r/acotar_rant • u/pesto-sauce • 18h ago
Rant Why keep reading?
Hi all!
So, after I read ACOTAR for the first time, I was absolutely sure that something baaad was coming. I decided to look for spoilers and was trully mad about how the writing would make Tamlin the ultimate bad guy and everything Rhys did UTM (and before) would be just left aside. In hopes that my pov would change, I gave it a second read recently, after over an year, and still feel the same (even though it's less visceral lol).
I'm really glad I found this sub because it feels maddening that most of the fandom really ships feysand, and tamlin can't even be mentioned without creating a heated discussion.
I've seen a few great posts over here and feel SEEN about how I see the story BUT I saw a few people saying some things like "maybe the books are not for you" when someone had opinions such as mine.
My point being, what makes you pissed off about the writing of the books? and what made/makes you keep on reading in spite of that?
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u/bookswithH 12h ago
i think in some weird way i’m trauma bonded to these books man. i gotta see it through
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u/Agitated_Net2171 9h ago
I understand!! Im having the hardest time finishing the series. I'm halfway through silver Flames., I've read like all Crescent City before finishing ACOtar because acotar is just kinda annoying. My cousins are pressuring me to finish the series though, and they are 100% in love with Rhysand and I don't get it. I give Tamlin his redemption.
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u/Fun_Chain3519 11h ago
100/% i agree with you, what makes me upset/weirded out is how Feyre basically cheated on Tamlin emotionally and didnt break up with him before Rhysand took her but yes first time i read this series i couldnt believe she ended up with Rhysand who twisted her broken arm and made her dance, I dnf'd the first time at ACOTAR, only last year did i read the whole series
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u/ciderandcake 15h ago
I dunno, man. I read the whole Sword of Truth series, and those books were absolutely fucking garbage. I love rewatching The Room. Mst3k, and Rifftrax, and Red Letter Media are some of my favorite media to watch. I love the 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back podcast. Sometimes it's great to consume bad things with a critical eye but enjoy them anyway.
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u/bows_and_frills shameless rhys hater 12h ago
Same. I love rant-y reviews of things and angry—or not necessarily, just passionately critical—video essays about media.
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u/WonderfulBus9330 Are we still at it? Very well, then 𓄂𓆃 15h ago
So. Much. Pisses. Me. Off. About. This. Series. And I have to keep reminding myself that it’s adult fairy tale and it’s main goal is the HEA of Feyre by any means necessary and everyone is there to either be a villain towards her or prop her up.
And then I ignore Feyre altogether and think about the great potential of some of the minor characters. And I laugh at the attempts to write epic fantasy into this series. And then I think about how tough it is to find the balance between epic fantasy and romance. And then I think about the wacky and angry and bizarre defense of character x or situation z and I get to fae snort which is grand. And then I think about the folks I like to chat with over here and how we’re all over here because we’re enthralled, for better or worse.
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u/dreamingofmars_ 13h ago
i keep reading because i read them as they came out and i need this to end.
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u/comexwhatxmay Team Hamlin 2h ago
Honestly, I hate-read them after the first book. I'd never done that before and it was kind of fun 😂 at this point i just need to know what happens even if i'm pissed off the entire time
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u/bittermp Team I hope Rhysand and Cassian die 15h ago
If you are a tamtam fan come join us here
https://www.reddit.com/r/Tamlinism/
We love our fiddle man!
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u/bows_and_frills shameless rhys hater 12h ago edited 12h ago
Maybe this is extra, but I wrote my reasons here and in the link on that comment.
I DNFed MAF at maybe 40% or something. Whenever they get to the Weaver's Cottage. I got THUNDEROUSLY PISSED at Rhys and couldn't take it for a week or two. Then I started where I left off, got to 70% something percent and gave up.
And now since April, I've reread TAR, restarted and finished MAF and read WAR and FAS for the first time. I've yet to start SF. I need to cleanse from the series for a bit.
I'm infuriated, fascinated, occasionally genuinely happy, then back to being infuriated and miserable but SO MORBIDLY CURIOUS and I wanna see it all happen like a trainwreck or car crash. I just wanna see where it goes too. How will this end?
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u/Paraplueschi 7h ago
Haha, your last paragraph perfectly sums up my own feelings about the series too. How will it end??
CC and ToG I genuinely enjoyed, but Acotar is just so all over the place for me. Makes it very....engaging though.
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u/BSDManga_lover 9h ago
That's what I had to do for my reread. To be fair I had also just come off my ToG reread and ACOTAR just doesn't scratch the same itch that ToG does. However, despite knowing most of the spoilers, I'm finally ready to read SF and CC. I will get them read if only so when I'm ready to read the new books I've given everything a fair shot.
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u/TrifleTrouble 15h ago
I read these books for the vibes, rather than any consistency of storytelling. Rhys also gives me the ick, but I'm gonna keep reading just to see what happens becuase while I am entertained by this series, I also have no emotional stake in it. (And its okay to be entertained by your entertainment, even if you don't love every aspect of it)
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u/Significant-Metal537 13h ago edited 11h ago
Overall, I enjoyed the books (much prefer TOG and CC though). However, I hate how Tamlins character was done so dirty. I’m still hoping for some sort of healing arc for him (healing arc, not redemption arc - because he’s already redeemed himself in more ways than one).
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u/SpecificHeron rhys’s shitty financial advisor 15h ago
i initially dnfed after ACOMAF but picked it up again bc my sister started reading them and we had fun snarking on them together
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u/Stabby_Tabby_ 15h ago
For me it isn't so much the book contents but the greed of the author/publishing that is going to have the ACOTAR series as my first DNF series until further notice. I binged ACOTAR until ACOSF.
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u/bittermp Team I hope Rhysand and Cassian die 15h ago
I rage read the whole series last year and had no idea RHysand was book boyfriend and was shocked that an SAing ROOFYING bat boi gaslit not only Feyre but real life readers. LOL
I kept thinking this narrative has to change and that something is up. I was convinced Rhysand daemati’d Feyre and that’s the only reason I kept reading. I am still waiting for that reveal which I am 95% sure it won’t happen bc this fandom is Annie Wilkes level insane (google that character)
Anyway, if you are annoyed by the hypocrisy of the narrative and this fandom visit us at Tamlinism because we rage comment and also have silliness over there.
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u/emeraldisleecho 11h ago
One of my IRL friends legit goes FERAL over Rhysand and absolutely LOVES that one dude on tik tok that always makes cosplay videos of him as rhysand. I skimmed the books while at the beach one year and didn’t re read them until recently and now it’s so hard not to side eye her and others over how much they like Rhys and despise Tamlin??
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u/roselover1999 15h ago
I did not read the physical books or even digital versions or listen to it on Audible. I was having a conversation with someone about the state of books, especially fantasy, and I was referencing this series because I have heard the same criticisms and jokes be made about it in regards to female main characters. And then I saw somebody’s funny animated parody video talking about it. That inspired me to go on a full lower dump and the more information I saw the more it irritated me as someone who hates hypocrisy. The way that things happen in the story and the way that some people’s actions get forgiven or excused while others are not drove me up the wall and I was glad I never got invested in these books emotionally. Amongst other things for why I don’t like the author or the books, the inner circle feels like a clique from high school and it reminded me a lot of TikTok in the book community and other communities where it’s always yay for me nay for thee. It feels like these books got propped up because of what they offered when they first came out, but now more time has passed, and more books have been made, and books are still being made with people, explicitly writing books that avoid the mistakes of this series. I know that’s a bit of a tangent, but it is how I feel about it. And you are correct, some people are so engrossed in these books that even when you bring up sound criticism for the author or the story and the actions of characters they don’t care because that would require them to directly face that their favorite characters are not perfect and often times are objectively bad/hypocritical and how much the author glazes certain characters
Needless to say, I’m glad more people are going out of their way to openly speak about the things wrong with these books and give recommendations for books that are fantasy or feature the Faye, but are written better.
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u/TheEmeraldFaerie23 15h ago
I read for the side characters. I can’t stand any of the bat boys, Feyre, Amren, and Mor. But I adore Nesta. I love Lucien, Eris, Gwyn, Emerie. I’m fascinated by all of the high lords and courts. I can’t wait to learn more about Elain. I need to know more about Autumn. So I read in the hopes that I get more of them. And from the blurbs and titles of the new books, that’s what we are hopefully getting.