Not gonna lie, if I were to buy TGB I would take the covers off, throw out the book pages and just put my own heavily revised version of it and read that instead. OR, I would white out the text and write on the pages as if the book were my own journal but the text is actually a legible plot that doesn't undo the very foundation upon which it was founded. Actually, I think I would then just do that for the entire series post TFG because even TBH needs revising and so I would just fix the entire thing to have for myself a continuation/spin-off I can actually enjoy. But that's just me.
WARNING: READ ONLY IF YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED; OTHERWISE DON'T.
As a major Averyjameson fan, I have made it quite well known for the past few years that something has been off to me about Avery and Jamie as characters and their romance since the og series ended. The epilogue of this final book quite clearly illustrates the ultimate evidence of that. While I do believe the two of them being certain about the other has remained fairly consistent and in character for their respective arcs, that feels undermined by this topsy turvy revelation.
Let's start with the first obvious problem; the proposal. Assuming it's right after she recovers from the you know what event then are we supposed to assume that Jameson's immediate reaction is to propose after nearly losing her??? As much as I am certain Avery would be flattered, you can't convince me that she wouldn't feel that it's rather sudden especially after the convo they had in TNIP regarding the promise ring. I think the real reaction she would have would be as others have stated, declining it, shocked, wanting Jamie to reevaluate and realize how traumatized both of them have been and genuinely need therapy. Side note, I think that was one of the first things that never made sense to me as to how come we never seem to address Avery's own trauma either and how for a more level-headed person like her, we didn't see her going to therapy. It was a missed opportunity even in the og series. Whatever the case, it would make sense to me that she would decline and say later. On Jamie's end, I think even despite this boy being more traumatized than ever, he'd be more sensible than propose. He loves Avery with his whole heart and I think that is clear as day; there's no way he doesn't want to be her husband, we know as much. But still, I genuinely don't think that even his impulsive brain would scream propose after that kind of thing. More believable to me would be that he's going to be more protective and glued to her side, sure.
Next, comes the wedding. To hear how quickly they got hitched is just nuts to me because a) this doesn't match up to previous goals set, b) they were going at a steady pace, and c) this doesn't align with their arcs. I'm pro marriage and as much as I wanted for Avery and Jamie to get married at some point, the expectation for me would have been that the epilogue in that case would have been set some years later (mid to late twenties). No, instead it's months after the twins are born (crazy, I know). What happened to Avery's plans of majoring in actuarial science at UConn and Jamie's in going to Yale? Those things were never addressed since their only mention in the TFG epilogue. Glad we got to see them traveling even though TNIP was ruined for me because Avery was just not sounding very much like herself and of course because Alice had to ruin it (why couldn't you be a proper granny???). Anyways, the only way I'd see Jamie and Avery getting married this early is if they got drunk and it was a Vegas wedding on spring break. What I think would happen likely in reality when they felt more ready to wed, I could see an elopement for just themselves and then a family wedding or just a regular wedding because Avery might give in to that.
But my main point is, we know that these two are ambitious and in the same way we see Lyra and Gray returning to college, the same should have been for Avery and Jamie. JLB robbed them of that and this is part of the huge disconnect between who we knew Averyjameson to be in TIG to TFG and what she did to their arcs in TBH to TGB and I HATE IT. TGG was never meant to be their story, they should have been in the backdrop. The more they got involved in the storyline, the more their character arcs regressed and down the drain went everything that this author built up in the first three books which were their foundation. If I'm being completely honest, that goes for just about everything set up in the og trilogy but that's not the point here. The Avery and Jameson we should have ended with and the ones we have instead are like two different sets of people.
I really wish we ended at TFG because at the very least, we got to imagine what the years ahead would be like for them and believe that they healed and got better. To find out that there has been no such thing happening, makes me extremely sad because what a waste of pages for both them as mains and those that should have been the focus in the first place. It makes me enraged that after what felt like a time of acceptance of Jamie as both Avery's choice and as more of a complex character with deeper values than we thought when TFG was released, TBH onward basically undid all that. There was more hatred because he was taking Gray's spotlight and being an a**hole which rightfully is criticized. Blatantly, that was a turn off for me to continue reading the series because no one was getting just character development, even though Jameson is my favorite Hawthorne. All I saw was that Jameson still didn't know what he was doing, extremely codependent on Avery and basically being the person he was when we met him in TIG, quite ironically. Where the h*ll did the development go???? And not to mention, Avery just being kidnapped over and over, reduced to a distressed damsel, WHUT?
I just, I'm tired. So bone deep tired when I relive the nonsense. Again, to everyone with the highest hopes for this last book, I hope you can still find a way to enjoy it. But I don't think you will; the pretty covers are deceptive and hence our favorite proverb, never judge a book by its cover. Anyways, those are my two cents.
Why I most likely won't be reading The Gilded Blade.
SPOILERS AHEAD
JLB the catfisher:
I have said this before and I will say it again whilst dying of hysteria on this hill, I feel incredibly catfished reading this series. JLB explicitly said that the series is about Grayson before TGG even came out nows she's done a whole 180 and made it all about the OG characters. She also said that you don't need to read the OG trilogy in order to read the spin off which is a complete lie especially with the spoilers that we got. How would readers understand the gravity of Emily being alive if they didn't read the OG trilogy? Also how can you go on live stream and say that you have put clues in every book, that it all links back to the original storyline whilst claiming that it's seperate from the OG trilogy? It's clear to see that this woman lets her fans lead the story instead of having a backbone for herself. My point is she claimed that the series was about one thing and completed switched up as the series progressed and she saw the comments and reactions on instagram.
Emily being alive:
The way you know an author is milking a series is when they bring back dead characters (Looking at you Taherah Mafi as well). This is such a lazy plot line and it undoes literally everyone in the OG trilogy. Avery struggled with insecurities because of her, Jameson and Grayson's relationship broke down because of her, Rebecca and Thea couldn't be together and happy because of her. So much happened because of this girl and all of these characters were starting to get closure and all of a sudden she's still alive. Bringing back a character only works when they have a change of heart, the best example I can think of is Gally from Maze runner. Gally is a massive Douche, he "dies" in the first movie and then in the last film it turns out he's alive. But the thing is, Gally has a massive change of character which positively impacts the story. Emily is still a bitch, at least when she was "dead" you could defend her by saying "well we don't know he because she's not alive to defend herself" that argument completely goes out the window. Which pisses me off so much considering I was one of the people who would defend her.
Grayson not being able to catch a damn break:
I don't care what anyone says Emily SA'd Grayson in that scene where he was chained up. And not amount of context can change it, if the genders were reversed it wouldn't even be a discussion. What is the point of this? Who actually wants to see this? And the fact that Emily goes as far as saying "Did you think of me or Lyra?" or something in the lies of that is just sick. I seriously don't understand JLB's motive in bringing back this storyline of Grayson not being able to get over Emily, I thought that was wrapped up in TBH. This just goes to show that she's grasping at straw and doesn't know how to develop a good plotline. Also him getting punched by Rohan? like what the hell is up with that? I can about Grayson a lot he is one of my favourite character but when authors constantly trauma dump on their characters it's just lazy writing. Reading TBH, TGG and GR was nice because the progression of Grayson's character was rewarding to see. He's closed of emotionally, realises he's not doing okay, seeks therapy, matures and becomes emotionally aware. I feel like all of that is undone based on the spoilers we have seen. According to Libby there is a point in the book where Grayson isn't sleeping properly or eating properly, like why can't he just have some damn peace???
Epilogue:
I am not against young couples getting married, I am very pro marriage but Javery getting married makes no sense. It's not fitting for their characters at all since they are more invested in travelling, also they aren't ready for marriage. Jameson needs to go to therapy, take some anger management courses and learn how to control his anger and reckless impulses before he can be a good husband. Also why are characters getting married in a YA book? I will also die on this hill when I say that Lyra and Grayson most certainly would get married before them, because that is how their dynamic is. Javery's dynamic is not like that, its clear to see that JLB want the whole promise ring to come back for the instagram fans since they have been begging for a wedding.
Loss of interest:
Overall, everything has just put me off from reading the books which is really sad because I was looking forward to a good ending. The adding extra characters like Nora, Kaitlyn etc. Eve possibly dying (will reading), Toby dying in order to "be with Hannah", Emily being alive, Avery's kidnapping taking up the entire book, Lyra's mom possibly not being her mom at all. All of it has just put me off from reading the book in general.
Um, so I saw all the stuff for spoilers of TGB and not to be that person but I literally KNEW this would happen. This is precisely why the series should have ended at TFG and if this was gonna be a proper spin off, our old mains should have been kept out of it. I had a feeling it would be messy AF and that there was no way she could finish this up with a neat tidy bow on top. I'm not saying that to be cruel because I wanted to see the downfall of TIG or something but genuinely from the way certain details sounded to repeated plot points to the short time frame and all the characters involved, it felt like an arrow was pointing to the ultimate decimation of what the series was to what it has become now. JLB is a fantastic author but I think this was a case of biting off more than she could chew and the series as a whole paid the price for being a cash cow. Avery and Jamie's story should have ended in TFG; that was their story; Gray and Lyra should have gotten something else. He should have been able to have his meet cute with a girl buying limes at a grocery store while in Harvard or something like that, outside of a Hawthorne mystery. Could have been a mystery to keep the spirit of The Inheritance Games but separate.
That's my piece and uh, have a good day. I will still be trying to finish up my fics that I had ideas for but I have no interest in really divulging more to the new stuff because to me, that ruins what the og books really set in place and it disconnects when you add TGG to that. Also, to the people who were looking forward to the end of this series, whether because you were a Lyrason fan, Grayson stan, or just curious about the end of the series, I'm sincerely sorry that this is the book you got it. As someone who gave up before GR, I only hoped to warn people through my own discernment of how I thought the series would go through what I picked up in TGG and tying it back to the og books but still hoped that you guys would have something to enjoy regardless of what happened.
You don't have to if you don't want to but could you describe in detail what you wish the girls wore for the masquerade ball
i think what was written canonically already sounded like really nice masquerade costumes so I personally haven't imagined anything past what was mentioned. All of the gowns sounded really unique and suited towards the characters.
You know, if Skye wasn't the psycho we know her to be, I genuinely believe that in another life she would be someone like Regina George's mother. A bit ditzy (behavior-wise) but not in the general scheme of things as she is a Hawthorne and intelligence runs in her veins, well meaning but still has an obsession with astrology especially in regards towards her sons' futures, very supportive although clueless in some areas, and a good mom with some occasional questionable parenting skills.
Can you elaborate on what you would want to me share regarding thoughts on them? I can tell you they are my favorite couple but that lately I haven't exactly been vibing with what JLB has written for them in the last few books.
Headcanon for how the Hawthorne brothers chose their alerting song for Secret Santa: Nan got caught in a particularly well hidden trap one time when the boys were younger and she was pretty annoyed. During the time, in all irony, music from a nearby radio was tuned into a station and playing Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. She threatened to tell their grandfather so that he'd cancel all future Secret Santa events and all the boys were afraid she would really do that. So they did everything they could to help her or do something nice for her but really she was just joking and was really happy to have the boys spend more time with her.
need that clip in HD of jack looking at lula while she takes off his cuffs and he says “hi lula” GODDDDDDD the edits im gonna make when i find it in hd
As she watched her breathing even out and felt the grip on her hand grow lax, she leaned down, softly brushing hair away with a light touch and pressed a soft kiss to her daughter's forehead. Then, sitting up, for a second more she remained seated, sighing tiredly, before getting up and heading for the kitchen.
There were still chores to finish up even with her little one tucked away. Unwashed dishes and leftover dinner that needed to be packed away for tomorrow. After all, every bit counted nowadays. And if she had to, she would give extras to her little girl, just so she would thrive even with the little they had.
Once she reached the door, Hannah stopped and turned, one more time taking in Avery. She was asleep. She was safe. She was perfect. That's all that mattered. But cruel was fate to remind her of him. She still thought of him every time she looked at her daughter, even though she wasn't his there were many things that reminded her of her lost love; her quirks and especially her intelligence-the resemblance was uncanny. How ironic. Sometimes she let herself believe that she was his and not Ricky's but she never admitted it out loud. But she would tonight.
Into the quiet of the room, she whispered, "Sometimes, I wish she was your daughter." She pretended he heard. Another night it would break her heart, but this time it was enough. Oh to lie to oneself. What a luxury.
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