popcornbat commented on popcornbat's update
popcornbat finished a book

New Moon
Stephenie Meyer
popcornbat commented on greenyuri's update
popcornbat commented on a List
Kiss The Boo Boo (aka wound fucking)
These people are not following proper first aid protocol, but who's complaining? Open to suggestions of all genres and to all "first aid" decisions.
17






popcornbat wrote a review...
tbh if I was Bella I’m making these guys fight to the death whoever wins can have me or they’ll have to accept polyamory or the better and correct answer everyone stay the hell away from each other (I think the movie is way better)
popcornbat finished a book

New Moon
Stephenie Meyer
popcornbat commented on essiest's update
essiest earned a badge

Forgive Us Our Trespasses: Religious Horror
Silver: Finished 10 Main Quest books.
popcornbat commented on KindaReliableReader's update
KindaReliableReader earned a badge

The Werewolf Within
Silver: Finished 10 Main Quest books.
popcornbat commented on greenyuri's update
popcornbat left a rating...
popcornbat finished a book

They Them Wolf
Jay Dell
popcornbat commented on lethargicbat's update
lethargicbat finished a book

The Lion Women of Tehran
Marjan Kamali
popcornbat commented on popcornbat's update
popcornbat commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
content warning for mentions of stalking, manipulation, assault, rape, coercive control, abuse, and the romanticization of the aforementioned.
I'd like to start off by saying I am aromantic and not much of a romance reader myself (although I don't mind a romance subplot if it's done well), so I'm asking this as an outsider to the genre. I first remember hearing the term "dark romance" as a teenager, and at that point it seemed to refer to any romance book that featured and romanticized stalking, manipulation, assault, rape, coercive control, or other abuses between the protagonist and their (usually her) love interest. Books like Twilight, 50 Shades of Gray, and Throne of Glass come to mind for me first when I hear the term, although I know that they are probably a bit too out-of-date to meaningfully represent the genre today.
Lately, I've been seeing more and more conversation about dark romance, and in particular I've seen more and more people say that "real" dark romance does not involve any abuse or assault between the romantically-involved characters. If that is the case, then what distinguishes a dark romance from a regular romance? Is this a popular position among dark romance readers or a controversial one? Is there a different genre title for books that do feature abuse or rape (and to be clear, here I am referring to specifically abuse and rape, not impact play or consensual non-consent or any other kink) in a romanticized or eroticized way?
popcornbat commented on acidicchaos's update
acidicchaos earned a badge

Summer 2026 Readalong
Read all books in the Summer 2026 Readalong.
popcornbat commented on bloatedtoad's update
popcornbat commented on essiest's review of Dive Bar at the End of the Road
What an intense, edge-of-your-seat ride this book was! For as much as I love gory, horrific, disgusting horror books, I also enjoy a great psychological horror and that's precisely what this was.
What started as a mystery slowly built to dread and horror. With the story being character-driven, I was pleased that each character was unique in their own right. While just every day, ordinary individuals, the characters stories were their own. I normally struggle with so many characters and POVs, but Armstrong did a fabulous job sticking primarily with two, with brief forays into the other characters' POV. I do wish that we'd gotten a little from the Bartender's POV, but he was certainly verbal enough that you got a pretty good idea of who he was/what was going on in his mind.
As for the plot itself, I don't want to reveal too much but the monsters in the book were favorites of mine and goes back to the psychological. The ending was fantastic and my heart was racing those last two chapters.
Kelley is a favorite author of mine, and she did not disappoint with this one. I would absolutely recommend to everyone.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an eARC.
popcornbat commented on popcornbat's update
popcornbat commented on popcornbat's update
popcornbat commented on popcornbat's update