are two pieces of advice that a lot of people aspiring to be writers really need to take to heart. Stop tearing yourself up over getting every little insignificant thing right.
Batfamily Movie Nights
Concepts: On family movie nights in the Wayne Manor, where is everyone and what are they watching?
100% they are watching Tangled, it was Cassie's week to choose the movie.
Bruce: He's sitting in the middle of the couch, arms over the sides, probably half watching, half-reading a book on his lap.
Dick: He's sitting on the arm of the couch, one leg tucked up under his chin the other dangling. Dick is both watching the movie and watching over the rest of the family to make sure that they are enjoying it.
Jason: Surprisingly, on the end of the couch where Dick is, making sure he doesn't fall off the couch and giving his hand a pat during the sad parts of the movie to comfort him.
Tim: Sitting on the loveseat with Steph, asleep on her shoulder since this is the only time when he can actually relax and fall asleep.
Damian: On Bruce's right, tucked under his arm, desperately trying to not pass out but is close to it. Probably took him five minutes standing around to figure out which side he was going to sit on and another five to get comfortable.
Cassie: On Bruce's left, also tucked under his arm, probably with her head on his chest, watching the movie with wide eyes completely quiet but clearly happy.
Duke: On the other side of the couch, next to Cassie, giving her a little headpat before and after the movie.
Barbra: They made a spot for her wheelchair on Dick's other side and she's probably doing some coding for fun while they watch the movie.
Stephanie: On the loveseat with Tim, arm around her best friend and happy that hes finally getting sleep.
Alfred: He has his own armchair that he sits in and reads while his family watches the movie, content that they are safe and together.