read a better book pls

sideblog

[msshadowqueen]

It’s wild that no matter what they do, there will always be people who defend individuals such as Sarah j Maas and Taylor Swift simply because they’re blonde women and they fancy themselves some great feminists. Like no, there are other women who are far more talented who are being held back because the industries are dominated by white supremacists such as these two.

[ladydeath-vanserra]

sjms zionism comes out when you really put into perspective how she treats populations based off the collective actions of the few people who are in positions of power. The Ilyrians. The people of the CoN. The wolves and fae in CC. like there are regular ass people who suffer in all these places and SJM paints them all with broad strokes and paints them very poorly based on the select actions of the people in power

and what makes it wild is you really only ever see the main characters (Feyre, Rhysand, The IC, Bryce) who are also in positions of power interact with *just* the people in power

Bryce, herself, point blank says she hates the fae and judges them on collective action like she isn't a member of the ruling class (participant or not), isn't surrounded by *just* people in positions of power, aside from like Ithan and Hunt

and then you have, in acotar, the CoN and Illyria treated as barbarians or backwards and cruel and left to the rule of people who abuse their powers while the IC do literally nothing to stop it And they vilify the entire population

[elains]

reading through your hofas spoilers and i definitely think sjm’s whiteness and proximity to zionism means she will never understand or even try to understand colonization and oppression, so every single time she insists on writing about it it just becomes an awkward and embarrassing mess to sludge through

Have I said I love when asks give me an opening to rant? So I will rant LMAO. Very light spoilers from HOFAS warning.

You'll probably find people who think Sarah is the most progressive, groundbreaking, and deals with thorny real-life subjects wonderfully. I'm very much not one of the. In fact, most of the time she tries to broach such topics, I end up sighing a lot, burying my head in my hands and saying "Sarah, please, for the love of God get yourself sensitivity readers".

Crescent City is the worst offender in this regard, House of Sky and Breath particularly because we are dealing directly with thr human rebellion. Bryce is SJMs mouthpiece in this series and so many times I wanted to tell her to shut the fuck up. Humanity is treated no better than objects or food in many parts of the world, prey for the vanir; born with no life, into subjugation, stripped of their dignity and their world. And still there she goes, condemning the Human Rebellion for what — rising up and fighting against their oppressors? Every time we met the rebels, from what recall, I was "Am I supposed to agree with here Bryce?"

After fifteen thousand years... you want the humans to ask nicely? That worked really well for them, so far?

Same with ACOTAR: the humans... are very fair in being scared and hate the fae? The Wall, the only thing keeping THEM safe is down and look at the continent! The Fae realms are already salivating to invade human lands. But the fear is unwarranted? "But not all fae!" true, but I don't blame them for being wary and "Fuck off". Midgard is worse because it was the Humans (and the Merfolk) who lived there before and they lived in peace.

It's clear for me that Sarah writes these topics from a position of privilege. You are correct: she lacks an understanding of the topics she is handling, has no interest in getting beyond surface level and, therefore, ends up writing things that at best tone-deaf and at worst fully hypocritical and problematic. And the framing. The framing of how these character are the heroes and in the right drives me up a goddamn wall.

HoFaS shows us that the Fae can be very, very horrible and bloodthirsty, which rings hollow for me with how much shit she gives humans for fighting back with force. I wish Bryce's human side mattered more (half the time, she's so connected to the Fae side you 100% forget), or that we had a human protagonists for this series.

In short: her take on oppression and colonization is shallow and privileged and tone-deaf.

[1800naveen]

A little proof of that zionist bitch known as Sarah J Maas (mASS)

I've seen people ask how Sarah J Maas is a zionist and here's a photo:

If you don't know what a birthright trip is, it's basically going to Isnotreal and acting like you're going to your "true" home (colonized home).

ON A ISRAELI ARMY BASE? You can be proud of your religion but don't be proud of being a colonizer.

"would be magical" yeah, nothing says magical like going to a land that your people stole and took from the Palestinians.

Left Israel with pride and said it's a welcoming place. This bitch needs to be serious. Are they welcoming to the Palestinians who are indigenous to the land? The group of people who forced them into a small section of their own home?

I love leaving my own country filled with pride, knowing that they have committed crimes against the people who originally lived there!!!🥰

She apparently also said that Aelin is based on her grandmother. It's funny because in empire of storms, Aelin jokes about conquering (colonizing) Erilea if she gets bored of being queen.

"They can never make me hate sjm!" Well, they can for me! BURN IN HELL, SARAH😘

If you like her books, I suggest doing the classic "separate the art from the artist" but in this case, I'm not sure if you can because you can see her ideologies...

[ladydeath-vanserra]

so anyways SJMs husbands name is Josh Wasserman. I found his LinkedIn. He's some co-owner of a development group. He was the President of Hillel while at Hamilton College, which is staunchly zionist

on top of this he was a 'Development Assosicate' for Friends' Central School, a quaker school

two teachers got suspended for inviting a Palestinian woman to speak at the school. The invite was also revoked

@ae-neon @bookishfeylin @achaotichuman @acotardeservesbetter @kateprincessofbluewhales

[ladydeath-vanserra]

I think it's wild to say that you're antisemitic and misogynistic for calling out SJM. She has done documentedly bad things towards poc communities and has expressed that her birth right trip was a "magical experience". and this doesn't even include the *text* where she writes brown and black people, especially brown and black women, in a very negative light

there ARE racism issues in her books. she HAS expressed positive intentions towards Israel before. If she truly cared about Palestinians and was not a zionist she would have needed to just post a statement condemning Israel after uplifting it years ago

it is not misogynistic, antisemitic or engaging in purity culture to listen to brown and black women boycotting these books and educating people for freeeee on how problematic or harmful SJM has been to their communities

[sonics-atelier]

These are just my personal thoughts on some of the discourse I’ve seen in the fandom recently.

It genuinely frustrates me when people declare that the fandom is “toxic” and that SJM deserves better—as though she’s simply a victim of unprovoked criticism. While I fully agree that no author should be subjected to harassment or abuse, and that fandom spaces can indeed become hostile, it’s equally important to acknowledge that Sarah J. Maas is not exempt from legitimate critique. In fact, many of the issues people raise are not baseless “hate” but necessary conversations about harmful patterns in her work and public presence.

SJM is the same author who used the death of a Black woman as a marketing tool for her books—something that should never be overlooked or brushed aside. Her works consistently reflect a lack of meaningful diversity: characters of color are often sidelined, killed off, or forced into roles that serve white protagonists. For example, characters like Nehemia are portrayed as martyrs whose deaths further the white MC’s development, while others, such as Amren and Emerie, are described with subtly dehumanizing or reductive language (e.g., “beautiful but not striking”), which perpetuates colorist and racist undertones.

Furthermore, when she does include characters of color or queer characters, their representation is often shallow, tokenized, or entirely secondary to the arcs of white, cis, straight characters. This is not inclusion—it’s checkbox diversity at best, and harmful erasure at worst. The romantic pairings and leadership roles almost always default to white characters, reinforcing a narrow and exclusionary standard of who gets to be powerful, desirable, or heroic in her fictional worlds.

In addition to the problems in her writing, there’s also the matter of her public stance. SJM has shown strong Zionist leanings and her husband has business ties to Zionist organizations—an association that understandably disturbs many readers, and those critical of settler colonialism. It’s not simply a matter of political opinion; it’s about complicity in systems of oppression.

What’s especially disappointing is how often fans who claim to care about issues like racism, colonialism, and inclusivity will turn around and hail SJM as their “queen” or a “literary genius,” without a hint of critical thought. Enjoying her books is not inherently wrong, but praising her uncritically—while ignoring or downplaying the harmful elements in her writing and public positioning—is disingenuous. It veers into performative activism: loudly advocating for social justice in theory, but failing to apply that same lens when it challenges a favorite author.

To be clear: no author deserves to be personally attacked or harassed. But it’s equally true that being a successful author does not place someone above critique. SJM’s work contains repeated, systemic issues that reflect real-world marginalization. That deserves discussion—not blind devotion.

If we want to make fandom spaces more thoughtful and inclusive, we have to be willing to engage critically with the media we consume—even when it’s something (or someone) we love.

[redha-reading-hood]

[X]

[ladydeath-vanserra]

haven't read CC but oh my fucking god?

[longsightmyth]

The problem with the 'not like other girls' YA phenomenon is that the books almost inevitably go out of their way to use the ostensible differences to shame other girls while said character is basically always the epitome of what our western society desires girls to be, right down to being skinny, white, and symmetrical. Specifically in YA it is used to elevate a character who already meets society's current standards without trying, while shaming people (mostly girls) for trying.

This is specifically a problem with YA fiction, not real people who feel ostracized by societal standards and the very real enforced gender norms.

So if I, in my critical posts on YA fiction, criticize the 'not like other girls' TROPE

This is what I am criticizing

Not real people who face bullying and oppression for not conforming or feeling like what society says girls are or should be

I think I've said this before, but it's worth saying again: characters are not real people and cannot make their own decisions or feel their own feelings. An author wrote them doing or feeling these things, and unfortunately in YA fiction especially this trope is often used to shame (especially but not exclusively) girls who have to work to meet societal standards and expectations.

Real people feeling real ways is something entirely different.

[cool-asexual]

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Hi! My name is Kieran (he/they) I’m a 19 year old trans man from the UK, and I am trying t… Kieran Markham needs your support for Help Kiera

[wolfythewitch]

Look at the blurb of this book my friend sent me I'm losing my mind

[nibelori]

i looked it up and it's even worse than it seems

[sweetagnostis]

Adding OP's addition from Twitter because. Hmm. Lot to take in here.

[arson-09]

someone on instagram pissed me off one too many times so now im pulling out canon quotes cause some of yall be acting like Tamlin is the most sexist man to ever exist when he was just STATING A FACT? (that feyre wouldn’t be called high lady)

[delaneytveit]

the clock app is a wild place. because how are you gowing to blame tamtam for n*sta and e*ain getting taken, then have someone show you textual evidence that it was in fact ianthe because f*yre admits that she told her everything about her sisters, and still blame tamlin

like “well how would hybern have known were to look”

idk sharon, maybe the overgrown bats circling the property constantly, maybe the absolute worst spymaster in history constantly coming in and out of the house. or maybe THE GDDAMN QUEENS THAT VISITED THE HOUSE MORE THAN ONCE AND THEN SIDED WITH HYBERN.

did we even read the same book?

[sad-scarred-sassy]

Like people truly dont understand that with or without Tamlin being there, Feyre and the IC would have been trapped in Hybern (bc their plan was shit) and the sisters would have been kidnapped and made.

It wasn’t even something Tamlin brought upon them. But of course they want to blame it on him. The memes of “Tamlin being surprised when the villain does villainous thing” is so unfunny to me… maybe apply that to all the stupid things the IC did to lead them to that point.

Feyre: brings fae political figures to her sisters’ home. Notices that Rhysand uses her as bait for the ATTOR just mere meters away from the house. Lets the IC circle the house with no much surveillance. Summons the queens to the house who then betray them.

The sisters: get kidnapped and made.

Feyre:

[rainbow-femme]

I love the tithe being presented as this horrible thing Tamlin does to his people because like

Twice a year a representative from a community brings like a basket of fruit or some fish. It’s not like every single person has to bring their own basket, it’s one person representing a larger area that supplied it, and it scales to what each individual area can afford so it’s not like everyone has to give the same. The wiki lists gifts like mushrooms or a jar of jam

It’s like if every 6 months everyone in your town got together to pay a $300 tax

[positivelyruined]

Tamlin is nothing if he is not a generous leader. Not to mention that in the olden days (which much fantasy is subconsciously based on) food was not brought to the manor for feasting, but for storing. The ruler was entrusted with the care and keeping of provisions and would redistribute it when times were hard and the land was struggling. It is actions of wisdom like this which allowed Tamlin to not have to tax his people during Amarantha’s curse. He is intelligent and forward thinking. The man never asked for such power, but very often those who do not desire it are the very best at its stewardship.

[lunamond]

The argument that the switch-up between Tamlin and Rhysand as love interests was SJM making a clever commentary on the inherently problematic nature of the Beauty and the Beast tale is actually really annoying to me.

I'm absolutely not above being critical of this story.

However, just because there are problematic aspects in the foundational version of this story doesn’t mean that modern iterations automatically possess these as well.

So let's look at how modern retellings deal with the most commonly criticised element of the story: the kidnapping.

For me personally, the most important thing to look at when judging how "problematic" the kidnapping in any given Beauty and the Beast story is, is to look at what the actual power dynamics at play are.

Most of these stories tend to feature some inherent power imbalance between the Beauty and the Beast characters. However, most retellings also feature a curse/curser who puts pressure on the Beast to kidnap Beauty in the first place. This means there is always some kind of higher power/authority who holds significant power over the Beast as well.

In the og Fairytale version, we have a scorned Fae/Witch who curses the Beast. The stakes for the Beast are to find a woman, make her fall in love with him, or stay a Beast forever.

How much this gives the Beast a pass for the crime of kidnapping is, of course, sth each person has to decide for themself.

However, most modern retellings tend to significantly increase the severity of the conditions and consequences of said curse, often times putting many lives outside of the Beast's own at stake.

This increase in stakes, at least for me, significantly impacts how much I condemn the actions of the Beast character.

We see this in the Disney version were all the people living and working in the castle were turned into animate objects and risk turning inanimate once the time-limit for the curse runs out, which is essentially a child friendly way of saying that they will all die.

In the YA novel Cruel Beauty (which I already compared to Acotar in an older post), the Beast character is forced to take a new bride every century. Due to the specifics of the curse, the safety of an entire country is dependent on his compliance with the conditions put on him. So, despite the fact that he initially appears much more powerful than the Beauty character, they are essentially both stuck under the same curse.

The first Acotar book works the same way. Tamlin kidnaps Feyre, not because he wants to but because the conditions of the curse put not just the fate of the SC but of the entirety of Prythian at stake.

That's, of course, not to say that this isn't a violent experience for Feyre and her family. But it does mean that Tamlin isn't the instigator of this violent act, but the person responsible for the curse, aka Amarantha.

The attempt to turn this into a subversion of the BnB story by revealing Tamlin as a violent and abusive partner becomes incredibly frustrating, because most of the violent undertone present in the 1st book, that fans like to point towards as an early sign of his future abusive behaviors are not caused by Tamlin himself but by Amarantha (and her batwinged lackey).

But SJM's attempt is especially nonsensical because Feyre's new romance with Rhysand is just a worse version of BnB.

I am aware that the second book, Acomaf, is most commonly marketed as a Hades/Persephone retelling.

But here is the thing; the modern interpretation of Hades/Persephone as a romance is much more akin to the story of Beauty and the Beast than the hymn to Demeter (the og source text featuring the myth of Hades/Persephone), which as the title suggests is much more concerned with the feelings of grief and rage a mother feels in response to her daughter's abduction than anything else.

So, let's judge Feysand's story with the same standards we just used for other modern BnB retellings.

Immediately, we run into the issue that Rhysand doesn't have a higher power above him forcing him to kidnap Feyre (unless you want to count the mating bond, but that is clearly meant to be seen as a positive so that doesn't really work, Amarantha doesn't count either).

However, it gets worse.

He is the one who forces the bargain on Feyre, ensuring she has to spend 1 week in the NC for the rest of her life. When he later kidnaps her, he is fulfilling the curse he himself put on her.

In this version, the Beast character, Rhysand, is not the cursed but the curser. So he is at once the kidnapper AND the higher power enforcing the curse/the cause for the kidnapping.

In a direct comparison between the way Tamlin and Rhysand each fullfill the Beast role, it becomes pretty apparent how utterly SJM's supposed criticism of the BnB story has failed; Tamlin kidnaps Feyre because he is forced to, Rhysand does because he WANTS to.

[spacerockfloater]

The High Lords forgave Rhysand way too quickly. I don’t know about them but I’d consider the man who did Amarantha’s bidding to save his OWN skin, her bidding being torture and murder of innocents, my fucking enemy for LIFE. Him occasionally trying to damage control the situation slightly, but not as much as to endanger HIM or HIS people, would have never been enough of a sacrifice for me. Like, killing my circle and torturing them to protect HIS circle would definitely not make me feel like I owe him in the slightest.

[lunamond]

One of the most annoying things about Rhysand is that despite his self-proclaimed victimhood, he completely lacks any person or power who actually victimises him (post-Amarantha).

The CoN and the Illyrians hate him, which he ofc bemoans, but they are under his power. They are his victims.

The other HLs antagonism towards Rhys would have been a great opportunity to showcase an actual higher power denying Rhys sth. While I personally still wouldn't count this as victimisation, it would at least present a real obstacle that he couldn't just talk or threaten himself out of. Him actually having to navigate this messy political position, all while the threat of Hybern looms over them, it would have been so interesting.

But instead, the HLs are inexplicably convinced in one disastrous meeting. And even if they had disagreed, you don't have to worry because we are immediately reminded that our dear batboy is "tHe mOsT pOwErFuL HL" and could have totally defeat all the other HLs, no problem. And thank god for that, or else we might have had a smidgen of tension in this plot.