Have you ever had that feeling of pure excitement when you read a book’s summary, only to have your expectations utterly crushed when you discover none of what was promised was delivered in the book? It makes me want to screech “LIAR” at the book blurb. More often than not, it happens when I’m reading fantasy/scifi, as I feel they usually fail to deliver fully-realised worldbuilding – often opting to focus on more conventionally marketable plot points.
Warning, unpopular opinion on very well loved series below. Don’t hate me too much XD
Here are some things that really bugs me:
Romance, Love Triangles, YA Love Interest #3123543
Young adult books is increasingly synonymous with romance, I can barely come up with an example of a recent read that was free of romance. This is by no means a bad thing, I love me some swoon – but I get increasingly annoyed when these elements start to overshadow the actual plot and world development:
- One of the reasons I didn’t like Throne of Glass was because for a book marketed as high fantasy. it was incredibly vague on world building. The castle of glass is neat, but beyond that and a few cryptic Wyrd marks, we never got to see expansion on the world’s mythology. Instead, I had to read through 300 pages of exclamation marks!!! and a love triangle I had zilch interest in. Thankfully, this vastly improved in Crown of Midnight, I can now say I’m a fan!
- A Thousand Pieces of You is a book I actually enjoyed, but I wish there were more of the science fiction mentioned on the blurb and less of a focus on the love story. Most of the science fiction is dismissed by the protagonist as ‘Oh, I don’t understand Physics’ – and while I don’t expect a lesson in theoretical physics ala The Three Body Problem, it feels like a bit of a cop out.
- Legacy of Kings disappointed me in so many ways, most of all because it’s set in an Ancient Greece we barely got to see. I was not after a history book, but I wanted less hormones, less ‘scheming’ (omg some of the political plotting was so harebrained), and more complete immersion into the world and mythology. What was present was accurate, but I wanted more.
Wasted Cultural Backdrops
Romance is not always at fault. Sometimes, it’s the promise of another culture is either depicted inaccurately or make no significant appearance in the plot:
- The Grisha Trilogy is inspired by Russia, I am often told. To be honest, it could have been set in an entirely European setting and nothing would have changed, apart from maybe the character’s names.
- Shadowdancer seem to have been written for me: Japanese steampunk? YES PLEASE. But I DNF in about 100 pages because of all the blatant disregard for Japanese culture. Such as ‘sama’ used as pronoun instead of a suffix, or scattering ‘hai’ in every other sentences. It feels like exoticising. It makes me a bit nervous for Illuminae. Boo.
- New Beijing in Cinder could have literally been anywhere else. Aside from providing us Asian-looking protagonist, there was no other aspects of New Beijing that felt based on China in any way.
I know there’s that argument that they are based on, rather than set in, the actual locations so liberties can be taken. IMO, why bother if you’re not going to feature the culture in any significant way? Just so that your book can be set up in an exotic new world? Cultures are more than a couple of exotic sounding names and a smattering of foreign words you Googled.
I honestly sad face whenever I read for the promise of a brand new world, and get a half-baked shell of a setting. What are some books that you felt did not meet their worldbuilding potential? Am I being too horrible and picky, or do you feel the same on the topic?
Read at Midnight 
I’m also getting really tired of these love triangles. Especially when it’s REALLY obvious who the main character is going to pick.I HATE that. At least make it interesting.
I’m also starting to notice the whole culture thing more and more. I don’t mind it in Cinder because it’s a dystopia and who knows what happened there. But I’m with you on the Grisha trilogy. I would have loved to learn more about Russia! I always love the books where I learn about other cultures and mythology! Those ones were a little disappointing. If you’re interested try Ink by Amanda Sun 🙂 There’s TONS of Japanese culture there!
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I actually prefer love triangles where I know what the endgame would be, the ones where the MC is truly torn aggravates me. Like, JUST MAKE UP YOUR MIND. Haha.
The Grisha trilogy disappointed me in so many ways, and not just because I am a Darkling fan! I have heard so many good things about the research in Ink so I’m keen to check it out before I go to Japan later on in the year 😀
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I’m a Darkljng fan too! I was really hoping that she ended up with the pirate guy though because I really hate Mal hahah
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Mal is so boring, he puts me to sleep, when he returned at the end of Shadow and Bone I was like NOOOOOOO. /exits book.
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I completely agree!
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I don’t think you’re being picky!! I totally agree with you in some aspects- like New Beijing in Cinder? So true! But for the Russian culture in the Grish trilogy: I’ve been to Russia, and the capital and more populated cities (St. Pete, Moscow, etc) are very much like Europe. The people, the architecture, all that jazz was reminiscent of European culture so I can see why you thought that. 🙂
Other than that, it’s like false advertising in blurbs! Not cool book, not cool.
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I just felt that the setting was very sparse in The Grisha trilogy in general, but thank you so much for pointing the cultural similarities out to me 😀 False advertising blurb is THE WORST. It makes me want to return the book but I always feel too bad to do it.
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I totally understand this! I love reading books about non-western cultures, but when the cultural differences are not shown, it’s a bit of a disappointment. I’d have loved New Beijing to be a bit different. I haven’t read The Grisha trilogy, but let’s hope the lack of world-building will not affect how much I like the book too badly! 🙂
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Also, how do you make your graphics? What software do you use? They’re so BEAUTIFUL! <33
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A lot of people seem to enjoy The Grisha trilogy regardless, so I hope you do like it more than I did. I am quite picky about my diverse fantasy cultures, especially when it’s one I’m familiar with (East Asia).
I make my graphics on Photoshop CS5! THANK YOU ❤
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We should start a revolution against false blurbs, they’re really annoying. I fell victim to it too many times *sighs*. Sometimes, I wonder if I expect too much from a YA fantasy in terms of world building. I am used to reading titles like GoT or Wheel of Time, or any of Sanderson’s works so I always expect the fantasy world building is up to that calibre, and if it’s not then I feel disappointed. But I think in YA it becomes too heavy to include so many details and information, so most just give a picture of the surface…even the maps inside the books vary from painstakingly drawn with trees and villages to simplistic ones just showing land borders or country names. Ooooh steampunk Japanese…I must read this Shadowdancer.
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I know! Don’t judge a book by its blurb should be the new saying *nods* At this point I think they’re as unreliable as the cover haha. I absolutely understand what you mean, I read more adult fantasy when I was a young adult – and I am making the switch to more YA now (aging backwards?!) and a lot of the time, the worldbuilding really falls short of my hopes and expectations. I wish that the publishers or writers would not just assume that teens have less of a capacity to appreciate detailed worldbuilding, I feel that the tactic is just to throw romance in the book to appease the masses. Urgh!
Hmmm Shadowdancer has a lot of bad rep for horrific cultural misappropriations, so… approach with caution!
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Warning noted. My to-read list has piled up, I think I’m all set until November but I’d Shadowdancer a try too. Haha I know it’s such a cliche not to judge a book by it’s cover, but I always fall for a gorgeous cover and a great blurb. It’s a killer combination.
Me too, I feel like the older I’m getting the younger my book choices are, even my TV show choices are not age appropriate lol.
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This is such a great discussion! I have only read two of the books/series you mentioned but I feel you! I’m a fan of Throne of Glass series but I have to agree, it’s like I only know the castle is mostly glass, and there’s nth else given.
I also agree that New Beijing is only a name with no Chinese culture preferences.
And for me, Daughter of Smoke and Bone which is set in Prague didnt describe much of how Prague is like.
And again, great post!
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I actually really liked ADOSAB and loved its description of Prague haha! But sorry to hear it didn’t quite work for you.
I think ToG gets a lot better at world building as the series moved on, I am a die hard fangirl now that I’ve finished Heir of Fire! ROWANNN ❤
New Beijing makes me sad, it's like San Fransokyo but worse lol
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Lol really? I mean the Prague description wasn’t bad I think it wasn’t enough!
And yessss! On TOG! I’m still waiting for my QOS which drives me crazy seeing all the pictures of it everywhere TT
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I have a copy of it and I am dying to read it but I need to finish my blogging first ❤
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😱😱😱😱 Really? I mean everybody must have a copy of it by now but I’m still kinda surprised when I see a picture of it 😂😂 IM so jealous!
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I don’t usually preorder really famous title for this reason, as I ALWAYS see it in bookstore before it gets delivered XD hope yours get there soon, though!
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Yes I feel so too! But sometimes I can’t wait 😂😂
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I totally get what you mean Aentee! I felt the same way with Throne of Glass! I wanted bad ass assassining and high fantasy… but alas we only got a boring romance. As for The Legacy of Kings, I just started it and now I’m afraid it’s going to fall prey to the boring romance side. 😦
Oh well, I’ll keep reading! Great post!
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I hope you enjoy Legacy of Kings more than I did, that book and I did not become friends as I had hoped :C
Have you continued with the ToG series? I AM IN LOVE, as of Heir of Fire, the series improves so much. The less romance I see in the series, the better it fares for me, I’m afraid hahaa. Though I admit to be in love with Rowan and ready to go down with this ship.
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I only read the first chapter so far and it was weird 😛
As for ToG I’m all caught up except for the novellas and QoS. I love the less romance and more Rowan xD
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LMAO. Just reading that blurb for Stormdancer makes me wonder if culture was just pulled from one episode of an anime. I’d like to think of it all as a “first rule of fight club is you don’t talk about fight club” type of scenario. Where you can immerse yourself into the culture, almost discretely and giving body to surroundings without having to explicitly pander to exoticizing the features of the community. (Not sure if this makes sense, so I’ll just reiterate it as: “the first rule to writing culture is that you don’t talk about the fact that you’re in the culture” — unless you’re a tourist, then that’s a tad different.)
That being said, it’s not completely baseless if these tidbits are incorporated. I’d argue that even if it’s marginal, it “can” have the potential to present a small sample of the community. Because it’s unfair to say that our vision of China is loosely based on Tianamen Square, The Great Wall, or rice farms–and therefore anything out of that context is simply in poor taste and unrepresentative.
Basically what I’m getting at is: if it’s misrepresented, readers can tell, but this isn’t the same claim as it being not there at all. They’re two different things entirely.
Also: you opened up this topic talking about love-v’s/triangles and I thought I stepped into the wrong post. You confuse me, Aunty.
Cheers,
Joey via. thoughts and afterthoughts
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The author actually admits his entire research of the book was Wikipedia + a side of anime, so I sort of side eyed a little. Butttt he made so much money and success off the series I guess I do admire his hustle? Lmao. And I understand what you mean, when the character is of the culture you’re writing about, they would not be constantly proclaiming about all of the small details because it’ll be no big deal to them? E.g. I do not constantly proclaim to the world that I have almond shaped eyes?! Omg.
I agree though, a reader can sniff BS worldbuilding and cultural misrepresentation from a mile away.
I AM SORRY FOR THE SUBHEADING LIES.
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Oh man! I agree 100% with what you’ve said. I want to see more non-European backdrops in YA fantasy and I only realized that while I was reading Serpentine.
Also the thing about romance and triangles. I love romance, but when the romance is at the forefront instead of the world building, especially a world building that has the potential to be epic, then I’m usually bummed out as well.
Great post, Aentee!
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You need to read Cindy Pon’s other Xia series, I love her details with the setting 🙂
I am sad that a lot of YA book tends to feature romance predominantly, as though it’s the only thing that could POSSIBLY draw in young people. It feels so condescending.
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Couldn’t agree more! I actually read one yesterday for an upcoming blog tour i am part of that was really easy to read but for all the wrong reasons! It had no substance, no descriptive text, I knew the area the story was set and could have written a good 50pages in describing the setting how beautiful the area is, the views, the smells etc but nada! It was also a romance and glaringly obvious what was going to happen there was nothing mysterious, the main character just looked like a complete moron! Now I’m trying to plan how to write a constructive review! 😖
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Oh no!! It’s so awkward when it’s for a blog tour, because in theory you shouldn’t write negative review on them? Hopefully you found something else in the book that you can be nice about. Better luck with your next read!
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Cinder’s Asian-looking? I think I remember her describing herself as a plain European girl 😮
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And no you are not being too horribly picky. I agree with you on everything here. The only thing Russian about The Grisha Trilogy was the names, a few phrases, the onion shaped domes…and thats it.
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LMAOO onion shaped dome XD And yes Cinder is Asian! I am pretty certain as it was on Melissa Meyer’s official website – she described all the characters to make it easier for people to draw fanart haha.
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I totally understand how you feel and I feel this way too! It does honestly irk me when a book falsely proclaimes what it will be about. And I really don’t like it when I get the impression a book will be a certain way and then it’s not. It’s horrible when a series focuses too much on romance, especially pretty romance!
Great topic! 💋
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I think publishers are way too good at their marketing, they know exactly what plot point will get me to buy a book XD But when the world building isn’t there I get upset.
I have nothing against romance (I spent most of HoF crying over Rowan/Aelin, after all) but moderation is key! Haha.
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Well that is their job! And with all of us bloggers out their proclaiming our preferences and likes and dislikes, it makes it so much easier for them!
World building is so important.
Oh gosh yes, Aelin and Rowan!
xoxo
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I completely agree with you. Anyone that knows me knows I cannot stand love triangles, especially within fantasy books because it takes away from the story and in it’s place all you get are petty shipping wars. I always feel that with fantasy books you need to have a balance between the world building and character development. If you’re establishing a new world or a new culture it’s important that we understand the social structure behind this world and how that in turn may affect the judgement and actions of our characters. I honestly believe that world building and character development go hand in hand in fantasy and it’s so frustrating when you get a poorly developed world in fantasy books.
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The ship wars scare me a little. I do ardently ship, but ship wars can get so ugly, especially the backlash against the author when something sinks *flashes back to the horrors of Harry Potter days*
I agree, I enjoyed the Throne of Glass series a lot more now because as the world expanded and became more detailed, the characters did too. I think that in fantasy, for the characters to have clear identity, they need to have clear ties to their world – which is why the setting is so crucial! Thanks for your insightful comment 😀
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I tend to steer clear of any shipping wars cause it’s just unnecessary stress and I don’t feel like anyone should have the right to criticize anyone’s preference. I do find it sad to see a series that has compelling characters and a captivating world being overshadowed by these shipping dramas. That’s why I tend to stay on the periphery of those fandoms cause it gets so ugly.
I’ve yet to read the Throne of Glass series but I’ve found that the series is another one that’s being torn apart due to shipping wars so based on the love triangle factor and all that I’m going to wait until all the books are released before jumping into them.
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Agreed! And what I sometimes get frustrated about is when we get the opposite pattern. There are blurbs that just don’t make the book sound appealing when the content is actually really good. E.g. Finding Audrey. The blurb makes it sound like a love cures all kind of book when it really isn’t. And the romance is just a small part of the book. I’d hate to miss out on a gem because the blurb leaves a bad impression.
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I don’t even bother to read blurbs anymore these days, what I know about books are 100% summary from other bloggers XD But as long as it’s a GOOD surprise, I have no complaints haha.
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The thing I hate more than unfulfilled promises is when an author makes a half-baked attempt to insert “culture” into their books and messes it up horrendously. Like in the Tiger’s Curse series by Collen Houck, she throws in “Asian” culture into her book like a garnish, but isn’t overly concerned about whether the culture she’s using is correct for the place she’s writing about. Apparently she used a Japanese monster known as a kappa in India. India and Japan are both in the Asian continent but very different places. Or in Eon when Goodman was smashing together Chinese history and customs with Japanese and Western names. It would take less than five minutes of research to fix, but the authors were too lazy to do so. Its why I have trust issue because a story could be awesome if correctly researched but a lot of the times they don’t and the publisher lets them get away with it. Houck has a new book out called Reawakened which features Egyptian mythology pretty heavily but I’m terrified of reading it because I don’t want it to be disappointing.
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Ohhh I have heard such scary things about the Tiger’s Curse series that I’ve decided to abstain from the series forever? A kappa in India? The two aren’t even on the same continent! If I can find the answer within 5 minutes of Google searching, I expect the author to do better. I didn’t include the series in this post because I haven’t personally read it – but I did certainly think of it.
I heard good things about Reawakened at first and was intrigued, but then Goodreads started flooding with reviews calling it racist and now I am convinced my money might be better spent elsewhere.
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Its so upsetting because I want to read about other cultures, but half those books are written by white authors and their research is either super bad or so-so
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You aren’t being picky! I have heard pretty bad things about how culture is represented in Stormdancer, so I am completely avoiding that one. I enjoyed Cinder, but you are totally right – It could have been anywhere. I understand the perspective of authors getting ideas for books and running with it, but a weeks worth of research at the library, or finding an expert to bounce ideas off, would solve a lot of problems. I thought The Night Itself by Zoë Marriott did a nice job with Japanese culture.
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Stormdancer scared me from Japan inspired books for a while, the country just inspires too many weaboos D: And in the age of information and internet, there’s really no excuse for shitty research.
I will have to check out The Night Itself! Thanks for the rec, it sounds fascinating!
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The thing with YA fiction is that the books marketed for girls are always romances… if you want to find a book with no romance, find a book marketed for boys! The publishing industry has yet to realize that marketing a boy to a specific gender is BS, and that not all girls want to read a romance every single time.
I agree with the worldbuilding that you’ve pointed out, though. I’ve always believed that the setting is another character in the novel. It’s the silent, background character, but it still should play a role in shaping the plot. A good author won’t create a character that doesn’t affect the storyline in some way, so why would they create a rich, diverse setting that just sits in the corner and doesn’t do anything?
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You hit the nail on the head with that observation, YA seems to be targeted very specifically at ladies and it seems all we want is romance. Just as all girls want is to play with dolls. Just as all women wants are shoes and dresses. Of course *rolls eyes*
The setting is sometimes one of my favourite characters, like the Londons in A Darker Shade Of Magic. The wasted potential of a setting with promise makes me cry.
Thanks for sharing your incredibly insight!
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Throne of Glass was a pretty weak book in terms of its world building elements, you’re totally right. Luckily the series has improved tenfold.
Also, love triangles can just go and die in a fire already. So overdone.
Great point about the wasted cultural settings. Also, for people not from those cultures, it’s really hard to tell if its an accurate representation or not, which is a real problem. But yes. If authors are going to use an ‘exotic’ setting, they damn well better do their research!
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I think the world building developed really well in CoM and HoF! I can’t wait to read QoS!
Haha I feel that the book blogging world is rife with disdain for love triangles right now, so hopefully it will fall out of trend soon enough.
Exactly! For non- East Asian settings I have a really hard time determining whether the portrayal is accurate. Luckily there’s book bloggers of all different backgrounds ready to point out inaccuracies.
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Great topic! I like reading love triangles but only if they are well executed and not way too cliched.I agree with the wasted cultural backdrops! cultural backdrops inspired by some countries may appeal to some readers but not everyone. It would be more interesting and captivating if the author had created a world with unique culture of it’s own which is totally new to the readers. 😀
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂 I think the authors are at liberties to be inspired by whatever settings or culture they may like, but they just need to do it respectfully!
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I agree! 😀
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What a wonderful post idea and gorgeous graphic. Seriously how do you do it?!
I always think about what could’ve been in books. There’s always THAT book that was pitched a certain way and left you expecting something more out of the culture or world-building. I love how some books manage to mesh and weave so much culture and world-building into their plots, and I think that’s the downfall of a lot of fantasy series for me, the lack of cultural development. Heir of Fire definitely focuses more on world-building, but I can understand your grievances with the first book. Shadow and Bone and Cinder are two other great examples too. I wish we had more culture!! Lovely discussion ❤
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I could ask you the same Rachel! How do you have so many discussion posts and actually schedule them months in advance? I AM IN AWE XD
Heir of Fire is fantastic, I think it’s my highlight in the series because of the solid character development and the fleshed out worldbuilding. I am so glad I stuck through with the series. Publishers and the media are just so good at pitching, I get worked up in a frenzy before I realise it XD most recently over Illuminae haha.
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I completely agree with what you said about Throne of Glass — I was so disappointed when I read that book! However, for me too, it definitely got better in Crown of Midnight, so much that I love the series now. And YES, I thought I was the only person who noticed the unnecessary exclamation marks after every other sentence! xD
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I am SO GLAD the exclamation marks spam stopped with Crown of Midnight, if I saw another one I would have returned the book to the store. The writing definitely improved with every book as well. I am such a fangirl now, it’s such a turn around from my experience with ToG.
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Great discussion, Aentee! I’m so with you about Wasted Cultural Backdrops. Sometimes it looks like the author just put his characters in another country just to stand out among other books. But what annoys me the most is the wrong image of the cultureю Don’t even start with me about The Grisha Trilogy. I decided not to read it after I’ve read reviews from my fellow Russian reviewers, there were so many Russian things described wrong in these books. I just knew, I would get annoyed. If you want to place you book in this Country, is it difficult to make a research? As for your first point, I agree nowadays YA equals Romance. Actually I can’t remember one single YA book, I’ve recently read where there wasn’t a romance. PS. I love your visual!
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Ahhh that must have been particularly grating for people of Russian cultural background, but it’s thanks to you guys that we are able to tell if there’s been inaccuracies, otherwise I would not have a single clue!
Unfortunately YA marketed for girls MUST = romance, just like how all girls MUST like pink and dolls *rolls eye* The gender specific targeting of the plot annoys me a little.
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I get what you mean. I am not a person who appreciates info dump, but at the same time, I want to know everything about the world, in the most subtlest way possible. If I envision that world building in my mind, I don’t want any loopholes to exist. I think one author who does this perfectly is Victoria Schwab – but then, she’s also my favourite author so I might be biased!:)
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Eeep I need to read Vicious now since I know you are utterly in love with Ms Schwab! Yes, info dump is something I don’t like, but I enjoy having a living, evolving setting that the characters inhabit! Thanks for commenting, Mishma ❤
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I think we’ve all complained about love triangles/too much romance at one time or another, but I really like your comments on wasted cultural backdrops. This often happens in “Asian-inspired” YA fantasy…a term that hints at how vague the cultural backdrops really are since it can’t even pin down a specific culture. The mish-mash of Japanese culture in Stormdancer is definitely the biggest complaint I’ve seen for it!
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Asian-inspired in itself is a quick turn off for me, as the cultures within Asia are so diverse. Japanese and Thai have little in common in terms of aesthetics, for example. Or even how some books group India and Japan together (kappa in India?! As someone pointed out earlier).
Stormdancer is best avoided if you know of Japanese culture in any form.
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Amazing post, Aentee! I agree: It’s seriously the worst thing when a book promises to be good but it doesn’t deliver. And I agree about Throne of Glass too. The world building was poor in book 1, but thankfully it got better in book 2. 🙂
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I loved book three the most of the series so far (I know that you didn’t have such a good time with it, thanks to GR stalking, sorry to hear that!). SJM’s writing definitely improves with every book! I am so glad to have stuck through with the series.
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Oh then if you loved book 3, you will ADORE book 4. 🙂
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I LIVE for your discussions, Aentee. I’m always reading like, “YES, GIRL, PREACH.” This discussion post was not an exception, and I love how well developed your logic is. You definitely are not horrible or picky. Everyone has standards, and why do high standards have to be a bad thing?
I totally see where you’re going with the setting being utilized for exotic purposes, I feel like this curse is placed mostly when it comes to Asian cultures, I constantly hear about it, and have avoided reading some books or have not yet read them because I do not want to be set into a stereotype, and I despise when authors do not do proper research. I realize proper research is a lot of work, but that is absolutely no excuse.
A book I felt lacked in world building was the Jewel by Amy Ewing. I was really disappointed by this book. I bought it last September, and it was my only regret buy when it comes to books.
YESSSSS, AENTEEEEE, KEEP THESE AMAZING DISCUSSIONS COMING. I will always make time for them.
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WAAA Thank you Wesaun, my posts are usually just word vomit with no real coherent thoughts but I AM GLAD I MADE SENSE TO YOU *squishes* I agree, I will be proud to have Standards hehe.
Asia is prime for being exoticised, sadly :C Same as India and the Middle East, it seems. People seem to think all of Asia = the same place in books? NOOOO. I rec Cindy Pon’s books, she does Chinese based fantasy quite well 😀
THANK YOU ❤ I hope to publish these discussions weekly hehe.
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Oh, I totally get what you mean! Thankfully, I haven’t run into too many disappointing books lately, but I hate it when a book promises on something and delivers in an entirely different (and often disappointing) manner.
I think that publishers tend to overhype certain aspects of a book to draw more attention and sales, and of course, people will be uber-excited to read it only to receive lackluster results and disappointment, unfortunately.
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I have been on a rather good streak in terms of books as well, it was reading A Thousand Pieces of You + Legacy of Kings that triggered this rant. Well, the publishers are certainly doing their job right if they got us worked into a frenzy via blurb alone, I guess XD
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oh i completely agree with you on the throne of glass thing! i wasn’t even aware the series was fantasy until the very end of the first novel when wrydmarks are introduced. like..?? it definitely improves throughout the series and is now one of my favorites!
i also believe the lunar chronicles could’ve expanded more on the setting. cinder set in china; scarlet set in france; cress set in africa, etc… lovely discussion! xxx
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Throne of Glass had such thin plot and worldbuilding, I am so glad the rest of the series completely transformed and I am really loving the direction the books are heading!
I commend TLC for its diverse cast of characters, but I do think it could be more interesting setting wise. Thank you ❤
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Great discussion post, Aentee! Now you mention it, I agree about Cinder – there are so many books based in awesome European locations, and then we get a half-arsed New Beijing. In my Alice in Wonderland retelling I’m definitely going to make an effort to have some Korean settings/food/culture around.
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You are doing an Alice in Wonderland with basis on Korea?! THAT SOUNDS WONDERFUL. I am sure you will do a fantastic job. I can’t wait to be able to read it one day, good luck with it 😀
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UGH I HATE THIS TOO! You’re definitely not being picky. Exploring new worlds is half of what I love about fantasy, so it’s really annoying when things aren’t explained. And incredibly disappointing.
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Glad to hear I am not the only one who gets annoyed at half-assed world building 😀 Thanks for stopping by!
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Whenever a blurb isn’t accurate to the actual plot of a book, I wonder if the people who wrote that blurb even read it?? I get that a blurb has to sound really interesting and exciting, so that people will buy it, but if the blurb gives you really high expectations, you might end up liking the book less or even disliking it! Great post by the way 🙂
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Hehe I think they did read it, but they are crafty and want to entice us to buy the book! false advertising! I actually rarely read blurbs anymore. I decide which books to buy based on bloggers’ summaries or buy reading the first three pages at the store. Thank you, I am so glad you enjoyed the post ❤
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Oh. Well. I guess I’m not going to expect Cinder to be super China like I originally did. On the second point, that bothers me less when it’s based on the setting. But if it’s supposed to be in a certain setting but then blatantly doesn’t do it, then yeah I’m pissed.
Well the blurb thing doesn’t bother me because I like going into books completely blind. As in, I read the blurb on Goodreads, decide if it interests me, promptly forget the summary and pick up the review a few months later and read.
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Yes, aside from the characters and bare descriptions there’s not much China in New Beijing. Otherwise, the book was quite enjoyable 🙂 It is based in the far distant future, though, so maybe that’s why it changed so much. I also heard it’s based on Sailor Moon, so you can at least play spot the easter egg 🙂
I usually go off more on reviews on GR rather than blurbs now. But then, I’m afraid they give me a preconceptions about the books I read.
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Ahhh I totally agree with you on Legacy of Kings. I had to DNF that book because I was looking for MORE worldbuilding, and more Ancient Macedonia (or whatever this was taking place, and wow I don’t even remember because it was never really mentioned!) and the book just didn’t give it to me 😦
This is also the reason why I don’t want to read A Thousand Pieces of You. I’m mostly interested in it because of the different worlds, but since I know it focuses more on the romance rather than the explaining, I’ve been avoiding it.
Awesome discussion post Aentee!
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The book had way too much boring internal monologues and ‘plotting’ – I needed more Ancient Greece! I think A Thousand Pieces of You is quite good, but yeah, definitely don’t expect heavy scifi action. Even the protagonist is kinda like ‘oh I don’t understand techno babble’
Thanks Val ❤
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I think when I just started reading ya when I was much younger (in my preteens), I found love triangles (or polygons really) so thrilling to read about. Now, I feel awful when some young girls think those romances are real… because they’re certainly not, haha. Currently, most love triangles don’t really bother me as much as other bloggers but I usually have an urge to throw in the towel when the main MC makes stupid decisions because of the many love interests. Or if the characters become inconsistent or if some cheating happens, ugh.
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