Thanks to Nurx for sponsoring this video! Head to nurx.com/chandlerainsley to get started. Individual results may vary. The information provided here is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not rely upon the content provided here for specific medical advice. If you have any questions or concerns, please talk to your provider.
Butcher and Blackbird is definitely worth reading! The audiobook is fantastic too. The plot is gory and gross at times since it’s about serial killers, but the romance is so sweet and full of pining. I loved it! It was a unique romance book.
The audible production of 1984 with Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, and Andrew Scott BLEW ME AWAY. Not really my vibe of book normally but damn it was so good.
Butcher and blackbird is hilarious and gross only in a funny way. Yes, they are serial killers but it’s really not written in a disturbing way and more in a rom-com way, and Roman is typically the kind of hero you like from watching your videos (boy obsessed and pining all along…) Definitely light dark romance and sooo fun. One of my favs for sure!
A book that evoked emotions in me this year was Lonely Castle in the Mirror. It was about troubled children who were not going to school. I almost cried at the end.
I just finished This Could Be Us and it's easily my favorite read of 2024 so far!! I loved both of her Skyland books, I definitely plan on picking up more of her backlist because i'm blown away!
Sea of Tranquility is one of my favourites 😅 I also really liked Station Eleven. Glass Hotel (also Emily St John Mandel) I hated though. I definitely see how they are polarizing
I just read A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle Jensen and it was incredible! The banter was some of the best I’ve read in awhile and the use of Norse mythology was so interesting.
I think if you're in the mood for a deep emotional connection, I would recommend Kate Clayborn. Her newest is The Other Side of Disappearing, which is very different for her. I liked it a lot, but... maybe not the best place to start. I would say Love Lettering is where I'd recommend starting. Also, Abby Jimenez's latest had me feeling a lot of things!! I hope April reads are overall better for you!
I can completely imagine how frustrating it is to read so many duds 😢. I hope you find your next 5 ☆ read soon! Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez is a favorite of the year for me, maybe you can try it and see how you like it
Recommendation of a (short) book that got me obsessed and helped me getting out of a slump: The Head of the Saint - Socorro Acioli. So funny and such an awesome read
reading manacled rn and i saw your reviews of it on goodreads. would love to hear your more in depth thoughts ab this bc it’s SO UNBELIVABLY GOOD out of no where im like jaw dropped impressed haha. hope you’re feeling better chandler ❤❤
Hopefully you’ll see this comment - a vampire series that I absolutely loved and don’t see a lot of people talk about was the Blood of Eden trilogy by Julie Kagawa!! One of my all time favorites and I’m also a huge fan of VA (read originally in 2008/9-ish and still love to reread to this day). I read Blood of Eden in 2015 I think and it is just absolutely fabulous. Very interesting vampire world and I still think about the characters on the reg haha
Lovely video as always, Chandler. I unhauled The Things We Leave Unfinished before reading it because this is my year of unhauling problematic authors lol. As for books that made me feel something, I recently read If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang and it was just so good, not just for a YA. It was just beautiful and compelling writing, period. I'm on book #3 of this author, which is unfortunate because I have to wait until October for her new one. Do check her out!
One of my favorite romances of the year was How You Get The Girl by Anita Kelly, sapphic high school basketball coaches. It was so so good! I also just read The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn and loved that as well, but I’m not sure if I remember correctly that you DNFed Georgie, All Along by the same author? Her writing style is very distinct, so if you didn’t enjoy that one you might not like this one either.
I love your wrap-ups! Also I haven't read the Secret Society Witch book but I'm gonna guess that it's a loose Jane Eyre retelling based on the fact that the man was hiding the guardian's death on the property. Very Rochester coded :/
HATED the ritual with a burning passion. I DNFd like 80% of the way through i just couldn’t do it lol. That being said, I gave butcher & blackbird 5 stars. If you’ve read the mindfck series, it gives those vibes with a little bit of dark humor. Defffff recommend both of those. Look forward to your thoughts as always 🫶🏽
i will ride or die for vampire academy its definitely my version of Harry potter because i never read that. i reread the vampire academy series and the spin off every few years i freaking love them i love them all.
I read station 11 and the glass house and felt similar. Like “wtf is this”. One, they were both boring. Station 11 stayed off with promise and like after the prologue I was like wow this is boring 🥱. And secondly, just the way they were written …..I just didn’t care??? Definitely wont be picking up another book by that author
Disclaimer: I have not read Butcher & Blackbird myself BUT the reviews I've heard makes it seem like while it's entirely possible that the book could be kinda fun for you, the romantic development is not particularly well done. In my opinion, it seems like it doesn't fully commit to its premise. Like it's one of the books where the premise just exists to get the characters interacting or to have certain scenes? I don't know if that makes sense. (I'm now going to go on for a while trying to make sure my point is clear) Like it doesn't seem like the other is that interested in the premise beyond the beats it allows them to hit? And, personally, I'm usually disappointed when that's very transparent. As someone who writes myself, I think it's okay to start a story based on like "I want to write this scene and in order to get to this scene, we need x to happen". Like... I want my two leads to get trapped in an elevator, under what circumstances would they both be in the same elevator? I know, I'll make the love interest's best friend, her neighbour! So, the lazy way is to have it come up once or maybe allude to it briefly, just so that when they get trapped in the elevator and it makes sense for the love interest to be there. I usually don't like it very much when that's the beginning and the end of it. I'd rather we start there and then go, well since the best friend is her neighbour, what else does that imply? Besides the elevator, what else can we do with this? Does that mean they've met before? Does that mean she sees him frequently? What impression does she have of him? What relationship does she have with the neighbour? And how can I use these things to characterize everyone involved and move forward other plot points. Really long paragraph, but I hope that clarifies things.
oooooh it hurts my HEART that you didn't enjoy the very secret society of irregular witches BUT I totally agree with what lies beyond the veil....that was....well..something...& the Ritual I had to DNF because the lords kept reminding me of the House of Lords which is a bunch of old ass generally terrible men in the UK government atm. I'm finding the same thing - I need chemistry, pining, longing built up properly to enjoy a romance lately. You, Again by Kate Goldbeck I absolutely adored, full warning they are messy characters but I actually really liked reading about them! It's sexy but not toooo sexy, plus it includes a chef which is unfortunately my weakness of late.
Disagree for Divergent! That trilogy is to this day the only time I’ve *spoiler* seen a protagonist whose POV we’ve been following be killed at the end. We have so many hero stories in fantasy but not a lot of martyrs! There wasn’t a real HEA which is so impactful especially in YA
I thought The Ritual was quite tame compared to the Sinner and the Sacrifice, which is saying a lot considering its content. I didn't mind the the craziness and could suspend my disbelief with the events, but what I ended up despising and took me out of the story, was all of the breath play. Like no ,I don't want to read about the heroes constantly almost choking out their partners.
I gave Butcher & Blackbird 5 stars but based on this video, I don't think you would like it, it had dark themes and dark scenes, some parts are silly and romantic but it's mostly a dark romance and I don't think it matches your reading taste. I would never imagine you reading the ritual. I get creating content but sometimes youtubers reads books out of their taste and comfort and ended up giving bad ratings or reviews to books that other people definitely enjoy.
yeah i guess to me there is a fundamental mismatch between how i rate and how people feel about what ratings are for. it’s ok to read something that isn’t for you and rate it poorly. there’s no objectivity for books. i can hate something that someone else enjoys
@chandlerainsley that's what I mean, why read something that it's not for you? Books just like everything else we buy have a targeted audience, for example I love dark romance and women's fiction seems boring to me, why would I read women's fiction when I know I'm not going to like it and end up giving it a low review? I'm not a content creator so maybe that's why I don't get it, but reading something that I know it's not for me just seems like a waste of time for me. Obviously exploring it's okay but there are some things that you just know are not for you, and it's very common to see that in the bookish community. Sorry for the long text.
Totally agree about the Secret Society of Witches plot twist. For a book that's supposed to be cozy, it was so disturbing and I was really taken aback. Also, yes, the love interest was such a jerk for no reason, the main character deserved better :(
It's interesting to watch you comment on smut the way I did at your age. I assumed my dislike came from the rise of 50 Shades knock offs becoming too prominent, but maybe it's an age thing. It is a struggle to find "chick lit" the way I want now because most seem to have moved to everyone banging all the time. Your comments made me consider picking up the Kennedy Ryan book.
Divergent I read it in sophomore year and I liked the idea but can I just say the Author you can tell rushed the idea and such. I was very very very boredom in the movie theater also! I have adhd I can read if I’m interested but I’m not interested I blank.
Oh my gosh, someone else who didn’t like the very secret society of irregular witches-I feel so alone in my opinion lol. But yeah I was side-eyeing everyone at the end. That was truly strange
I think the problem is these books were just not for you or you picked up books that advertised things like grumpy sunshine but you picked them up anyway. Everyone's reading experience is different so I wouldn't say that these books are necessarily bad, you just didn't enjoy them. I was glad to see you reading some throw backs, older books are still worth reading.
i absolutely despised butcher and blackbird. there was no chemistry, it was insta lovey, and the sex scenes were disgusting. if you don’t like talk about and use of fluids in sex scenes then you will not enjoy this book 🤢🤮
spoilers(?) for the sex scenes if you want a heads up lol he spits her juices into her mouth (not the most disgusting out of all of them tbh) he pushes their juices back inside her and makes her walk home like that he puts whipped cream on her cooch and licks it off (yeast infection???) and he basically has a breeding kink bc he loves filling her up 🥴 there’s probably worse sex scenes out there but this is the worst from what i’ve read at least lol
Thanks to Nurx for sponsoring this video! Head to nurx.com/chandlerainsley to get started. Individual results may vary. The information provided here is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not rely upon the content provided here for specific medical advice. If you have any questions or concerns, please talk to your provider.
Yay, Chandler is back. For some reason I love when you have sponsorships. Because I am sincerely happy for you to get paid :)
Vampir academy is my teenage nostalgia talking but that series will alsway have a place in my heart
I love vampire academy
Butcher and Blackbird is definitely worth reading! The audiobook is fantastic too. The plot is gory and gross at times since it’s about serial killers, but the romance is so sweet and full of pining. I loved it! It was a unique romance book.
Agreed, I loved it!!
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez made me sob when I finished because it was just excellent. I think it’ll be my top favorite of the whole year.
so excited for it
I gave The Ritual 1.5 stars and Butcher and Blackbird 5 stars. They are no where near similar in my opinion! 😂
I would recommend giving it a try!
Kennedy Ryan is that girl. I’m half way through This Could Be Us and I DONT want to finish it. I’m just eating up every page, it’s sooo tasty 😂
sea of tranquility is a companion to station eleven- its many years in the future after station elevens pandemic!!!!
Yay! Happy to see you back! I miss your vlogs, but don’t rush getting back to them while feeling so bad ❤ hope you start feeling better soon
The audible production of 1984 with Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, and Andrew Scott BLEW ME AWAY. Not really my vibe of book normally but damn it was so good.
I looooved the Vampire Academy books at the time 😅 Excited for your podcast, but patiently waiting :) hope your health stuff improves!
thanks!
It’s such a good series Rose is one of my favorite protagonist characters!
Butcher and blackbird is hilarious and gross only in a funny way. Yes, they are serial killers but it’s really not written in a disturbing way and more in a rom-com way, and Roman is typically the kind of hero you like from watching your videos (boy obsessed and pining all along…)
Definitely light dark romance and sooo fun. One of my favs for sure!
I can really see you going either way with Butcher & Blackbird (and now I’m curious to see where you’ll land on it haha).
Ive been in a bit of a reading slump. I havent read anything all week and this video has me itching for my kindle again. Thank you for your service!!
The icon Chandler❤ I miss your uploads and am sending you love ❤
A book that evoked emotions in me this year was Lonely Castle in the Mirror. It was about troubled children who were not going to school. I almost cried at the end.
I just finished This Could Be Us and it's easily my favorite read of 2024 so far!! I loved both of her Skyland books, I definitely plan on picking up more of her backlist because i'm blown away!
So glad your back! Always look forward to your videos ❤
Sea of Tranquility is one of my favourites 😅 I also really liked Station Eleven. Glass Hotel (also Emily St John Mandel) I hated though. I definitely see how they are polarizing
I have been thinking of you everyday, sending you good vibes ✨✨✨
You’re back🎉😢. Hope you are well. I agree with you about Kennedy Ryan I’m obsessed now too. Lovely to see you.
I’m so glad there’s someone else out there who doesn’t like Irregular Witches! I thought I was the only one. You’re so right, it’s not a romance!
Yay, been missing your videos! Very much looking forward to the vampire podcast when you're feeling better!
I just read A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle Jensen and it was incredible! The banter was some of the best I’ve read in awhile and the use of Norse mythology was so interesting.
She’s back 🎉🎉🎉
I think if you're in the mood for a deep emotional connection, I would recommend Kate Clayborn. Her newest is The Other Side of Disappearing, which is very different for her. I liked it a lot, but... maybe not the best place to start. I would say Love Lettering is where I'd recommend starting. Also, Abby Jimenez's latest had me feeling a lot of things!! I hope April reads are overall better for you!
Omgggg I’m so excited for this!!
I can completely imagine how frustrating it is to read so many duds 😢. I hope you find your next 5 ☆ read soon! Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez is a favorite of the year for me, maybe you can try it and see how you like it
You look beautiful, Chandler. That hair style in the beginning of the video suits you so much 😍
Recommendation of a (short) book that got me obsessed and helped me getting out of a slump: The Head of the Saint - Socorro Acioli. So funny and such an awesome read
reading manacled rn and i saw your reviews of it on goodreads. would love to hear your more in depth thoughts ab this bc it’s SO UNBELIVABLY GOOD out of no where im like jaw dropped impressed haha. hope you’re feeling better chandler ❤❤
ty! i talk about it in the vid where i read people's best books of 2023 :)
i actually really want to know your top book boyfriends!
Not me using Nurx for the past 4 years without realizing until this video I was saying the name TOTALLY wrong haha.
Hopefully you’ll see this comment - a vampire series that I absolutely loved and don’t see a lot of people talk about was the Blood of Eden trilogy by Julie Kagawa!! One of my all time favorites and I’m also a huge fan of VA (read originally in 2008/9-ish and still love to reread to this day). I read Blood of Eden in 2015 I think and it is just absolutely fabulous. Very interesting vampire world and I still think about the characters on the reg haha
Lovely video as always, Chandler. I unhauled The Things We Leave Unfinished before reading it because this is my year of unhauling problematic authors lol. As for books that made me feel something, I recently read If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang and it was just so good, not just for a YA. It was just beautiful and compelling writing, period. I'm on book #3 of this author, which is unfortunate because I have to wait until October for her new one. Do check her out!
One of my favorite romances of the year was How You Get The Girl by Anita Kelly, sapphic high school basketball coaches. It was so so good! I also just read The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn and loved that as well, but I’m not sure if I remember correctly that you DNFed Georgie, All Along by the same author? Her writing style is very distinct, so if you didn’t enjoy that one you might not like this one either.
I‘d like to recommend Binti, its sth outside your usual romance genre and a short little read to keep your mind off of the daily life sh*t ❤
I love your wrap-ups! Also I haven't read the Secret Society Witch book but I'm gonna guess that it's a loose Jane Eyre retelling based on the fact that the man was hiding the guardian's death on the property. Very Rochester coded :/
HATED the ritual with a burning passion. I DNFd like 80% of the way through i just couldn’t do it lol. That being said, I gave butcher & blackbird 5 stars. If you’ve read the mindfck series, it gives those vibes with a little bit of dark humor. Defffff recommend both of those. Look forward to your thoughts as always 🫶🏽
i will ride or die for vampire academy its definitely my version of Harry potter because i never read that. i reread the vampire academy series and the spin off every few years i freaking love them i love them all.
I clicked afraid of what you would say about VA. The age is so problematic, but I see it as a product os it’s time and still love the series
Missed you so much!!!
I love Sea of Tranquility. If you read The Glass Hotel first it’s also interconnected. But I love literary fiction
The third book in the Divergent series is actually more of a Maze Runner ripoff, which I honestly didn't mind when I first read it 😂
I read station 11 and the glass house and felt similar. Like “wtf is this”. One, they were both boring. Station 11 stayed off with promise and like after the prologue I was like wow this is boring 🥱. And secondly, just the way they were written …..I just didn’t care??? Definitely wont be picking up another book by that author
Honeytrap, by Aster Glenn Gray - the relationship and its development is just fantastic, and the s3x is used very sporadically. It’s so so great!!!
Disclaimer: I have not read Butcher & Blackbird myself BUT the reviews I've heard makes it seem like while it's entirely possible that the book could be kinda fun for you, the romantic development is not particularly well done. In my opinion, it seems like it doesn't fully commit to its premise. Like it's one of the books where the premise just exists to get the characters interacting or to have certain scenes? I don't know if that makes sense. (I'm now going to go on for a while trying to make sure my point is clear)
Like it doesn't seem like the other is that interested in the premise beyond the beats it allows them to hit? And, personally, I'm usually disappointed when that's very transparent. As someone who writes myself, I think it's okay to start a story based on like "I want to write this scene and in order to get to this scene, we need x to happen". Like... I want my two leads to get trapped in an elevator, under what circumstances would they both be in the same elevator? I know, I'll make the love interest's best friend, her neighbour! So, the lazy way is to have it come up once or maybe allude to it briefly, just so that when they get trapped in the elevator and it makes sense for the love interest to be there. I usually don't like it very much when that's the beginning and the end of it. I'd rather we start there and then go, well since the best friend is her neighbour, what else does that imply? Besides the elevator, what else can we do with this? Does that mean they've met before? Does that mean she sees him frequently? What impression does she have of him? What relationship does she have with the neighbour? And how can I use these things to characterize everyone involved and move forward other plot points.
Really long paragraph, but I hope that clarifies things.
oooooh it hurts my HEART that you didn't enjoy the very secret society of irregular witches BUT I totally agree with what lies beyond the veil....that was....well..something...& the Ritual I had to DNF because the lords kept reminding me of the House of Lords which is a bunch of old ass generally terrible men in the UK government atm. I'm finding the same thing - I need chemistry, pining, longing built up properly to enjoy a romance lately. You, Again by Kate Goldbeck I absolutely adored, full warning they are messy characters but I actually really liked reading about them! It's sexy but not toooo sexy, plus it includes a chef which is unfortunately my weakness of late.
Disagree for Divergent! That trilogy is to this day the only time I’ve *spoiler* seen a protagonist whose POV we’ve been following be killed at the end. We have so many hero stories in fantasy but not a lot of martyrs! There wasn’t a real HEA which is so impactful especially in YA
I thought The Ritual was quite tame compared to the Sinner and the Sacrifice, which is saying a lot considering its content. I didn't mind the the craziness and could suspend my disbelief with the events, but what I ended up despising and took me out of the story, was all of the breath play. Like no ,I don't want to read about the heroes constantly almost choking out their partners.
'if books could kill' podcast has an episode on 'the subtle art of not giving a fuck'. check it out i think you would like it 😂
Ok this isn’t a romance whatsoever (small side plot romance); but The Will of the Many by James Islington saved me from the worst slump of my life!!!
ive heard so many good things about that one!
I gave Butcher & Blackbird 5 stars but based on this video, I don't think you would like it, it had dark themes and dark scenes, some parts are silly and romantic but it's mostly a dark romance and I don't think it matches your reading taste. I would never imagine you reading the ritual. I get creating content but sometimes youtubers reads books out of their taste and comfort and ended up giving bad ratings or reviews to books that other people definitely enjoy.
yeah i guess to me there is a fundamental mismatch between how i rate and how people feel about what ratings are for. it’s ok to read something that isn’t for you and rate it poorly. there’s no objectivity for books. i can hate something that someone else enjoys
@chandlerainsley that's what I mean, why read something that it's not for you? Books just like everything else we buy have a targeted audience, for example I love dark romance and women's fiction seems boring to me, why would I read women's fiction when I know I'm not going to like it and end up giving it a low review? I'm not a content creator so maybe that's why I don't get it, but reading something that I know it's not for me just seems like a waste of time for me. Obviously exploring it's okay but there are some things that you just know are not for you, and it's very common to see that in the bookish community. Sorry for the long text.
Dragged my favorite book, secret society fot irregular watches😭😅
Totally agree about the Secret Society of Witches plot twist. For a book that's supposed to be cozy, it was so disturbing and I was really taken aback. Also, yes, the love interest was such a jerk for no reason, the main character deserved better :(
It's interesting to watch you comment on smut the way I did at your age. I assumed my dislike came from the rise of 50 Shades knock offs becoming too prominent, but maybe it's an age thing.
It is a struggle to find "chick lit" the way I want now because most seem to have moved to everyone banging all the time. Your comments made me consider picking up the Kennedy Ryan book.
I want to reread VA and see what I think of it now 😂
Divergent I read it in sophomore year and I liked the idea but can I just say the Author you can tell rushed the idea and such. I was very very very boredom in the movie theater also! I have adhd I can read if I’m interested but I’m not interested I blank.
Oh my gosh, someone else who didn’t like the very secret society of irregular witches-I feel so alone in my opinion lol. But yeah I was side-eyeing everyone at the end. That was truly strange
I miss the library seriousness rating videos
huh?
Read Mayluna
yass i feel like you have not posted in agess
I think the problem is these books were just not for you or you picked up books that advertised things like grumpy sunshine but you picked them up anyway. Everyone's reading experience is different so I wouldn't say that these books are necessarily bad, you just didn't enjoy them. I was glad to see you reading some throw backs, older books are still worth reading.
i typically read books for specific projects i'm working on, so yes a lot of the time they are not to my liking :)
What Lies Beyond the Veil gets SO much worse. Smart move not continuing that series.
This could be us..??? Girl 😮😮😮
?
@@chandlerainsley I'm surprised is what I mean haha
dammit chan i'm meant to be going to bed but now i gotta watch 🙄🙄🙄
i absolutely despised butcher and blackbird. there was no chemistry, it was insta lovey, and the sex scenes were disgusting. if you don’t like talk about and use of fluids in sex scenes then you will not enjoy this book 🤢🤮
spoilers(?) for the sex scenes if you want a heads up lol
he spits her juices into her mouth (not the most disgusting out of all of them tbh)
he pushes their juices back inside her and makes her walk home like that
he puts whipped cream on her cooch and licks it off (yeast infection???)
and he basically has a breeding kink bc he loves filling her up 🥴
there’s probably worse sex scenes out there but this is the worst from what i’ve read at least lol
@@sixofpagessounds gross lol. The first one IS horrible. What the heck.