That made me realise that I always posted my fanfics without beta but I never once put that "no beta we die like men" in any of my posted fics despite the fact I read it many times in other AO3 fics. Now I think I should because it's hilarious. 🤣
I feel like this author didn’t understand the difference between fanfic tags and a trigger warning list for a published book. When you post a fic on AO3, the tags are basically a second summary. In fact, one could argue that the tags are the first summary, because when someone searches the site, they filter for specific tags, so if your fic has a tag that someone’s filtered out, they won’t even see your summary. You can joke around in the tags. You can mention whatever’s in the story that might spark a reader’s interest. On AO3, your tags are your readers’ first impression of your story, so that’s where you want to hook them. With a published book, however, the readers don’t have a handy little search filter for their local bookstore. They’re going to see your cover and your blurb first, so they won’t get to the trigger warnings until they’ve already picked up the book. At that point, you already have their attention, so your trigger warnings are where you need to just lay out the facts. You don’t put your hook in the trigger warnings because if the reader is seeing the trigger warnings, you’ve already hooked them.
Are we surprised this kind of "author" doesn't distinguish between features of AO3 and actual publishing? The entire issue is that they can't recognize between trash fanfic and the publishing industry. The real, underlying, problem is that the publishing industry is run by idiots that don't care about their craft
I personally think it would be cool if authors stopped using lobotomies as extra edgy set dressing and actually explored _anything_ about them. Or at least did enough research to realise that faking having been lobotomised is bringing a pair of bolt cutters to the suspension of disbelief. Not to mention how harmful the "the villain was faking being disabled the whole time" trope is. It's hard enough for us to be believed already; what if you stopped playing into it for your shitty plot twists?
Nothing gives me the ick faster than a TW/CW list full of things that are A: not triggers B: visual triggers or graphic contents that hold no bearing on written media (IE nudity, eyeballs/sockets, skin ornaments, etc.) It trivializes the use of trigger/content warnings, and tells me everything I need to know about the author.
@@Ceruleansquid-lo3iv These Ao3 writers turned original content writers are a menace, lol. I've seen some WILD shit for people just throwing tags in, not triggers. Call that a tag list, not trigger! I call mine a content warning because it includes non triggers like graphic violence, as well as triggers.
I hear what you are saying AND for folks who have really good visualization, like myself, eyeballs and sockets being described (especially in the context of books like this) can be something folks need a content warning for. I have a really hard time with in depth descriptions of them and I need to know that is a part of a story to be okay with it (so I can prepare myself). My brain very much engages with written media in similar ways to visual media, and I know that is not everyone, but wanted to put that out there.
@MaxximusP That is absolutely fair. I have a vivid imagination, too, and can see everything clearly. I do agree with Rachel in the eyeball sense of there need to be more specifics, because an eye in itself isn't usually the problem, but rather eyes being touched or removed, etc. I personally don't have any triggers, though I have some intense phobias (fish) that media doesn't trigger (thank the stars, cause a fish phobia causing triggers would leave me with few entertainment options). So it hadn't occured to me that someone like me who sees all of it might find it as triggering. I do maintain that nudity doesn't apply, though, lol.
I can’t get over “Sorry for the cookies-and-cream ice cream (not really)” being a trigger warning. Not only is it an unfunny joke, it tells me absolutely nothing. Like what am I looking out for? No clue because the author wanted to make a joke. Talk about beyond unhelpful
the only trigger warning that actually somewhat does its job (though it could still have more detail like is it something that happens to the main characters, their victims, or a supporting character?) is the "accidental cannibalism" which is ridiculous, the author could have put some of those "jokes" into an ending author's word instead of ruining a trigger warning list
It's alarming that the trigger warning list reads more like ao3 tags. On ao3 its fine because A it's an informal site, and B there is a built-in filter system. It's just unprofessional to treat trigger warnings in a book the same way.
At least in the fandoms I'm in, the fic writers have the tags AND a list of triggers. Trigger lists aren't the place to joke around or try to hook your readers. They're for preventing harm. Idk why so many authors can't take that seriously
A lot of ao3 tags also seem to contain the actual trigger warnings and then the joke tag, and also most will still update the tags if they've missed something
@@Robi-Chaud it's useful to put the trigger warnings in the tags so people can filter them out. but yeah, many authors do a separate tw list in the notes too.
I remember DNFing this right around the time they left Autumn to die. It threw me out of the story in such a major way. Rachel, your explanation of trigger warnings and comparing them to food allergies was brilliant. Packaged food wouldn't have, "this food contains soy products, or does it??? I guess you gotta eat it to know! ;)" on it. Being so flippant about triggers in a book about serial killers boning is crude and lazy. Write your jokes in the chapters, not in a list that can have very real repercussions to the reader.
(That's mostly because it reminds me of a real life instance of an amateur surgeon. Truly horrifying.) These trigger warnings read like they're on a fanfic, which is not to say that fic writers are irresponsible in listing triggers, but that these warnings seem to have been developed within a small community who the author is fairly familiar with and where the community can easily reach out to the author. It does not seem professional at all and seems like something an editor would have flagged immediately for changes.
The TW list is so crazy to me because listening to you read it off it sounds more like what I’d read in the tags of a fanfiction on Ao3 then a traditionally published novel.
Honestly it feels to me like a lot of these booktok writers are just folks who migrated from ao3 fics (or worse, wattpad) to published books and have no idea why the sites work the way they do and why the culture on there is the way it is, including trigger warnings, tag lists and the use of tropes!
Literally everything you're saying, I say in my upcoming rant. I even asked if dark romance authors have a shared google doc with cliches that they all need to hit in their books. IM DYING
this book (which i considered reading bc the concept appealed to me) has committed many crimes, but none so grave as NOT GIVING THE CAT ANY PAGE TIME?? WHERE WAS THE KITTY?? SO MUCH UNNECESSARY BULLSHIT INSTEAD OF CAT???
with the "trigger warnings" looking like ao3 tags (as other comments have mentioned) and the lack of character work, it really does feel like the book is like... a fun(?) horny serial killer AU for characters in a fandom ive never encountered, especially with the "zoom-ins" on the other couple feeling like one of those cameos that r often added to a fic as a shout out to the wider context of whatever fandom the fic is of (ex: having a sakura/ino sideplot in your naruto/sasuke fanfiction)
You're right. This really does feel like they just filed the numbers off a fanfic! In my head they're now the characters from You in that season when he runs into the fem serial killer.
FYI, the author distanced herself from the audiobook after the male narrator, Joe Arden, was accused of sexual misconduct and unethical business practices.
I read a fanfiction once from the Supernatural fandom (a serial killer AU -Alternate Universe-), and it started with, "Dean likes to k!ll people who look like his father." I feel as though that one sentence gives you more insight into his psyche the this book gave about its characters through the whole thing. Even if you don't know anything about Supernatural as a show, that one damn sentence gives you a lot of insight.
My mother absolutely loved this book. So when she told me all about it I was like ‘Yup Mrs. Rachel is gonna hate this.’ This is how I give her book recs lol
I read that as Ms. Rachel…as in the lady who sings and teaches babies/toddlers 😂😭 idk what she’s into, but I’m going to venture a guess she wouldn’t like this book either
Sometimes we have people in our life who recommend books, but all we hear is, "Oh, it's that kind of book." Whatever their kink or particular fave tropes or something else; you just know when that person makes a recommendation, this book will be that thing at least.
I really think you should repost your section about trigger warnings as its own video. You do such a good job of breaking down and explaining it and it would be a good reference to send to people when trying to explain why trigger warnings are important! Another great video
It’s my birthday today and if you can I’d love you to join me in donating to help this family in Gaza: www.gofundme.com/f/hpnyg5-help-a-gazan-family-to-relocate-to-safety
I wish more books would be read in duet like that. It really elevates the story, and I think some books I've listened to would've been more enjoyable if the man wasn't doing a shrill lady voice for the fmc in his chapters.
If the narration is good, I'm fine with solo or dual, but I really love duet narration in Romance. Unfortunately, the cost is a lot more and a lot of indie authors can't afford duet production.
The fact that you did this with a migraine is actually amazing to me. If I'm ever getting a migraine, my eyes are shut. All productivity in me dies until the ibuprofen kicks in
Eye mutilation is one of my minor triggers and that content warning makes no sense 😭 what is it? Are eyes being gouged out? Stabbed? Are they dead or alive? You gotta be more specific. Also it’s funny how all the victims are men… the author is avoiding the hard truth that most victims of serial killers are women, especially WOC, trans women, sex workers, drug addicts, etc. and obviously the male love interest killing women isn’t cool for romance
This! All of this! Are the eyes being described? Because that's in most books. Torture? You don't need to tell me the gory details, and shouldn't, but a general idea would be nice. Also, completely agree with you about how ridiculous it is that all the victims are men. Adding to that, it bothers me that all of the bad guys are hideous, when it's quite common for serial killers to be conventionally attractive. That's literally a major part of how a lot of them lure people in.
genuinely don't get that kind of mentality. and when people are like "but it spoils my book!" like babe i would rather my book be spoiled to someone than have someone potentially end up in the hospital because they trusted they could consume my media and it harmed them.
I don’t understand people who say that a trigger warning would spoil their story. Like, if your story contains a graphically depicted murder, that’s what goes in the trigger warnings. You don’t have to say who gets murdered, or who commits the murder, or even when in the story the murder happens! The knowledge that there will at some point be a murder won’t ruin the story.
@@someoneunknown7655 That's the best practice imo as someone who reads horror and some TW could spoil parts for those who might not need it (eg. Child death in a book with 1 or 2 child charas).
God, why are they always named something like Rowan or Sloane or Thorsten??? I don't even read these books and I'm sick to death of it. I don't understand why so many authors do this. 😑
those “trigger/content warnings” read more as ao3 fic tags, which are NOT the same thing as a list of trigger warnings. yes, TWs are usually included in ao3 tags, but that flippant nature, the humor, is not something that belongs in an actual TW list. i am so SICK of the line blending between fanfic and novel writing!!!
On the subject of people mentioning that recently a lot of authors have been using trigger warning lists lately like Ao3 tags, the issue is also, to me, authors like these both fundamentally misunderstanding triggers/trigger warnings AND how what tag lists are on places like Ao3 that use them! Cause Ao3, that uses things like tag lists, which can be used for both general content tags as well as more specific trigger warnings, actually actively has a system for categorizing based on explicity levels of content, a specific section for important content warnings like r*pe/non-con, excessive violence, major character death, etc, and THEN the content tags are a SEPARATE SECTION where you can let your readers know what more specific things are in there, including if there's more specific acts that can be triggering OR just be nice fun content or jokes, and any of these can be filtered FOR or filtered OUT when looking for specific things to read on Ao3! Which is honestly why I love it! What I don't love is authors fundamentally misunderstanding the use of things like that and then turning around and getting upset when people call them out on their sun-par trigger warnings that are content tags at best! Like if you want to add that as a fun little book summary page "vibe check" if you will , do that as WELL, don't think its an adequate replacement for actual content/trigger WARNINGS, which are supposed to be for people who need to know if they either cannot deal with reading said content or need to be mentally prepared beforehand. There are some books and movies/shows i LOVE, but I absolutely need to be mentally prepared to consume certain parts, and due to severe intrusive thoughts and other related issues, some that I straight up cannot consume alone/after dark. Some i have gone into knowing what happens and am able to prepare myself mentally, but for some, content/trigger warnings would have been so helpful for a couple that I read or watched for the first time and had really bad panic attacks or ocd related paranoia spirals that were affecting me for days! They can be so important and it really feels like some authors (and honestly just people in general) just don't really take them seriously enough.
You didn't like Butcher and the Wren? I thought it was pretty good, I listened to the audiobook all the way through and I never listen to books or read anymore 😅
For a moment, when you read aloud the tw, I thought you were listing the warnings on a AO3 fanfic- because that’s where I’ve seen many authors do jokes like these ones.
1:28 mm exactly! you don’t adjust the characters for the scene, you adjust the scene for the characters! sometimes ill get an idea or ill see a tropey idea that i do like but it doesn’t fit my characters that well. So i brainstorm how i can change and make the scene unique and make it necessary and well written. Characters aren’t tools to write a good trope, they’re supposed to be for the story. Anyway excited for this video! 18:26 so many characters with freckles… and you know its just a few little ones across the nose bride and cheeks. Where are my characters with freckles all over the face and body 🤨 are they not conventionally attractive enough for these writers🤨
While I didn't mind the book, I do agree with your assessment about the characters. Interestingly enough I am finding that is why I am preferring the second one. More character development ... the MFC's aunt is a hoot. This was missing in the first one.
I felt the same way! I enjoyed B&B for what it is. I was entertained. But Leather & Lark had me cackling... I'm still looking forward to the third book. I need to know the details about those two😆
Hear me out: A series of videos talking about characters from books that could've/should've been queer but their potential was completely wasted called "Can We Make This Gay?". Just sayin'. 😌
im a writer (not professionally just as a hobby) and one of my projects that i tinker with from time to time is a dark romance between a serial killer and a sicario. sometimes i feel insecure about my skills and talents, particularly about writing things that im not too familiar with or are pretty heavy, tone-wise. this book makes me feel a whole lot better about my skills. i love your videos, btw ❤
Your breakdown of how to do a trigger warnings list was SO HELPFUL. I cannot overstate that. I wrote my first trigger warning for the book I released in March and I struggled through it but your advice seriously is going to make future trigger warnings so much easier to write.
My pet peeve is characters who claim to not know/ deny that the love interest is into them they’ve done basically everything but say, “I love you, please fuck me.” Like *I* should also have doubts! At least a little even if I know the genre. There should be some mystery, not just playing dumb. Gets so frustrating
Not gonna lie, my first thought when I hear 'who's the better serial killer' is two people competing to prove they are BETTER AT KILLING and that would be much more interesting to me than serial killers trying to moralize about their kills. Give me people who enjoy the kill and are proud of their ability to kill trying to one-up each other and playing 'who's the better killer' and then having lots of sex about it, that's the serial killer romance i've been looking for.
13:51 my friend once witnessed me have to lock myself in a different room during a graphic sexual assault on TV and didn’t think to later give me a TW about the same sort of thing in a book she really recommended to me. I asked her to remember next time.
"Blackbird", raven colored hair, dimples, freckles, boarding school, she's a serial killer... is this Wednesday Fanfiction? Because it's clear, based on the TW and the writing style, this started on AO3.
That audiobook snippet was the worst experience of my life oh my god!!! I watch reviews of bad books so I can laugh abt the trashiness without experiencing the embarassment first hand, why did you have to do this to me 😂😂😂 Also your idea for making their dynamic more interesting was so compelling that now I'm sad it isn't an actual book 🪓
Hi! I DNFed this book so fast 🤣🤣 That spitting thing in the "spicy" scene should've been on the tw list. It's called "snowball" and it's not the same as "spitting". It can be triggering. When I read the TW for the first time I thought it was funny but thank you for make me see it's disrespectful.
Hey I like your negative reviews but I really like it when you talk about queer books and books you like. Like I really enjoyed your Hell Followed with us review.
Not sure if you saw this recent video but I talk about three short stories, one was a queer horror story that I gave 5 stars! ruclips.net/video/zPEfU_oB4tc/видео.html
Your hair looks so greaat wavy! I'm so disappointed in this book, I read the synopsis and hoped for a psychological thriller/romance with dark humor, but it's just smut with bad plot :( thank you for saving me the read with your great review! Your therapy idea would have been such a great way to make this story work, it would make the characters more real and is a great opportunity for psychological flesh-outs and humor. Edit: 🪓🪓🪓
this is my miss rachel (that kid show star) ur so right abt the trigger warning comparison, bc that put such a bad taste in my mouth when i looked at reading this book - why are you, an author, not taking your own work seriously as soon as i open the page? :(
I recently found your channel and have been binging your videos whilst in a book slump. I absolutely love them. And The Swan Princess in this one?? You have my heart. Far longer than forever. ✨🦢✨
🪓 I love how you likened TWs to ingredients lists! Smart and easy way to describe them! Also you look super pretty with wavy hair and purple eyeshadow!
THANK YOU for the trigger warning section and showing a list that's actually well done. I do need trigger warnings and am often disappointed when they're treated like a joke by the author or just say it contains it without any further explanation. I thinks it's so important to mention when a triggering topic is on page fully described or off-page or implied/mentioned briefly
Authors not taking trigger warnings seriously immediately makes me lose respect for them and their writing. If you are going to have these dark elements in your work at least make sure that people feel safe to read it. People don't say "There may or may not be landmines sprinkles around this field hehe ;P" because it's ridiculous to not clearly state when people could potentially be harmed.
I saw this book in Walmart and thought it was interesting. Picked it up and liked how it had a list of TWs. And then I read through the list and then the synopsis on the back ... Realized this book wasn't for me and put it back. I'm interested to hear what you thought of it
idk if maybe it was intended to be like his way of dealing with what he does, but i kinda don't love that the Very Irish MMC is consistently drinking.... like, there are MANY other complaints i have about him and how he interacts with the FMC, but idk it feels like a bit of a lazy stereotype to me, just very "you know those irishmen and their booze, am i right!? 🤪 " like, i know a lot of irish folks - like other folks in many other places - do often go to pubs and all that, it just......when it has been a stereotype against irish people, it hits different, IMO 😮💨
What's interesting to me is I had a lot of the same issues you had, but I still enjoyed this book. I think I was more focused on the excellent audio performance that really elevated the book. Couples that have zero external obstacles and just mentally throw up random hurdles for themselves is one of my biggest pet peeves.
I'm glad I didn't end up finishing this book because I feel like I would've had to force myself to finish it. The reason why I DNF'd (at the scene where Sloane goes to the restaurant for the first time) it was because I felt like I was missing out on a lot of context that I was magically supposed to know. It felt like the author wrote this couple as if they were already together and then changed her mind and hurriedly re-wrote their dynamic. Also, why is this romance taking place over the span of literal years??? I did not get that at all. Why are we going through whole summers, birthdays, and Christmases with their relationship moving at the slowest snail's pace I have ever seen? It makes no sense!
yeah no if an author makes the trigger warnings a joke I dont bother reading it, I have trauma and ptsd and I enjoy reading I do NOT want to have an episode because of someone's published ao3 fic
🪓 I liked this one and then did not like the second one, so now I question - did I actually like the first one? Probably not but I won’t be reading again to confirm that 😂
The way that the author had the potential to make these characters so interesting! 😭 Like, what are their morals? What are their differences? How do they view the world? The law in this instance. Also, yes, the fact that their only killing men is just odd. Yes, mostly men are serial killers, but there are female serial killers. Would've been interesting. Like, "What if the FL (female lead) is in a conflict?". In the sense, what if she'd biased? It could be a sexist situation. That in her mind, "only men are serial killers," and that women wouldn't do that. It could be a thing that opens her mind. Would she kill this serial killer just because she's a woman? Also, their romance couldn’t been so interesting. Like one is more messy and just likes the gore. While the other is needy and wants it to look... "pretty". Idk how, but who knows. It just had so much potential.
2:28 I once decided to ask a character about their greatest fear. It was detailed. So detailed that when it happened in real life, I used it to create motivation for a change in their life. Interviewing characters can be so helpful.
The first 500 people to click my link will get a 1-month free trial of Skillshare skl.sh/readswithrachel07241
All those triggers warnings will make you think this was an AO3 story with the Dead Dove tag and a "no beta we die like men"
I was thinking the same thing!
i was just about to comment that those content warnings are so painfully Ao3 tag coded, especially those annoying joke tag fics hahaha
god the accuracy of this
This would 1000% also have a long and weirdly detailed tag or two where the author is putting their stream of consciousness where it doesn't belong
That made me realise that I always posted my fanfics without beta but I never once put that "no beta we die like men" in any of my posted fics despite the fact I read it many times in other AO3 fics. Now I think I should because it's hilarious. 🤣
I feel like this author didn’t understand the difference between fanfic tags and a trigger warning list for a published book. When you post a fic on AO3, the tags are basically a second summary. In fact, one could argue that the tags are the first summary, because when someone searches the site, they filter for specific tags, so if your fic has a tag that someone’s filtered out, they won’t even see your summary. You can joke around in the tags. You can mention whatever’s in the story that might spark a reader’s interest. On AO3, your tags are your readers’ first impression of your story, so that’s where you want to hook them. With a published book, however, the readers don’t have a handy little search filter for their local bookstore. They’re going to see your cover and your blurb first, so they won’t get to the trigger warnings until they’ve already picked up the book. At that point, you already have their attention, so your trigger warnings are where you need to just lay out the facts. You don’t put your hook in the trigger warnings because if the reader is seeing the trigger warnings, you’ve already hooked them.
🪓
Are we surprised this kind of "author" doesn't distinguish between features of AO3 and actual publishing?
The entire issue is that they can't recognize between trash fanfic and the publishing industry.
The real, underlying, problem is that the publishing industry is run by idiots that don't care about their craft
I was about to comment something like this. I heard the trigger warning list and went “why does this sound like an ao3 tag list”
I personally think it would be cool if authors stopped using lobotomies as extra edgy set dressing and actually explored _anything_ about them. Or at least did enough research to realise that faking having been lobotomised is bringing a pair of bolt cutters to the suspension of disbelief.
Not to mention how harmful the "the villain was faking being disabled the whole time" trope is. It's hard enough for us to be believed already; what if you stopped playing into it for your shitty plot twists?
Nothing gives me the ick faster than a TW/CW list full of things that are
A: not triggers
B: visual triggers or graphic contents that hold no bearing on written media (IE nudity, eyeballs/sockets, skin ornaments, etc.)
It trivializes the use of trigger/content warnings, and tells me everything I need to know about the author.
yeah! there's a difference between tags for fanfics and tw/cw's
@@Ceruleansquid-lo3iv These Ao3 writers turned original content writers are a menace, lol. I've seen some WILD shit for people just throwing tags in, not triggers. Call that a tag list, not trigger! I call mine a content warning because it includes non triggers like graphic violence, as well as triggers.
I hear what you are saying AND for folks who have really good visualization, like myself, eyeballs and sockets being described (especially in the context of books like this) can be something folks need a content warning for. I have a really hard time with in depth descriptions of them and I need to know that is a part of a story to be okay with it (so I can prepare myself). My brain very much engages with written media in similar ways to visual media, and I know that is not everyone, but wanted to put that out there.
Genuine question, what are some good examples of a trigger warning list? I’m an aspiring creator and I want to make sure I warn properly of things.
@MaxximusP That is absolutely fair. I have a vivid imagination, too, and can see everything clearly. I do agree with Rachel in the eyeball sense of there need to be more specifics, because an eye in itself isn't usually the problem, but rather eyes being touched or removed, etc. I personally don't have any triggers, though I have some intense phobias (fish) that media doesn't trigger (thank the stars, cause a fish phobia causing triggers would leave me with few entertainment options). So it hadn't occured to me that someone like me who sees all of it might find it as triggering.
I do maintain that nudity doesn't apply, though, lol.
I can’t get over “Sorry for the cookies-and-cream ice cream (not really)” being a trigger warning. Not only is it an unfunny joke, it tells me absolutely nothing. Like what am I looking out for? No clue because the author wanted to make a joke. Talk about beyond unhelpful
the only trigger warning that actually somewhat does its job (though it could still have more detail like is it something that happens to the main characters, their victims, or a supporting character?) is the "accidental cannibalism"
which is ridiculous, the author could have put some of those "jokes" into an ending author's word instead of ruining a trigger warning list
Ya exactly 💯 wtf 😮
Man, the idea of two serial killers fanboying/fangirling out over each other, then falling in love, is so good on paper.
Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z Brite has this sort of thing!
So long as they don't actual put it on actual paper and publish it
@@zanerc1081exquisite corpse mention 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾
Death Note kinda?
It's alarming that the trigger warning list reads more like ao3 tags. On ao3 its fine because A it's an informal site, and B there is a built-in filter system. It's just unprofessional to treat trigger warnings in a book the same way.
At least in the fandoms I'm in, the fic writers have the tags AND a list of triggers. Trigger lists aren't the place to joke around or try to hook your readers. They're for preventing harm. Idk why so many authors can't take that seriously
A lot of ao3 tags also seem to contain the actual trigger warnings and then the joke tag, and also most will still update the tags if they've missed something
@@Robi-Chaud it's useful to put the trigger warnings in the tags so people can filter them out. but yeah, many authors do a separate tw list in the notes too.
The use of Captain Holt throughout this video was the perfect call. No notes. 10/10 😂❤
Was about to say the same thing😂!
Same loved it!
I remember DNFing this right around the time they left Autumn to die. It threw me out of the story in such a major way.
Rachel, your explanation of trigger warnings and comparing them to food allergies was brilliant. Packaged food wouldn't have, "this food contains soy products, or does it??? I guess you gotta eat it to know! ;)" on it. Being so flippant about triggers in a book about serial killers boning is crude and lazy. Write your jokes in the chapters, not in a list that can have very real repercussions to the reader.
Amateur and Surgery are two words that should never be put next to each other.
(That's mostly because it reminds me of a real life instance of an amateur surgeon. Truly horrifying.)
These trigger warnings read like they're on a fanfic, which is not to say that fic writers are irresponsible in listing triggers, but that these warnings seem to have been developed within a small community who the author is fairly familiar with and where the community can easily reach out to the author. It does not seem professional at all and seems like something an editor would have flagged immediately for changes.
What's the worst thing, a surgeon can say?
YOLO!!!
"It's not a job if you're passionate about it. Now let's get that gallbladder outta that Thormax."
@@BirdWithAKnife345"Hey, can someone put [procedure] in Wikipedia?" Right before you drift of from the anasthesia
The commitment to Brooklyn 99 memes is more commitment than we got with any character development in this book and that is just chef’s kiss.
Beautifully put.
The TW list is so crazy to me because listening to you read it off it sounds more like what I’d read in the tags of a fanfiction on Ao3 then a traditionally published novel.
And for ao3 it makes sense because it's basically a summary, it's for the filter system.....
Honestly it feels to me like a lot of these booktok writers are just folks who migrated from ao3 fics (or worse, wattpad) to published books and have no idea why the sites work the way they do and why the culture on there is the way it is, including trigger warnings, tag lists and the use of tropes!
Calling it right now, the book titles will go thusly:
Butcher & Blackbird
Lark & Leather
*Doctor & Dove*
What about Surgeon and Sex Worker? Gives one an option of seeming like a respectable person with money too.
@@nancyjay790 nah, that goes against the convention of using only 2 words per book title
Don't give the author any ideas
It's Scythe and sparrow
the actor giving it his absolute everything for some of the most uncompelling internal dialogue i've ever heard is killing me, god bless 😭
I was howling laughing at the audiobook clip. Probably not the desired reaction to a sex scene.
Literally everything you're saying, I say in my upcoming rant. I even asked if dark romance authors have a shared google doc with cliches that they all need to hit in their books. IM DYING
ugh her name is Sloan. That's a cool name, how disappointing.
"what about your emotional dick" healed my PTSD
On the freckles point, I once read a contemporary romance book where the freckles were described as 'vulnerable' which made me DNF real fast
ew like childlike?? 😟
@oi2715 It was more so that she wore make up a lot and him seeing her freckles was like her opening up to him
Oh God oh fuck oh shit.
this book (which i considered reading bc the concept appealed to me) has committed many crimes, but none so grave as NOT GIVING THE CAT ANY PAGE TIME?? WHERE WAS THE KITTY?? SO MUCH UNNECESSARY BULLSHIT INSTEAD OF CAT???
I know rigjt
If there is a cat in a book, I fully expect cat antics or cuddles to be included and it is a literal sin not to have that
with the "trigger warnings" looking like ao3 tags (as other comments have mentioned) and the lack of character work, it really does feel like the book is like... a fun(?) horny serial killer AU for characters in a fandom ive never encountered, especially with the "zoom-ins" on the other couple feeling like one of those cameos that r often added to a fic as a shout out to the wider context of whatever fandom the fic is of (ex: having a sakura/ino sideplot in your naruto/sasuke fanfiction)
You're right. This really does feel like they just filed the numbers off a fanfic!
In my head they're now the characters from You in that season when he runs into the fem serial killer.
FYI, the author distanced herself from the audiobook after the male narrator, Joe Arden, was accused of sexual misconduct and unethical business practices.
“no c*** before plot” is a good rule of thumb actually imma use that
I read a fanfiction once from the Supernatural fandom (a serial killer AU -Alternate Universe-), and it started with, "Dean likes to k!ll people who look like his father." I feel as though that one sentence gives you more insight into his psyche the this book gave about its characters through the whole thing. Even if you don't know anything about Supernatural as a show, that one damn sentence gives you a lot of insight.
As someone who used to be deeply invested in Supernatural, *goddamn that's a great opening line*
@@Underground_Valentine I was trying to see if I could find it for you but …no such luck. It was Destiel anyway and I know that’s not everyone’s jive.
My mother absolutely loved this book. So when she told me all about it I was like ‘Yup Mrs. Rachel is gonna hate this.’
This is how I give her book recs lol
I read that as Ms. Rachel…as in the lady who sings and teaches babies/toddlers 😂😭 idk what she’s into, but I’m going to venture a guess she wouldn’t like this book either
Sometimes we have people in our life who recommend books, but all we hear is, "Oh, it's that kind of book." Whatever their kink or particular fave tropes or something else; you just know when that person makes a recommendation, this book will be that thing at least.
Cannibalism: A fun way to meat friends.
...or so I'm told
*slowly claps * wow...peak dad joke right there, bud'
I really think you should repost your section about trigger warnings as its own video. You do such a good job of breaking down and explaining it and it would be a good reference to send to people when trying to explain why trigger warnings are important! Another great video
as a youtube short, maybe?
I agree! She should clip it and make it a short on her channel. The analogy she used summed things up perfectly
It’s my birthday today and if you can I’d love you to join me in donating to help this family in Gaza: www.gofundme.com/f/hpnyg5-help-a-gazan-family-to-relocate-to-safety
Happy birthday!❤
Happy birthday Rachel!
when fanfic writers on ao3 can do a trigger warnings list better thats how you know its an issue
I wish more books would be read in duet like that. It really elevates the story, and I think some books I've listened to would've been more enjoyable if the man wasn't doing a shrill lady voice for the fmc in his chapters.
If the narration is good, I'm fine with solo or dual, but I really love duet narration in Romance. Unfortunately, the cost is a lot more and a lot of indie authors can't afford duet production.
The fact that you did this with a migraine is actually amazing to me. If I'm ever getting a migraine, my eyes are shut. All productivity in me dies until the ibuprofen kicks in
Eye mutilation is one of my minor triggers and that content warning makes no sense 😭 what is it? Are eyes being gouged out? Stabbed? Are they dead or alive? You gotta be more specific. Also it’s funny how all the victims are men… the author is avoiding the hard truth that most victims of serial killers are women, especially WOC, trans women, sex workers, drug addicts, etc. and obviously the male love interest killing women isn’t cool for romance
This! All of this! Are the eyes being described? Because that's in most books. Torture? You don't need to tell me the gory details, and shouldn't, but a general idea would be nice.
Also, completely agree with you about how ridiculous it is that all the victims are men. Adding to that, it bothers me that all of the bad guys are hideous, when it's quite common for serial killers to be conventionally attractive. That's literally a major part of how a lot of them lure people in.
the holt cuts are keeping me sane, thank you for your sacrifice this is nuts
I love the fact that you're taking writing classes to be a better book reviewer! Props for that!!
The trigger warning/allergy list analogy was so perfect! 👏 Also love the B99 clips in this vid
Your commentary mixed with Brooklyn 99 clips has me cackling while I work
I feel like I've read fanfiction with the tag 'plot what plot' that has had more set up and better character moments then this.
“Pleated hole” is diabolical. Like what an utterly unappealing descriptor 🥴
😦😦😦😦
Yeah it sounds like an iron was involved...
PLEATED??!!! Like a KILT??!!!!
Zawg her pussy got bees pollinating it mane
if someone treats a trigger warning list as a joke, it tells me a lot about the content of their character--namely that they aren't worth my time.
genuinely don't get that kind of mentality. and when people are like "but it spoils my book!" like babe i would rather my book be spoiled to someone than have someone potentially end up in the hospital because they trusted they could consume my media and it harmed them.
@@starshapedseal if the trigger warnings spoil a book, the author needs to write a better story.
I don’t understand people who say that a trigger warning would spoil their story. Like, if your story contains a graphically depicted murder, that’s what goes in the trigger warnings. You don’t have to say who gets murdered, or who commits the murder, or even when in the story the murder happens! The knowledge that there will at some point be a murder won’t ruin the story.
I feel like the CW could be put at the back of the book with something at the front like “check back of book for CW” if you don’t want to spoil it
@@someoneunknown7655 That's the best practice imo as someone who reads horror and some TW could spoil parts for those who might not need it (eg. Child death in a book with 1 or 2 child charas).
With this authors abhorrent style of trigger warnings freckles should’ve been included. These novels are making me ashamed to be a freckled girlie.
😿
I want the next books to be about the fbi agents watching them be morons as you described, that is ACTUALLY funny lololol
Also be aware that Joe Arden the male narrator of this audiobook was found to be a very big creep.
Why is it called "Butcher & Blackbird" if their serial killer names are Butcher and Orb Weaver??
I think because he calls her Blackbird (because her hair is black)?
@@ManEatingTeddyBear well yes but it's still breaking the theme
It was another name the media gave her because she 'plucked' out the victim's eyeballs.
she weave on my orb till I blackbird
@@bobbitworm8184
God, why are they always named something like Rowan or Sloane or Thorsten??? I don't even read these books and I'm sick to death of it. I don't understand why so many authors do this. 😑
The name Sloan/e literally makes me mad with how overused it is.
those “trigger/content warnings” read more as ao3 fic tags, which are NOT the same thing as a list of trigger warnings. yes, TWs are usually included in ao3 tags, but that flippant nature, the humor, is not something that belongs in an actual TW list. i am so SICK of the line blending between fanfic and novel writing!!!
On the subject of people mentioning that recently a lot of authors have been using trigger warning lists lately like Ao3 tags, the issue is also, to me, authors like these both fundamentally misunderstanding triggers/trigger warnings AND how what tag lists are on places like Ao3 that use them! Cause Ao3, that uses things like tag lists, which can be used for both general content tags as well as more specific trigger warnings, actually actively has a system for categorizing based on explicity levels of content, a specific section for important content warnings like r*pe/non-con, excessive violence, major character death, etc, and THEN the content tags are a SEPARATE SECTION where you can let your readers know what more specific things are in there, including if there's more specific acts that can be triggering OR just be nice fun content or jokes, and any of these can be filtered FOR or filtered OUT when looking for specific things to read on Ao3! Which is honestly why I love it! What I don't love is authors fundamentally misunderstanding the use of things like that and then turning around and getting upset when people call them out on their sun-par trigger warnings that are content tags at best! Like if you want to add that as a fun little book summary page "vibe check" if you will , do that as WELL, don't think its an adequate replacement for actual content/trigger WARNINGS, which are supposed to be for people who need to know if they either cannot deal with reading said content or need to be mentally prepared beforehand. There are some books and movies/shows i LOVE, but I absolutely need to be mentally prepared to consume certain parts, and due to severe intrusive thoughts and other related issues, some that I straight up cannot consume alone/after dark. Some i have gone into knowing what happens and am able to prepare myself mentally, but for some, content/trigger warnings would have been so helpful for a couple that I read or watched for the first time and had really bad panic attacks or ocd related paranoia spirals that were affecting me for days! They can be so important and it really feels like some authors (and honestly just people in general) just don't really take them seriously enough.
based on this and the butcher and the wren, maybe books with “the butcher and the (type of bird)” as the title are just doomed to fail from the start
You didn't like Butcher and the Wren? I thought it was pretty good, I listened to the audiobook all the way through and I never listen to books or read anymore 😅
@@larissatucker5345oh no i just made this comment based on the other review of that book on this channel
@@MattiTheCatti thanks to your comment I actually found her review on the butcher and the Wren 😂
For a moment, when you read aloud the tw, I thought you were listing the warnings on a AO3 fanfic- because that’s where I’ve seen many authors do jokes like these ones.
1:28 mm exactly! you don’t adjust the characters for the scene, you adjust the scene for the characters! sometimes ill get an idea or ill see a tropey idea that i do like but it doesn’t fit my characters that well. So i brainstorm how i can change and make the scene unique and make it necessary and well written. Characters aren’t tools to write a good trope, they’re supposed to be for the story. Anyway excited for this video!
18:26 so many characters with freckles… and you know its just a few little ones across the nose bride and cheeks. Where are my characters with freckles all over the face and body 🤨 are they not conventionally attractive enough for these writers🤨
“Eyes are scary on a psychological level, Shawn.”
Sorry. It’s probably all the Psych references from the other video.
While I didn't mind the book, I do agree with your assessment about the characters. Interestingly enough I am finding that is why I am preferring the second one. More character development ... the MFC's aunt is a hoot. This was missing in the first one.
I felt the same way! I enjoyed B&B for what it is. I was entertained. But Leather & Lark had me cackling... I'm still looking forward to the third book. I need to know the details about those two😆
29:42 I like the inclusion of "casual incest" on this bingo board because it implies the existence of "professional incest"
The quickest book I ever DNFd- read the trigger warning list and the first page and knew it wouldnt be for me lol
Just finished the Powerless review!! I am eating WELL today
Hear me out: A series of videos talking about characters from books that could've/should've been queer but their potential was completely wasted called "Can We Make This Gay?".
Just sayin'. 😌
That would be so fun omg
im a writer (not professionally just as a hobby) and one of my projects that i tinker with from time to time is a dark romance between a serial killer and a sicario. sometimes i feel insecure about my skills and talents, particularly about writing things that im not too familiar with or are pretty heavy, tone-wise. this book makes me feel a whole lot better about my skills. i love your videos, btw ❤
Well, there were no stakes, but were there steaks? Judging by the content warnings: Probably.
Yes 😩🤣
Making me listen to that excerpt was absolutely diabolical 😭😭😭 lmfao confirming for me why I'll never read a romance novel on audio
using trigger warnings like that is so insulting, your allergy comparison is a really good way of explaining it!
I really love the reviews you take the books as a way to analyze some specific facet of writing as a craft, it's so fun.
Your breakdown of how to do a trigger warnings list was SO HELPFUL. I cannot overstate that. I wrote my first trigger warning for the book I released in March and I struggled through it but your advice seriously is going to make future trigger warnings so much easier to write.
First the Brazilian memes, now all the Brooklyn Nine Nine memes - how are you picking all the things I love the most? XD
My pet peeve is characters who claim to not know/ deny that the love interest is into them they’ve done basically everything but say, “I love you, please fuck me.” Like *I* should also have doubts! At least a little even if I know the genre. There should be some mystery, not just playing dumb. Gets so frustrating
This is why dense protagonists drive me up a wall. 🤣
Not gonna lie, my first thought when I hear 'who's the better serial killer' is two people competing to prove they are BETTER AT KILLING and that would be much more interesting to me than serial killers trying to moralize about their kills. Give me people who enjoy the kill and are proud of their ability to kill trying to one-up each other and playing 'who's the better killer' and then having lots of sex about it, that's the serial killer romance i've been looking for.
Rachel why are you making me tear up with all of these Captain Holt clips during this dumb book???😭😭😭
13:51 my friend once witnessed me have to lock myself in a different room during a graphic sexual assault on TV and didn’t think to later give me a TW about the same sort of thing in a book she really recommended to me. I asked her to remember next time.
"Blackbird", raven colored hair, dimples, freckles, boarding school, she's a serial killer... is this Wednesday Fanfiction? Because it's clear, based on the TW and the writing style, this started on AO3.
That audiobook snippet was the worst experience of my life oh my god!!! I watch reviews of bad books so I can laugh abt the trashiness without experiencing the embarassment first hand, why did you have to do this to me 😂😂😂
Also your idea for making their dynamic more interesting was so compelling that now I'm sad it isn't an actual book 🪓
Thanks a lot Rachel. Now I have to dig out my Swan Princess dvd and head down nostalgia road.
"When I'm double booked" 😂😂😂! Love! I'm using this!
The only time that any of this made me laugh was when Rachel said, "A straight angle at this point." because the image that came into my head. 😂
Hi!
I DNFed this book so fast 🤣🤣
That spitting thing in the "spicy" scene should've been on the tw list. It's called "snowball" and it's not the same as "spitting". It can be triggering.
When I read the TW for the first time I thought it was funny but thank you for make me see it's disrespectful.
Hey I like your negative reviews but I really like it when you talk about queer books and books you like. Like I really enjoyed your Hell Followed with us review.
Not sure if you saw this recent video but I talk about three short stories, one was a queer horror story that I gave 5 stars!
ruclips.net/video/zPEfU_oB4tc/видео.html
@@ReadswithRachel omg I don’t think I did thank you
I'm genuinely so sorry that you had a bad time reading this, but I'm so happy about the Brooklyn 99 and Swan princess references 😂👌
Your hair looks so greaat wavy! I'm so disappointed in this book, I read the synopsis and hoped for a psychological thriller/romance with dark humor, but it's just smut with bad plot :( thank you for saving me the read with your great review! Your therapy idea would have been such a great way to make this story work, it would make the characters more real and is a great opportunity for psychological flesh-outs and humor. Edit: 🪓🪓🪓
Same here! I would've wanted so much more and would've been disappointed.
“I was there Gandalf” made me lose my shit, I had to stop folding laundry to wheeze
this is my miss rachel (that kid show star) ur so right abt the trigger warning comparison, bc that put such a bad taste in my mouth when i looked at reading this book - why are you, an author, not taking your own work seriously as soon as i open the page? :(
The Captain Holt interjections made me so happy
I recently found your channel and have been binging your videos whilst in a book slump. I absolutely love them. And The Swan Princess in this one?? You have my heart. Far longer than forever. ✨🦢✨
Obsessed with the Captain Holt interjections.
Also, your points about the TW list were so important. Thank you.
🪓
I love how you likened TWs to ingredients lists! Smart and easy way to describe them!
Also you look super pretty with wavy hair and purple eyeshadow!
THANK YOU for the trigger warning section and showing a list that's actually well done. I do need trigger warnings and am often disappointed when they're treated like a joke by the author or just say it contains it without any further explanation. I thinks it's so important to mention when a triggering topic is on page fully described or off-page or implied/mentioned briefly
Authors not taking trigger warnings seriously immediately makes me lose respect for them and their writing. If you are going to have these dark elements in your work at least make sure that people feel safe to read it. People don't say "There may or may not be landmines sprinkles around this field hehe ;P" because it's ridiculous to not clearly state when people could potentially be harmed.
I saw this book in Walmart and thought it was interesting. Picked it up and liked how it had a list of TWs.
And then I read through the list and then the synopsis on the back ... Realized this book wasn't for me and put it back. I'm interested to hear what you thought of it
i was cringing the whole way through, but gotta say, when you said "double booked" I cackled. that was fantastic.
idk if maybe it was intended to be like his way of dealing with what he does, but i kinda don't love that the Very Irish MMC is consistently drinking.... like, there are MANY other complaints i have about him and how he interacts with the FMC, but idk it feels like a bit of a lazy stereotype to me, just very "you know those irishmen and their booze, am i right!? 🤪 "
like, i know a lot of irish folks - like other folks in many other places - do often go to pubs and all that, it just......when it has been a stereotype against irish people, it hits different, IMO 😮💨
i love WHENEVER you do a running bit with clips from tv shows in these reviews but captain holt has probably been my favorite
What's interesting to me is I had a lot of the same issues you had, but I still enjoyed this book. I think I was more focused on the excellent audio performance that really elevated the book. Couples that have zero external obstacles and just mentally throw up random hurdles for themselves is one of my biggest pet peeves.
the allergy/TW analogy was so thoughtful and made more sense to me than anyone else explaining it before
You might actually like the next book with Lachlan and Lark because there’s considerable character development with both of the main characters
LOVE the allergy list- trigger warning list comparison
I'm glad I didn't end up finishing this book because I feel like I would've had to force myself to finish it. The reason why I DNF'd (at the scene where Sloane goes to the restaurant for the first time) it was because I felt like I was missing out on a lot of context that I was magically supposed to know. It felt like the author wrote this couple as if they were already together and then changed her mind and hurriedly re-wrote their dynamic.
Also, why is this romance taking place over the span of literal years??? I did not get that at all. Why are we going through whole summers, birthdays, and Christmases with their relationship moving at the slowest snail's pace I have ever seen? It makes no sense!
yeah no if an author makes the trigger warnings a joke I dont bother reading it, I have trauma and ptsd and I enjoy reading I do NOT want to have an episode because of someone's published ao3 fic
🪓 I liked this one and then did not like the second one, so now I question - did I actually like the first one? Probably not but I won’t be reading again to confirm that 😂
As someone from NC I can’t like 😭 express how much that detail made me want to scream and vomit
Omg your makeup is gorgeous!! Love the lilac eye with a black lip it suits you like a charm ✨
Fabulous. I'll come back to this after work.
Edit: I've returned. Your makeup looks lovely today.
The way that the author had the potential to make these characters so interesting! 😭 Like, what are their morals? What are their differences? How do they view the world? The law in this instance. Also, yes, the fact that their only killing men is just odd. Yes, mostly men are serial killers, but there are female serial killers. Would've been interesting. Like, "What if the FL (female lead) is in a conflict?". In the sense, what if she'd biased? It could be a sexist situation. That in her mind, "only men are serial killers," and that women wouldn't do that. It could be a thing that opens her mind. Would she kill this serial killer just because she's a woman? Also, their romance couldn’t been so interesting. Like one is more messy and just likes the gore. While the other is needy and wants it to look... "pretty". Idk how, but who knows. It just had so much potential.
Authors need to stop mistaking shock value for plot 😫 in fact you need plot to make shock value WORK
"when I'm double booked" took me out.
2:28 I once decided to ask a character about their greatest fear. It was detailed. So detailed that when it happened in real life, I used it to create motivation for a change in their life. Interviewing characters can be so helpful.
“When I’m double booked”!! Had me SCREAMING 😂😂😂lmaooo
ur comments on how stupid the trigger warnings are really helped me in fixing mine. thanks rachel!!!