i hated books i thought i would love booktok rant review, metal slinger, bristol keats

looking back, hate is way too strong a word for the thirteenth child so i took it out of the thumbnail! that was more of a case of a book not meeting my expectations but metal slinger and bristol? actually bad.

metal slinger was genuinely unreadable. i will never get over her multiple uses of 'in complete juxtaposition" - is this why reading comprehension is going down? because we're being written to as if we're actually stupid?

I SUPER appreciate the commentary on, as a writer, trusting that your reader is smart enough

when you said "was that gibberish?" i felt that so hard

Like solo perché sei una gnocca incredibile ❤

"for shits and giggles", "doozy", these are phrases my genX siblings used frequently! 😂

your thoughts on the twist at the end of metal slinger is exactly how i felt when i read the prison healer back when it came out. the twist at the end makes no sense based on the main character's thoughts and there's like no foreshadowing that i can remember lol

Oh man, Cari took another one for the team! ❤🎉

Looking forward to your take on Vita Nostra, but give yourself some breathing room before starting it. It's definitely a rant-able book.

I work as a bookseller and writer and the majority of the romantasy that comes into the store is SO poorly written, paced, edited, etc that I genuinely don't know what publishers are thinking. There ARE good authors out there! And fantasy with a subplot of romance is one of my favorite things to read, but these books read like poorly written romances with the fantasy made into paper-thin window dressing. Also, the fanfic-->original work pipeline is a curse and needs to stop. Attempting to retroactively create characters and worldbuilding for a story that is already written will always feel clunky and flat. The fanfic is always better! Anyways I will stop ranting in your comments lol

I taught middle school English for 20 years. What you’re sharing about Metal Slinger literally reminds me of my students’ writing - weird time jumps, tell don’t show, unexpected reveals without any foreshadowing. It was a little too close to reality for me! There was nothing to like about what you showed us, so it’s no wonder you hated it! KU at its best! 😂

Yes for Ancillary Justice! I love those weirdos

In themes of Faerie doors, I recommend The Scholar and the last faerie door very very much! I've read it recently and it's at the top of my favorite reads from this year!

Reading the courting if Bristol Keats and i thought it was only me findind the change of pov a little weird, glad i'm not the only one😂

three in a row is crazy i’m so sorry. i hope you found better reads😭💔

Every book that you read "so we don't have to" is immediately added to my tbr.

b/c romantasy is so high demand and popular it’s quantity over quality rn. I tread carefully with what I pick up. I can’t take anymore three star at best reads.

The best tip I can give you right now is to read The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez. It’s such a refreshing take on the vampire trope. So… if you want a 4/5 star book: give it a try.

The oral s*x innuendo freak out during the Metal slinger part really got me 😅. Tbh, all those type of innuendos are cringe to me too lol.

I am feeling your pain! I hate when I get not-great books in a row. 😢
Some books I recommend are The Marriage Bureau for Rich People and Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling are some recent faves of mine.

Cari, if you are looking for a book with a similar set up to the thirteenth child, I'd like to suggest Mort by Terry Pratchett its about death taking on an apprentice

I am sorry you had to go through those. But I appreciate you going it for us.

Listening to the synopsis of Metal Slinger and it's not just you, that was a dreadfully written synopsis.

Thank you for saving me from Metal Slinger. Removed from Goodreads. 😂

Metal slinger sounds sooooo dumb and childish tf?? This is why I don't trust mainstream booktok it's 9 times out of 10 a letdown lol + media literacy and reading comprehension is so not alive in that community for some reason 😬

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your reviews. You always put so much thought into your feedback!!

I'm sitting here going:
Book 1 - Wait, I have that... oh no.
Book 2 - ok, I dodged a bullet. Thank you, Cari!
Book 3 - Wait, I have that too... oh no.

Well... Crap. Maybe I should save those two for a "trainwreck" video (if I ever become a Booktuber)? Now, I'm worried.

Thanks for taking a bullet for us, Cari. You're fantastic.

i just watched you suffer for 1.5 hours and do i regret it? nope but im so sad for you tho ☹️ i've read the kiss of deception books in the span of two weeks after i saw it in one of your videos AND I WAS OBSESSED!!!! now im so surprised to see how bad her last book is... i feel like she tried to write a book that would sell more these days and its sad 🥲

Thirteenth child who's the goddaughter of death makes me think of Little Thieves, but that was based on a different fairy tale. Is that what you're thinking of?

NEW CARI VIDEO AND IT'S ON BRISTOL KEATS THAT I'VE BEEN WANTING A RELIABLE REVIEW OF THESE DAYS?! LESGAURRRR ILY ❤

Can’t believe the courting of Bristol Keats is a breaking dawn part 2 retelling…

My sister got me Dance of Thieves as a gift and it's waiting on my tbr. I had no idea it had a sequel AND a connection to other series, that's a lot of commitment😅

"in the library of all places" killed me 🤣🤣

To preface, I do not read a lot of fantasy and when I do it’s typically as a palate cleanser. (Re. Something I don’t have to/want to think much about.). I read Metal Slinger and found it entertaining in a junk food sort of way. I don’t understand the 5⭐️ reviews at all. It was certainly not that caliber IMO. But, to each their own.🤷🏻‍♀️

I am a simple woman, cari posts a video and that make me happy

The view out cari's window at night is so gorgeous 🌃

I am SO excited for you to read Vita Nostra! Dyachenko's books are very intense and deep, they drag you in and don't let go, I hope you'll love them!

I was intrigued, as I have been meaning to read Thirteenth Child... but the one by Patricia C. Wrede haha. I am sorry these sucked. I love your vids no matter what, but I am always rooting for it not to suck for you.

"Respectfully - There's a war going on." is the line that broke me into giggles during my lunch break..


And as I typed this: Ghost sex.

We salute you for being the one to brave the ridiculous at times.

Cari can u start a side career reading audiobooks I love when you read the parts out loud

I got an ARC of Courting of Bristol Keats. I read about 100 pages and felt such a let down. I wanted on par with the Remnant Cycle. It wasn't even close

That whole "i'm obsessed w my boy best friend but i feel betrayed because he wants to marry me" trope is the entire reason i DNFd The Grace Year (that everyone was shitting their pants over) 15% of the way in.

Why wouldn't they say "on the sea"

Fae king Teagan killed me…. all I could think of was Tegan and Sarah

«also difficult to explain but they’re having ghost sex» absolutely sent me lol

I also love it when romantasy/fantasy authors try to come up with quirky names but end up (maybe accidentally) using foreign language words, cause ’Acker‘ straight up just means ’farmland‘ in German, a very sexy name indeed.

The ratings on books is so baffling to me lately and I've begun to wonder if it's due to the increase in ARCs being sent out to just anybody? So readers feel obligated to immediately give 4 and 5 stars because they got a book for free and it's been harder to find honest ARC reviews because of it I've noticed.
I hate that book reviews feel the same as sifting through makeup products.

Last weekend I watched the first Terminator movie for the first time and liked it a lot, and decided to watch the rest of the franchise... So I had some similar thoughts to what you´re saying here about the "show, dont tell". In the first movie all dialogs are very effective and serve a purpose. All whats happening we´re shown first. And because of this effectiveness all lines are so memorable. I can quote it although I´ve watched it once. And the rest of the franchise, well, I hardly can remember what happened there although I watched them lake 2 days ago because it´s overloaded with information, action, etc...

I am so sorry that not one book was a great read. So disappoiting.