I suspect that SJM has got so much bigger since HOEAB that she doesn't get edited as much, and I think a good couple rounds of edits would have tightened it to be her usual standard.
I have been feeling that too! It feels like she has all the ideas but she needs someone to sit down with and ask questions about the book to tighten up the final product. Like were the mechs necessary or is there a way to do this fight without the random sci-fi elements?
this is pretty much the consensus among me, my bff, and my cousin. she's become so popular that at this point they just want to crank her books out (whenever she supposedly completed them) and get money. I honestly question whether or not I will even read the final CC book when that comes out (she confirmed there's one last cc book for the final house).
The first time I read the ending of Fruits Basket (back in 2007) I bawled like a baby. The manga journey over all was just so good and ended beautifully. I haven’t seen all of the remake anime yet but so far it’s been pretty close to the manga.
Thank you for talking about the SA in book 7, I feel like nobody ever talks about it. I remember talking to the person who recommended the books to me about it and them not recognizing it for what it was. I had to explain it to him for him to understand how eff'd up it was and explain why the person could not actually consent in those moments.
First off, I absolutely love your channel!! Secondly, I'm sorry you had a not so great Feb reading month. That's the worst!! I'm reading the red rising series because you hyped it up, and I am absolutely loving it! So thank you, thank you, thank you! Finally, I love SJM, but I didn't like CC2 and was wondering about book 3. Appreciate your honest input
Fingers crossed march will be a better reading month for you! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on CC3: I'm still on the fence about the series, but really loved the first installment, so I don't know if I want to pick it up or not. Fav read of February for me was def A Power Unbound, by Freya Marske: just pure found family joy and a really neat finale to a good trilogy. Re: Dreamin' Sun, I'd maybe check the summary of later volumes, if unsure of the direction the story is taking.
Im waiting for you to pick up Lady of Darkness… the entire series is fantastic! I love these characters and the world and story is so compelling i read all 5 books back to back.. ❤
My favorite book in February was Bride by Ali Hazelwood, you always seem to have a good time with her books... honestly it might be my favorite of hers.
Iirc, I read the Fruit's Basket manga bc I ran out of anime. It does get better, but I think watching the anime and then continuing on w the manga if you really end up loving it sounds like a solid plan. I haven't watched the new one yet, but I've heard good things about it as an adaptation.
Ok it is interesting because I interpreted the sexual assault and harassment in WoT 7 as a denonciation. I felt like the reaction of others characters was basically the author showing that victims are often not believed. They were even elements of slut shaming which I found sadly very realistic. I find it was made obvious by the parallel of a very obvious sexual abuse (not consensual warder bond) that was much more straightforward. What I find very interesting in book 7 is that a lot of people (mostly dudes) do not even recognise the SA and harassment going on (maybe because the character is stuggling himself to recognise it ?), which is frightening. Kinda disappointed that you do not plan to continue reading Fruits Basket, it is my favorite manga serie. It is however a slowburn and gets better as you go, mostly because it relies on the reader connecting with the characters and the emotional devastation when you get to unlock their back stories. The serie is darker than it looks at first glance. The recent anime is really good though ! Even if it doesn't go as deep as the manga on some points.
Yes to guys not recognizing it as SA. The person who recommended the books to was male and when I talked to him about the r*pe he could not understand why I was saying the character was repeatly SA and being laughted at about it. I had to explain to him why they could not consent, because he read it as consensual in the end.
@@JodiB-m4l I do not know if it comes from the very wrong belief that men cannot be a victim of rape or the fact that women would pick it up pretty easily because the threat of getting in such a situation is much more likely to happen to them so we would immediately pick up on it ?
I dnfed two books in February, which I almost never do, so it definitely wasn't the best reading month for me either. My favorite read of the month was The Last Devil to Die! I adored that one.
I love Fruits Basket but I will admit that I think if I hadn't read it when I was in my early twenties/late teens when I did, it probably wouldn't appeal to me as much - it starts off quite comedic and gets into dark family drama as it goes on. It does focus more on the older family members as it goes on too but honestly I'd say if you're not vibing with it now it's probably not gonna improve for you!
I'm sorry you had such a mediocre reading month. Hope March is much better! My book of the month for February was probably Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune. To my own shock, I gave it 5 stars. I was not expecting to have such a moving reading experience. Thanks for sharing and happy reading! 📚
A rain of shadows and endings by Melissa roehrich was my fave read of Feb I’ve just started her lady of darkness series and I’m really enjoying that too
Shadow Of Night by Deborah Harkness was my favourite read of February, but it was a reread. It’s a part of my favourite EVER series. You need to get to it soon! I also LOVED rereading The Boss by Abigail Barnette. I did that on Valentine’s Day as it’s a steamy romance. Disappointing that you didn’t like HOFAS. I’m excited to read it. My dad actually bought the Waterstones special edition home for me yesterday. I’m currently reading ACOSF, and I love Nesta and Cassian soooooooo much! I didn’t think much of Fruits Basket.
I definitly understand your issues with WoT 7. I was similarly minded when I first read it but upon thinking about and discussing with my husband (who is an absolute nerd for this series) that the storyline is supposed to be played out like that, to show the differences between male and female SA. It's interesting to think about, especially when you think about SA that happens in most modern media.
My favorite in February was “Bride” by Ali Hazelwood. Now, I read strictly for a good time. I don’t require soul change lol. So I’m not recommending it, but it was so much fun. There is a villain monologue at the end. You know the one, where the bad person answers all the questions and tells you all the motivations for their actions? Yeah, that was unfortunate, but the rest was pretty delightful.
I can vouch for the anime for Fruits Basket, watched a couple of times, made my hard faced bf cry so valid 😂❤ I’ve never cried from an ending not because of the content but because I’d never experience this again and it would never be part of my routine again, I love each character all get intense development and backstories, but be aware of the age gap like you said with Dreaming Sun, I just pretend it’s not real (side characters not main!)
It's so interesting to hear your thoughts on CC3. I've heard that people either love it or hate it, and I'm not sure why because I've been avoiding spoilers and I've only read CC1. You usually line with my opinions, though, so I'm wondering if I should just pretend CC1 is a standalone like you said.
Fruits Basket definitely gets better as it goes on, but it also gets more serious and triggering, because at its heart the story is about abuse, generational trauma, and healing. There are definitely trigger warnings (Hatori's story is just the beginning), but it does end on a beautiful note. But the new anime definitely follows the manga closely, and is absolutely stunning in animation, so it's a good alternative. My favorite book in February was "Middlegame" by Seanan McGuire, closely followed by Octavia E. Butler's "The Parable of the Sower."
I finished February feeling pretty good because I'd cleared out a bunch of things that had been lingering on my TBR and library hold list, but looking back, I only had a three 4 stars, lol. Something Close to Magic by Emma Mills (I love her YA contemporaries, but this was her first fantasy and I found it very sweet and cozy, but not amazing) Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett (a bit of a generous rating because it had been on my shelf for so long and I read it while I was traveling with friends, so it benefitted from the experience) Swordheart by T. Kingfisher (I personally love Nettle & Bone, and I didn't think this was as good because it was so much longer than necessary and not as fairy tale-like, but I'm also a big fan of the author's humor)
I have read the Fruits Basket manga! And it gets very emotional and much better as it goes on if you do change your mind. I've never seen the anime tbh 😅 But the manga is so much better later on. You might be able to find the volumes at the library. That's where I read it originally 😊
February was also a terrible reading month for me ratings wise. However, I did read my first (and so far only) 5 star of the year in February, Bride by Ali Hazelwood. So far, March has been great though. So I'm hoping that will stick.
Fruits baskets gets more romantic and darker. The new anime is a really good representation of the anime so watching it as good idea. However as with many Japanese manga it also have really toxic/inappropriate relationships... As you mentioned that this made you not like the other manga. I would give this as a warning
I completely agree, HOFAS felt like a totally different author wrote it. Maybe she was trying something different bc it’s urban fantasy? Idk…tragic nonetheless 🫡
