I am just throwing this out here because it has been on my mind today. With the app being newly released, there are going to be a lot of excited new users here. (I was one of them!) Not everyone can read between the lines of what is “expected” or “wrong” in the vague FAQs. Many of us come from other book spaces and socials, so it is only natural that we bring some of that energy here too.

What has been disappointing is how quickly that excitement can fade when every post feels policed by other users. It started to feel less like a fun community and more like being told by my mom that I could not express myself because “those are the rules.” You all had to learn when you started, but there are not clear black-and-white outlines for what people have been policing on posts.

I was genuinely thrilled about this space. I even recommended it in several of my book groups, but I also had to warn them that it does not really feel like a safe space to post whatever your happy heart desires. I wanted to share this because it has happened multiple times over the last day, and I know I am not the only one who feels this way.

I can see how great this space can be, and honestly it has been weighing on me all day. I just hope moving forward we can make it feel more welcoming and encouraging for everyone, especially those who are new and simply want to share the joy of reading.

Someone make me feel better. I feel bad mine is at 100. 😂

Hi everyone!! I saw someone do this a couple days ago and thought it was such a cute idea!! I’ve been looking for more people to follow on here lol 😂

Drop a comment below, and I’ll give you a follow!!

Having watched the Shadow and Bone show when it came out, it’s hard for me to picture these characters as kids now reading the books 😭

aka: when a book could’ve been a masterpiece… but the author fumbled the bag in the last 50 pages.

like. do you know the grief??? the sheer BETRAYAL of investing 300+ pages into a story that had god-tier potential — the vibes were vibing, the tension was taut, the world-building was delicious — and then the author just… gives up?? wraps it up in 2 chapters??

🥀 when the plot twists start coming out of nowhere 🥀 when characters you loved start acting like strangers 🥀 when THE MAIN CONFLICT IS SOLVED WITH A CONVERSATION AND A HUG. I AM IN PAIN.

🧠 WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT PACING WHIPLASH don’t give me a 50-chapter slow burn just to speedrun the emotional payoff like a Marvel post-credit scene. I need resolution. I need angst. I need you to earn the catharsis. and don’t even get me STARTED on the books that build up an entire political rebellion or magical war just to wrap it up in ONE. FINAL. BATTLE. that lasts 7 pages. girl be serious. you built an empire and tore it down with a mildly emotional conversation and one sword swing.

✨ I WANT TO SEE THE AFTERMATH ✨ stop fading to black after the climax. no I do not want a rushed epilogue with two kids and a cottage. I want: —trauma. unpacked. —relationships, tested. —healing, earned. —new dynamics. changed characters. —some lingering scars, please.

if your main couple JUST SURVIVED A WAR, they are not mentally stable enough to kiss in the ruins and walk off into the sunset. they need therapy. they need guilt. they need to look each other in the eye and go “what now?”

💀 WHEN A CHARACTER ARC JUST… DOESN’T ARC 💀 some of y’all are writing characters with devastatingly juicy setups — the quiet girl with rage issues, the morally grey villain on the edge of redemption, the golden boy whose loyalty is cracking — and then just give up on making them a good arc . LIKE GIVE ME THE DESCENT. GIVE ME THE UNRAVELING. GIVE ME THE REBUILD. don’t tease complexity and then wrap it up with one romantic scene and a vague voiceover about “forgiveness.” i want mess. i want tears. i want a “maybe i don’t deserve a happy ending” moment. and then?? GIVE THEM THE HAPPY ENDING. but make me work for it.

📖 BOOKS THAT GET IT RIGHT FEED MY SOUL 📖 shoutout to the authors who actually: —understand emotional consequences —let their characters be flawed until the very last page —treat the climax as the middle of the journey, not the end —DON’T RUSH THE PAYOFF (BLESS U) you are the reason I keep reading. you are the reason I cry at 3am with a blanket over my head like I’m hiding from a ghost.

so anyway. if a book has an ass ending I WILL slander it. idc if it had 5-star vibes the whole way through. if you fumble the bag in the final quarter? i’m throwing it in the fireplace. (JUST KIDDING—metaphorical ofc, would never acc do that)

🔍 GIVE ME BOOKS THAT STAY GOOD UNTIL THE FINAL LINE 🔍 drop your recs below. I want your faves with the best, most soul-wrecking, EARNED endings. I want to feel like I survived something.

#EndingsMatter #GiveMeEmotionalPayoffOrGiveMeDeath #BooksICouldHaveLoved #PageboundConfessions

It's October and therefore spooky season! (Even though it was 94 degrees today 🫠) Does anyone have any good recs for sapphic halloweenie books? Anything from a cozy fall romance to horror is fine.

Thank y'alllll 🎃👻🩷

What narrative structures and plot devices do you like or dislike, and why? Many narrative structures and plot devices fall out of favor when they become overdone, like the third-act breakup in romance novels or The Hero's Journey structure. I am a third-act breakup hater, myself, but that's primarily because it's so common these days that it is no longer an effective way to subvert expectations. Like others, I'm also skeptical of the Hero's Journey as that structure is so, so prevalent in a lot of Western fantasy. It can certainly be done well, but it's been done so much that it's hard to make it feel fresh and original.

What other narrative structures and plot devices do you like or dislike? Flashbacks? Epilogues? The three-act structure? Tell me all of your thoughts and feelings 🙂‍↕️

Neil is a professional ragebaiter and i respect his job

i've just read a whole blurb thinking all the while this looks interesting. I move to add it to my tbr, and... SURPRISE! I've read it already. 3 years ago apparently How could the blurb not even remind me of anything?? Even after seeing the evidence that I have read it, still nothing comes to mind lol This not even the only time that this has happened Please tell me I'm not the only one!