Rant: My problem with the Acotar-series as a whole wasn't really based on the disturbing fact that Feyre and the IC throughout the series were reduced to smut instead of character development, but rather that they were completely unrealistic and not fleshed out. Feyre herself was never really given any thought as she was mainly created to suit the male protagonists (first Tamlin, then Rhysand) narrative and paint them as perfect and experience sexual intimacy with them. (1/?)
I won’t erase the information that Feyre in some way is strong, but her strength always came from another person’s power. In Acotar (though the plot was very lacking until 75% of the book) she at least decided on her own to save Tamlin and proceeded to enter challenges without any inhuman powers given to her (by men), braced only with her ‘bravery’. At that point I didn’t necessarily dislike her (even though I also didn’t exactly like her), because she seemed to have an own voice. (2/?) But from ACOMAF even that was stripped off of her, so that we could focus more on her romantic relationship. And here it was pretty evident that not only SJM couldn’t write morally grey characters, but also that she didn’t know her characters enough to actally give them personalities. You see it can be excused for maybe ONE or TWO individuals to do a 180° change of character, but when almost everyone loses their traits and becomes someone else, you can safely assume that they never were (3/?) really given a true personality. Say what you want about JKR, but every single one of her characters never behaved out of character. You could see their development, could see exactly when they matured or when their world view changed slightly upon an event that influenced them. But with SJM not even her main characters develope, instead she gives them a whole new identity and thus shatters everything else she has built before. Even her relationships don’t show any form of growth. (4/?) Feysand is purely based on lust and sex (Rhys always commented on her curves, on her chest and constantly made sexual innuendos even before they were officially together-I mean he even fingered her beforehand and yet we’re supposed to believe that everything is based on emotions?) and only the little love declaration before their first time was the glimpse we got of their romance (which revealed a few new plotholes as Rhys claimed to have known she was his mate even as a human, but (5/?) just was a complete mess. Like I could not fathom what happened to him throughout the whole series and not once could understand his character (I disliked him in acotar, but was just weirded out by his non-existent personality for the rest of the series). In some way the Acotar-series feel like the work of a newly debuted author, not one who have already over 4 books under her belt. And that’s the main problem with SJM-it’s not like she has any good ideas as some feel like she does (8/9) (not one concept has been proven to be solely hers as courts etc. have already been widely used in fae fiction, so I was kind of surprised that a lot of antis seemed to acknowledge her as having good ideas), it’s that she never manages to really build a world in which the characters are believable enough. Everyone gets one trait and is silenced, while the writing is going through a roller coaster journey (one book is decently written, the other is just a catastrophe). I rest my case. (9/9)
UGH Tumblr ate #6 and 7, but I think I get the gist. Thank you for this rant; I feel like I vicariously experienced a catharsis just reading it! I agree with a lot of these points. I’m gonna bullet my responses under a cut so it’s easier to read.
romaincrisis
gracieabrams
izzy806
tangentwithtanner
stormborns
germansingergirl
amandla
