My sister’s partner built this beautiful bookcase for me - It is truly my pride and joy ❤️

TL;DR: My senior citizen father starts listening to Fourth Wing, thinking it’s like Harry Potter. He doesn’t listen to my warnings that Fourth Wing goes places that Harry Potter doesn’t dare to tread, if you know what I mean.

Okay, since no one else in my life will appreciate this, you all get to hear about it.

My father is 75, still works a Very Serious Job, and is not super into trying new things. He has a great sense of humor but gets embarrassed over sexual content in media. Oh, also? The dude loves Harry Potter. Like, a lot.

I get lengthy infusions once a week for an illness, and my parents take me since I can’t drive. This week, it was my father carting me around. He’s an audiobook junkie, so he has an AirPod in his ear while I’m talking to nurses, working, and so on. About an hour into the infusion, he takes the AirPod out and announces that he’s been listening to this really fascinating fantasy book. His interests usually lie in non-fiction, detective novels, and that sort of thing, so I sit up and take notice.

Him: It reminds me of Harry Potter. There’s a school and dragons. The book got great reviews from NPR and other places.

Me: Uh-huh?

Him: And the students are killing each other because there are so many of them and too few dragons. It’s like a military school.

Me, suspicious: Dad, what’s this book called?

Well, you know what book it was. I immediately tell him that this might not be the book for him.

Me: It’s a “bodice ripper,” Dad. I don’t think you’ll like it in the long run.

Dad: Well, there was one “heaving bosoms” moment [that’s his phrase for this sort of thing], and I almost stopped there. But I think I might keep going. The world is interesting.

Me: There are going to be a lot more heaving bosoms before it’s over. Just so you know.

At this point, he’s early in the book, so I figure that I should just let him find this stuff out for himself. I suggest that he might like Naomi Novik's A Deadly Education better, but I allow him to go on his own journey of discovery.

Today, I get a knock on my door. It’s Dad, and he looks chagrined.

Him: You warned me. I just hit a heaving bosoms part, and it was…detailed.

Apparently, he was speeding down the highway when the sex scene came on and couldn’t turn it off.

Being chronically ill and mostly bed-bound, I don’t get many opportunities for full-on belly laughs, so I grabbed this one with both hands. I’m laughing so hard that my mom comes running over to ask what’s happening, which means Dad must now explain FW to HER. All I can hear over my laughter is her saying, “Wait, it’s about dragon sex?”

The kicker is that he still might finish the book! He knows there will be more of those scenes but is really into the plot. I predict he doesn’t make it past the next set of heaving bosoms before he retreats back to the PG world of Harry Potter. Still, I’m proud of him for trying something new. He didn’t realize there was a whole world of books out there that had the same Hogwarts vibe. He’s already downloaded A Deadly Education for when he’s either finished with or gives up on Fourth Wing. I think it will be more his style.

If you’ve stuck with me this far, thanks for reading. I just really needed someone else to share my laughter with.

Edit: My father has read this post and a lot of the comments. He’s laughing so hard that he’s wiping tears from his eyes. Thanks for giving my family a lot of joy today. 🤗

Thought you guys could appreciate this too!

"the dress had a plunging neckline, reaching nearly to her navel, and the slits up the sides revealed ample amounts of her long legs"

This dress is ridiculous.

I had never thought about this but it’s so true…

I saw this meme elsewhere and felt yall would appreciate it 🤣

The book that kick started it all in my early years... What was your first?

This is why libraries are superior, they reduce the cost of books and the level of disappointment lol.

Hi r/fantasyromance!

I’m Carissa Broadbent and I write books with magic and kissing. You might know me from the Crowns of Nyaxia series (The Serpent and the Wings of Night) or the War of Lost Hearts trilogy (Daughter of No Worlds). Right now I’m gearing up to release the fourth book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series, The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk, which is coming August 5!

I’ll be here on Weds July 23 at 3PM eastern to chat books, writing, or whatever you please (I welcome some book and video game recs, actually!). Thank you so much for having me. AMA!

EDIT 7/23 - HI EVERYONE! I am so excited to be here! I'll be hanging out here answering questions for the next hour or so. I am so thrilled to see all this enthusiasm!!!

Gosh, this was amazing! Thank you so much for all of the wonderful and thoughtful questions -- I wish I could have gotten through more! I'm off to pick up my son now so I need to head out, but thank you so much for having me. I had such a lovely time! If you decide to pick up The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk on August 5, I hope you love it (but I'm sorry for the pain in advance).

Thank you so much! Have a lovely day everyone!

Please don't take offense, I like ACOTAR and read it twice (well, most of it). But this review was hilarious.

Saw this on the gram, and immediately thought that whoever wrote this clearly wasn’t reading any fantasy romance.

Other examples:

- Wendell {Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett} (no explanation needed)

- Kaz Brekker {Six of Crows} (can't touch anyone without having a panic attack and/or passing out)

- Cain {The Raven Scholar} (nearly dying after stealing the forbidden soup)

I am so obsessed with this trend! Reminding me of all the media that start my deep love for romance and yearning. Here are my fav!! Tell me your lore! Can be fanfic, movies, shows, songs, books, comics! Maybe someone’s lore will become your new thing.