#author review

[tdcloud]

A purveyor of all things dark, queer, and tasty, @azarielwrites had a lot of kind things to say about INFAUST. Keep an eye on Azariel--he’s hard at work on his debut A RAVEN AND HIS REVENANT, and I think we'll all want to be there when it drops.

💀 https://amazon.com/dp/B0CRX5M7TX

[brittneyberendt]

So if you know, you know. This author has some of my absolute favorite series. New Species, Cuborg Seduction, VLG, Zorn Warriors, Mating Heat, and more.

The overarching plot is never rushed. The heroines are well written (yeah I’m looking at you Bella Swan) and multidimensional. The romance is steamy and tasteful, and home girl has a pretty regular release schedule. I mean she’s no Ruby Dixon or Jessamyn Kingley with monthly releases but we’re getting at least one new book a year.

This is however a rant, and today I would like to discuss the inability to finish a MFin series. Outside of Mating heat and Zorn warriors, not a single previously mentioned book series has come to any sort of conclusion.

My absolute favorite New Species is hands down one of my favorite series in the entire universe. There’s intrigue there’s trauma, there are over protective alphas who are absolutely over the moon for their mates. What more can you really need in a steamy escape from reality? This series however I understand there were some publishing issues and she started writing more than two decades ago. So though I’m hurt, I can understand just not being able to finish or get back into the right head space.

Cyborg Seduction is another absolute beauty of a series. Touching on some social issues without being heavy, giving us sexy chromed out warriors in all different shades of metal, pitting us against an absolute evil hive mind. Each book is such a ride and I was absolutely buying each book as it was released because her writing style always leaves you wanting more.

But instead she just jumps into 3 more series after this. At some point I had to make the conscious choice to simply stop reading her work. Not because I don’t love it, not because the writing or editing or plot lines. Simply because to fall in love over and over with these rich diverse worlds only to have them disappear halfway through the story telling is heartbreaking.

Why Mrs. Dohner? I would never tell anyone not to read the books. They absolute masterpieces of the paranormal romance genre, from a time before the over saturation that Kindle Unlimited has caused. That however is another topic entirely. Please read them, love them and maybe through our shared love for the characters she creates we can create our own endings.

J

[my-ff-drafts]

Something I've been rereading

I've recently finished Icarus, Burning and since then, have read all of the author's work. I loved her writing style and the descent, yet also not quite falling in love.

Personally, I have a very love-hate relationship with romance in books. I need a plot and/or porn to prop it up in fics. Otherwise, unless I really ship it or like the fandom, I just can't read plotless things.

Icarus, Burning initially overwhelmed me. It was my first foray into sci-fi in a while. My father loves sci-fi aka star war, star trek, etc. and i felt that i must dislike it. Beyond that, sci-fi has always felt unrealistic since whenever i read a sci-fi story, there were always so many unexplained loose ends that served to push the plot. But back to Icarus, Burning.

I couldn't finish it on my first read-through and only made to Maa-Ilia. I couldn't finish it on my second and met Lachesis. I finally finished it on my third. It was a complicated story to read, but that's what made it so enjoyable.

The complex, yet seeming simple plot wove itself into webs that made me keep reading. This fic accomplished what most sci-fi stories never do for me, it made me not give a fuck about the semantics of the universe.

Also, I loved the worldbuilding from the Interior Circle to the Drakkians and from the Creets to Laupa if ya know what I mean.

Lastly, I'll end this with an annoying habit of mine. Everytime I read "Samiel", I always pronounce as "Samael".

Thanks @ladyinbooks for writing such amazing fics and to all, a good night.

[cottonheartedgirl]

I am going to get hate for this but....Sarah J Maas isn't that good of an author. Her books have okay ideas and her world building is great but her writing and character makes me feel like I am in 2014 Wattpads Bad boy era. All of her relationships are toxic and her main characters are just the main embodiments of "not like other girls". I just feel like she could add more depth to characters without using a sad childhood and triggering content. Also not to mention her performative feminism in her books. I generally don't hate YA books but her Books makes me really understand why we get judged for reading it. I am being too harsh lol but whenever I am on bookblr or booktok people seem to be obsessed with acotar and throne of glass and roses when there are so many good books that deserve much more hype.

I am being too harsh lol

Preparing for the hate

[sr-rains-writes]

Writers Block and R.A. Salvatore

I’ve been following the advice of reading when you’re suffering a bout of writers block, and I’m happy to say that I’ve finished reading Homeland by R.A. Salvatore. I still have my bout of writers block, but I’m starting to finally get an idea of where I want to take my story.

For those unfamiliar with R.A. Salvatore’s work, he is best known for his series The Legend of Drizzt, which happens to start with Homeland. The Legend of Drizzt series is part of the Dungeons and Dragons franchise, and takes place during the Forgotten Realms period. Salvatore has also written books for the Star Wars franchise, and is a New York Times best selling author.

I highly recommend his books for those who are interested in works of fantasy. He creates scenes that captures the attention of the readers, and easily maintains that attention throughout his books. Salvatore also does an excellent job with world-building and getting you into the mind-space of inhabiting the world the main characters are in.

[iamjaynaemarie]

Review of Book II: The Saga of Thranduil

Well, from the first three pages that went out. From the Canadian author of The Janus Chronicles (which I just started not long ago and I must say, so far so awesome). This was the first professional and published author to see inside the elusive world of Thranduil. “You have a wonderful writing style that captures detail in [a] way which brought me immediately into the pages. Your format is tight and focuses on sound sentence structure. I thought your character descriptions were strong and gave me a good mental picture of their physical characteristics. I thought the description that began [with] "His silky hair…” was excellent. The pacing was good and moves the reader along in a timely fashion. The use of adjectives and adverbs is well-placed and contributes to the narratives without being over-bearing. In summation, I enjoyed the copy and believe you have created a world that many readers will find interesting and captivating.“–Patrick Daley, author of "The Janus Chronicles”. We’ve come a long way…thank you. ❤️ (He asked if all this family stuff will interfere with April 28…no. I got sleep!)

[junesprout]

Taking the long way home

This post was originally published on substack February 11, 2026. Hello dear readers, Welcome to The Logbook, an honest documentation of days throughout the past month. In this issue, logbook no. 02, we discover: A birthday celebration Cloud bursts Snake Eyes Beef stew Scheming Among other thrilling (and perhaps mysterious) experiences. Turn the page to enter The Logbook! LOGBOOK NO.…

Taking the long way home