Lit Vibes Only
Kelsey and Amanda are two book besties who love to "Lit the Sh*t" out of books they love and hate! In their Lit it or Quit It episodes, Kelsey and Amanda are forced to read the other's favorite books. While Amanda loves to read historical fiction and mystery/thrillers, you'll find Kelsey curled up with just about any romantasy. They discuss the books at length and, in the end, decide whether the book is a "Lit It" or "Quit It"! Every month they'll also give some book recs you just can't miss. Look out for the bonus episodes about bookish topics and books that were adapted into movies/shows.
Listen in and choose whose side you're on, or perhaps find yourself intrigued by a book you wouldn't normally go for. See you on Mondays!
Lit Vibes Only
Ep. 68: Lit It or Quit It: Blood Over Bright Haven
Join Kelsey and Amanda as they delve into ML Wong's 'Blood Over BrightHaven', exploring its heavy themes of colonialism, sexism, and systemic power structures. Prepare for a thought-provoking analysis of complex characters and a society built on hidden atrocities, with a nuanced take on how these topics resonate in today's world.
00:00 Content Warning and Introduction
00:39 Social Media and Community Engagement
04:00 Our Current Reads
13:20 Summary of 'Blood Over Bright Haven'
21:31 Book Discussion
53:20 LITerally the Best or LITerally the Worst
50:59 Recap and Final Thoughts
Follow us on TikTok & Youtube @litvibesonlypodcast and on Instagram @litvibesonly_podcast. You can also email us at litvibesonlypodcast@gmail.com We'd love to hear from you!
See you on Mondays!
In order to make choices that are best for you, please note that this episode does contain brief mentions of rape and suicide Welcome to Lit Vibes Only, where we lit the shit outta books we love and hate. I'm Kelsey, the unhinged, diehard, romantic and fantasy reader. And I'm Amanda, the insightful, thrill seeker and historical fiction nerd. Welcome to another LIT or IT episode. We're so happy you're here. Yeah. I'm really happy'cause it's my week this week and I chose the book and I'm so excited about this book. But before all of that if you have not yet found us on socials, you should absolutely go and do that. We are on Instagram at Lit Vibes Only underscore podcast. We're also on TikTok and YouTube at Lit Vibes only. So make sure to take a moment at some point today, at some point during this episode, head over there, like follow comments and of some love. Show us some love, show us how much you're enjoying the podcast. Share what's on your mind. Give us book racks, all the things. And if you're somebody who is not on socials, that's not your jam, that is okay. We also have an email address. Mm-hmm. So it's Lit Vibes only podcast@gmail.com. Shoot us a message, let us know what's up. Let us know what you wanna see and hear on the podcast. We love all the feedback, all the suggestions. So come say, Hey there. And then if you haven't already, most importantly. Please take a moment, rate and review us either on Apple Podcast or on Spotify. If you're on Apple, you can leave a review for the full podcast. And if you're on Spotify, you can leave a comment on any of the episodes, perhaps this one, and share your thoughts on this book. Let us know if it's a lit or credit for you. But that really helps us. We are, yes. Do you wanna know? In our second year, we do wanna know. Yeah, we are in our second year, but we are still very much a Growing Great baby podcast, and are still building our following, still getting the word out there. And this massively oversaturated. I don't know, market industry, that is the podcast world. So come show us some love that way. It goes a long way and it truly takes no time at all to do so. thank you in advance for that two seconds. And uh, I love, like the ASMR that's happening on Kelsey's. Go do it. Subliminal messaging. Give us five stars. Anyhow. We are fresh off of Thanksgiving. Yeah. So we're recording this on the 27th, or no, sorry, the 28th. 28th of November. Oh my gosh. That flew by. Flew by. So we are, we live one more month left in this year. Okay. Let's not talk about that. Okay. I'm not ready, especially'cause my birthday's in January. I'm like, I'm not ready to be a year older. Oh, yeah. So let's not talk about that quite yet. Oh. So society's birthday's in January. I know. All the January birthday. I think about that or not. Let's not think about it. Let's just, I do need to, I need to play it live in the present. Let's live in the present and be so in tune and grateful for where we are. But I, yes, I'm, I am I'm grateful that we still have, including today three more days of break. So thank goodness. Thank goodness. Gonna make the most of, I'm gonna do some reading. I'm so tired. Oh, I know. I didn't get out of bed. Until, I mean, I was awake, but I didn't like physically get out of bed until 8 45, which I know for some of you listeners, you're probably like, oh, that's so early. That's not, that is super late for me. Yeah, dude. We're like out of bed at like five teachers. Yeah. On the weekdays it's, yeah. Ridiculous. I can't sleep in on the weekends. Like I still, even if I'm sleeping in, I'm getting up at at least seven and that's like sleeping again. My body's like, all right, let's go. Hey, Amanda, stop it.
Kelsey:Stop it.
Amanda (2):So congratulations for sleeping in until almost nine. Thank you so much. Thank you. I wasn't sleeping. I was on my phone, but I was still bed in my bed. There you go. There you go. And I have been Have you been reading? Did you get, I know it's still crazy with family and stuff on the holidays, but Yeah. I had family and stuff over yesterday, so No, and we watched Stranger Things. Oh, I'm starting that today. I'm so excited. I can't wait to talk to you about it. Okay. Okay. Did you just watch like the first. Episode. We watched the whole thing. We started Wednesday. We started Wednesday. Oh, okay. Okay. But it's split up. The next set isn't coming out until December 25th. So wait, so how many episodes are out already? I think there's four and then there's three more coming out in December. So we have to wait. We were stingy and watched it all. No, not stingy. If you're stingy, that means you would've been like, oh, we're just gonna do one every week. Does it though? We like, yeah, stingy. Stingy with the episodes and we wanted to gobble them up. I don't know. It makes sense to me. I, that's greedy. Oh yeah, you're right. Didn't you like, took completely the opposite, but I get it. I get what you're saying. I have to go back and watch time. I dunno, like the recaps on YouTube, because I'm not gonna go back and watch all the seasons. I don't have the time. Yes. So I need to like No, you should, because I was so confused. Even with the recap that they show on Netflix. Oh no, I'm gonna, I was like, why were they doing this? Why were they doing? Yeah. No, you need to, I'm gonna do, there's this one guy who does a really great job on YouTube and I'm just gonna watch the recaps of each season. Yeah. So I'm like, squared away because I have, you know, you know me, memory of a goldfish. I'm like, what happened? Who are these people? What town do they live in? I had a hard time with this summary because oh my God, there's so much going on.'cause there was a lot. There was a lot. This. Yeah. It's, the thing is, it's not a super long book, but there's a lot in there. Mm-hmm. It's pretty complicated, but what are you currently reading? I'm excited to talk about it because I am currently reading a TJ Clone book. Yes. Love. Tell me more. And I've read a good amount of his books now what? Maybe five. And this one is The Bones Beneath My Skin. Did you ever read that one? Oh no. No. I've only read three of his books. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, no, it's good so far. Yeah. The premise is it's this older guy whose parents die. Okay. And they leave him a cabin and a car. Okay. And he goes out to the cabin and meets some people that are not supposed to be there. And then the story, this sounds like the start of a horror novel. And I feel like TJ Coon does not write horror. It's not really horror, but it maybe seems a little creepy at first. It's unsettling. It's not really. Yeah. Okay. Okay. That sounds great. I'm a huge fan of TJ Clone. I just finished reading our book, club book for next month. For listeners you were in the month of December for us, for November, so this is gonna be our December read. Yeah. I mentioned it on a previous episode, I believe. But small things like these by Claire Keegan. It's a super short little book. It's like 125 pages Uhhuh. So it breezed right through it. And it was so good. There is a movie that I'm gonna watch that it based on it's historical fiction said in the 1980s and Ireland, and it's about this man and his family at Christmas time. But it talks about, they were called Magdalene or Magdalene Laundries. They were like these homes like mother and baby homes that were in Ireland. And they were originally intended for like women of ill repute, right? Like prostitutes, unwed mothers, whatever. And they would send them to these. These homes that were run by the Catholic church. Oh. And they have a really sorted history. Women were abused emotionally, physically, kept under lock and key. A lot of the women and babies died very hush hush. Mm-hmm. And so it, it's connected to that. But I always pronounce his name wrong. He, is it Killian Murphy? Do you know who I'm talking about? He was. Mm-hmm. You would know him if you saw him. I'm saying his name wrong, I'm sure. Because I'm sure it has a different pronunciation, but he's in a bunch of stuff. He's the main character in it and it's like a really well awarded movie, blah, blah blah. Anyhow, that's what I just finished.
Amanda:Um,
Amanda (2):Got it. And like I said, it takes place during Christmas, so it's a good Christmas read'cause it does have a heartwarming ending
Amanda:sort of.
Amanda (2):okay. I was like, that doesn't sound like a Christmas read that maybe in the time of Christmas, but it's not cozy. I will say he makes choices that ultimately make you feel good. But yeah, there's a lot of stuff going on that's rough. But I'm just about to start. I'm gonna hold it up'cause I have it here. It's play nice, but I only hold it up over here. Play Nice by Rachel Harrison. I picked this up during spooky season and I haven't read it yet. It is a horror novel, but it's like a, what is the word? Like a family drama, like a domestic horror. I think like it's more about a family and their interactions with each other. Uhhuh, I've never read her before. I think she mostly writes like feminist horror. So I am super curious to dive into this. I've heard a lot about it. It's pretty popular. Okay. Okay. So keep you posted. I do wanna keep reading horror and exploring the genre a bit more, mm-hmm. I'll let you guys know.
Amanda:Um,
Amanda (2):So is so into horror and if it's not scary enough, he's bored. I will say between like horror movies and horror books, horror novels mm-hmm. I definitely can do horror novels way better. Like I can handle them way better. Horror movies. Yeah. There are sometimes there are a lot for me. Yeah. I cannot, I wonder if it would feel different to me as a horror novel. Mm-hmm. Because I hate horror films cannot stand them. Yeah. I just, I don't like jump scares. I don't like gore or
Amanda:like,
Amanda (2):Sasha Films can't do them. If it's too weirdly supernatural, I'm like, Nope. Absolutely not. Why? Why? Because I think we've talked about this in a previous episode. I grew up in a really religious home where we believed in supernatural forces. And so I think there's still part of me that's
Amanda:like,
Amanda (2):oh, these are real. And Yeah. Yeah. And you've talked about how you like believe in ghosts and things like that, and Yes. So I think it just, it's I don't know. I don't wanna mess with this too much. I know. That's how I feel. Yeah. Oh, so anyhow, so funny. Anyhow, let's get to it, I'm super excited because I've been waiting so long. Yes. For Kelsey to finish this book. We even had to postpone this episode recording session so she could finish. So I'm done to hear what she thinks and to talk about this book because I'm obsessed.
Amanda:So.
Amanda (2):Kelsey
Amanda:well,
Amanda (2):first of all, I have to tell you why I had you read it. So the book is Yes, blood Over BrightHaven, I'm getting ahead of myself, blood Over BrightHaven by Emma Wong. I read this book several months ago because I saw it recommended in several places.
Kelsey:One of the people
Amanda:who recommended it was book Huddle, and I often read her book recommendations. Yes. So I was intrigued, especially as someone who does not read fantasy, hardly ever uhhuh. So one of the reasons I recommended it is because this is quite a popular fantasy book.
Kelsey:Mm-hmm.
Amanda:Pretty well loved, pretty well recommended, often recommended and I thought that it did a really great job of touching on so many real world issues in a way that. I don't know, put them in a new light so that we could process them a bit better. I think sometimes it's hard for us to look at our own society, our own country, and see what's wrong, and sometimes we need a little bit of distance. Mm-hmm. And so because this is set in a fantasy world that looks very different from ours, it's easier for us to see the racism, sexism, xenophobia, colonization, that's happening and be like, oh my God, this is awful. The genocide versus sometimes when we're looking at our own country culture society. Okay. So I liked it for that and I liked the fact that the main character si is not particularly likable. Like she's not a quote unquote good person. She, and she talks about that often in the novel, which we'll get into. And you know me like I love messy, flawed human characters, and I like that she wasn't this bright, shiny. Heroin by any means. Mm-hmm. And sometimes her motivations aren't always great. And yeah, those were my reasons and I'm so curious to hear what Kelsey thinks. So when did you read this? Was it pretty recent? It was probably it was over the summer. Okay. Maybe in August. I think so like maybe three months ago. So not super long ago. So it's still pretty fresh in my mind. I thought so, yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, and it's definitely one of my, for sure top reads of the year, like hands down. Oh my God, I'm so like, I'm so nervous. I think I said in a previous episode that if she doesn't like this book, I'm gonna be devastated. So here we go. Kelsey, was this book a lit it or quit it for you? It's no pressure. So much pressure. No, I don't mind the pressure. It's fine. Fine. Overall this was a lit it for me. Yay. Okay. I thought it was gonna be, I dunno how it couldn't be, I have some thing. Yeah. I could see some criticisms potentially, especially. Mm-hmm. You read a lot of romantic, but not necessarily like straight fantasy. Yeah. And so I was like, oh, this might be too. I don't know. I don't know. I have some criticisms, but I don't think it's what you are thinking right now. Okay, perfect. Oh, then let's jump into the summary.'cause it, it was the long book, but it is, there's a lot happened. The dense book. It's a dense book. Yeah, for sure. So Godspeed And also I do not explain. The magic system. Oh don't do it. I'm just that is intense and Yep., I still don't fully understand it. Same. But there are parts obviously like I can understand that I do mention. So anyway, I was writing this last night, so I hope I do justice. We will see because I really don't like just winging it. Yeah. Because I, I will forget things. Sure. Amanda's really great about that, but I just, it doesn't work for my brain. That's it. She eat her own. Alright, here we go. Let's see how I do. Alright. The book opens with an entire Caldon tribe crossing a dangerous lake. In order to reach the city of Teran on their way, people begin to die from what's called the blight. People are vanishing by some sort of strange monster that makes their bodies burn and disappear. In this catastrophe, there's only two survivors, a man and his niece. That's like the opening chapter. Mm-hmm. And then you switch perspectives and you move into the FMCs perspective. Sion. So then the book opens with Ana's perspective. She is a 20 some orphaned woman who is intelligent and magically talented. In the magic world, Ana faces a lot of misogyny where men don't believe women should be practicing magic. Every 10 years a woman is allowed to apply for position as a high ma. And ana is the one woman able to apply and has a mentor that strongly believes in her arch maid, Brigham all her life. She's heard that women are not suited to be high maid, but she proves her ability. During her exam, she's able to float a very large item. And I can't remember. It was like a sphere. I think it's a cauldron heavy. Thank you cauldron. Mm-hmm. And, she's able to flow the cauldron in the air that wins over the judges, and she then becomes high MJ Fran, which is her last name, and she feels accomplished. Yet she's the only high mage woman and is not welcomed into the group. Like every other man. On her first day, she has assigned a Quinn janitor, who is one of the tribes outside tribes from beyond Teran. And his name is Tomil, and he's going to be her assistant rather than a university studied assistant. So she gets a janitor instead of a typical assistant. The other high majors are trying to sabotage her with this decision, but Cyana takes it in stride. Tomil and Cyana go out after the first day and grab a couple drinks. This is the beginning of their friendship and partnership in Ana's lab. Although she faces mistreatment and discrimination, Ana deeply believes she's making progress for all women and is extremely passionate about her work and the possibilities in the use of magic. And through Tomil and Ana's partnership, Ana slowly starts to see the government corruption and unjust treatment of the Quinn that she has ignorantly bought into and benefited from up until now. And she realizes how much mistreatment the Quinn face, and this only happens because of her partnership with Tomil. In her first few months as mage, each new member needs to present a project to understand the magic system a bit. The magic users must siphon their magic from this map of coordinates known as the other we realm. There are forbidden coordinates throughout this map, but many coordinates that are available to use. The arch majors are attempting to expand the magical shield around the city of Teran. That's their current goal because that magical shield has been deteriorating over the years. And for Ion's project, she discovers how to create what's called mirrors where one can see the other realm while they're siphoning their magic. And the goal is to be able to see the source and determine where the largest source is to siphon from. And when Cyana successfully creates the mirror, she sees a beach and Tomil recognizes the same magic that killed his entire tribe. Ana realizes that she murdered a woman on the beach through her mirror. And Tamil has a breakdown and Ana cannot believe what she just saw. Moving forward. Cyana chooses to believe initially that the arch MAs and other high MAs don't know where the magic is being siphoned from. But Tomil knows differently. It takes Ionis some time to realize that many of the magic users already know and are okay with murdering in order to use magic. Those in power end up justifying the murder for the greater good. And this even includes her mentor, arch Maid Brigham, who she thought was a very standup guy. Um, Ana comes up with a plan that she thinks will wake up the citizens of Teran, and she reveals how magic a siphon to the city. After that, Ana has taken prisoner and her desire to share the truth starts a rebellion by the Quinn and the Tyrannous people are very distraught. Ana feels strongly she did what was right and she is then held for trial and stands her ground. She could have saved her life by sharing remorse for her actions, but she decides to double down and stand behind what she did. The court sentences her to death, and she takes a vial of liquid, and as she does, she hears her final spell being put into place by Tummel, and it destroys the building she's in and kills all the arch majors inside. And Cyana dies along with them. This means that the city's leadership is dead. And in the end, Tomil and his niece survive and escape toran, and they do this alongside other Quinn. As of right now, the magic system is broken and not functioning, so there is no risk of blight. That's pretty much the end. Yeah. Yeah. That was actually great. I'll just clarify a couple of things, but that was a really concise summary. One thing that's important to know is that. Tarnish magic actually is taken from Quinn Magic. And you realize that, so you realize that the founders of Teran, they essentially took the magic from the Quinn people and ended up manipulating it for their own benefit and to basically oppress and ultimately kill these other tribes out in the world. And so when Kelsey was talking about siphoning and coordinates in other realm, which is like really confusing, it's literally just other parts of this world. And magic is just pulling life for, from other people, plants, animals in different parts of the world. Mm-hmm. That's what it is. And I think a thing that's really important to note is that originally when people are casting these spells and like using their little magic machines to pull magic from the other realm, everything is blurry. So they cannot see what they're pulling magic from. It just looks kinda like these blurry gray blotches, white blotches. And so when s makes this mirror, you can now clearly see the other realm and you can see, oh, when I'm pulling magic from this other part of the world, I'm killing an individual, or I'm killing a plant, or I'm killing an animal. And people couldn't see that before.
Kelsey:Mm-hmm. And
Amanda:they potentially like, or not potentially intentionally blinded them, so they didn't have to deal with oh my gosh, I'm murdering people in order to like make our world magic run on this magic. So it's pretty dark. And as Kelsey said, the book does open essentially with a massacre of toils people as they're trying to cross into. To run and find safety. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Wonderful job. Thank you so much. As always, we will start with the good, the positives of which there are. Yeah. So what'd you love about this book? I enjoyed how intense it was and how it was very blatant and out there with the details of the society and like how it's being uncovered and shared about the wrongdoings and like why it's built off of, what you were saying, colonialism and mm-hmm. Murder. Mm-hmm. And other people's life force essentially. Mm-hmm. And then I did enjoy the magic system. It was very unique. Mm-hmm. And while it was complicated, I thought it was well done. Yeah. Yeah. It was super interesting to just keep unearthing throughout the book what's happening, because I'm like what is she talking about this mirror? What it, yeah. Why is this important? Then you realize in the end, like what it's actually creating, but the reason why she got there was because of the Quinn knowledge. Yes. So that was really interesting as well. And yeah, Uhhuh, there's just there's so many connections between this book and our real world. So first off, when you were first talking about oh yeah, this book is clearly. Very blatantly talking about colonization and genocide. Mm-hmm. Because the Tyrannis people really did just overtake this part of the world. Mm-hmm. They oppressed and murdered the local Quinn people, took their knowledge for themselves, took their land for themselves, created this beautiful city, that's full of all of these amenities where they're living essentially in luxury and they have crafted this entire history, this entire narrative where like, these are our founding fathers and here's why they were glorious and wonderful and we should worship them. And they saved this savage Quinn people from themselves. Like they often use the word sin when they're referring to the Quinn and their behavior and why they were justified and coming in and taking over. Yeah. And a lot of them are essentially. Enslaved, right? They work in these really menial, dangerous jobs within mm-hmm. Teran, the ones who haven't been killed, and it's like, oh my God. Like you, you see this mm-hmm. Throughout history and the way that both Britain and the United States and a lot of other countries colonize other places, and how in order for them to feel good about themselves and sleep at night, they had to justify it. Whether it was like, oh, we're saving the savages through religion. Or like mm-hmm. They don't know how to manage their resources, so we need to do it for them. And so the ties right. Between this world and what happened, ours are exact, right? Yes. It's a fantasy world. Yes. But Emma Wong made it crystal clear this is what I'm actually talking about. Mm-hmm. So I, I love that there wasn't like Hmm, what could she possibly be referring to? She's being really obscure here. Mm-hmm. But the other thing that I really love that you mentioned I think you mentioned is that, so they're getting the magic from. From the Quinn. That they're like the origins, but more specifically it's the Quinn women. These powerful witches. That's where Uhhuh, the Quinn people, that's where their wisdom, their knowledge, their magic was passed down through the women. Mm-hmm. Like very matriarchal. And I love that because again, women are often dismissed, diminished, ignored, et cetera. And you see that happening in Teran. Mm-hmm. And it's very intentional because as women, we hold so much power in so many ways. Mm-hmm. And I thought that was very smart of her to include that. Yeah. And uh, as uh, Ana's doing her research mm-hmm. She is realizing these facts. Yeah. Because in her current world, it only men have been allowed to practice magic. Mm-hmm. And, and yeah. So it is an uncovering of knowledge Yeah. Throughout her journey. And it's very intentional because these men obviously know the inherent power that women have, especially if women come together as a collective. Yeah. And again, you see that throughout history, right? Where women were branded literally as witches and burned at the stake if they showed, any sort of inclination, or where they might upset or overturn the natural order of things. And women not, being able to participate in politics, not being able to manage their own finances, et cetera. Mm-hmm. And so again, it's like there's this clear. Parallel mm-hmm. Between the two, which I really enjoyed, but I think, which I loved about this book.
Kelsey:What,
Amanda:Emma Wong.'cause it's very simple in a book like this to make it overly simplistic, like good, bad, black, white. Mm-hmm. End of story. And she doesn't. Mm-hmm. And one of the places you see her really struggling with some of the gray or some of the, I don't know, grittier areas around some of these topics is with SI or seona. I don't know how you say her name. I listened to the audio book. Oh. And s Fiona. Thank you so much. So Ana where technically right, Ana's like Yeah. Female empowerment and I need to do this because I'm gonna, pave the way for other women when in actuality most of her choices are very selfish, very self-serving. Mm-hmm. And she acknowledges that on several occasions. Yes. And like you see that happening within. The feminist movement right over time where perhaps one group of women is like, well we right. Are focused on our interests instead of all women, including women of color or whatever it might be. Or we're going to shame women who have chosen to, stay at home and take care of kids when like everyone should be out in the workforce, whatever it might be. And so kind of the ways in which we can self-sabotage, like within a movement, within a group of people.
Kelsey:Mm-hmm.
Amanda:Even if we think we're like doing the right thing or doing something for the greater good. Mm-hmm. So I like that she put that in there. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. Piggyback on that, piggybacking on that. Mm-hmm. I was watching some other creators, videos mm-hmm. About the book. Yeah. And I got the sense that, and tell me what you think that Okay. Emma Wong was embodying like a white woman in our society. Mm-hmm. With Cy. Mm-hmm. Oh. And because the way that I heard other women talking about it was like, I related to Samona so much. And I was like, oh, interesting. I didn't feel that. Yeah. But I think that white women were supposed to relate to her. Yeah. But I don't know. What are your thoughts on that? Oh, interesting. I mean, the way that race operates in this book is different from our world, right?'cause they're different tribes, people, whatever. But because Seona is part of the. Tyra, yeah. The Tyrannous tribe of people, Theran group of people who are at the top of this hierarchy in this world. Mm-hmm. I just, in my mind, so that, that parallel to me is like, oh, whiteness. Right? Like, That's what that would look like in our world. And so, yes, I did assume, yeah, that she was like the white equivalent you know, someone in our world. And so I just assumed that and mm-hmm. I didn't relate to Cyana in any way. Mm-hmm. Obviously there were moments where it's like, oh you know, she's struggling with something that like we as women struggle with. Even when she gets attacked and almost, raped by the other high Ma or Arch Ma, I'm like, yeah. Like we are constantly, you know, Ren Thorn, Ren Thorn. That's right. Yeah. That danger to ourselves, like constantly having to navigate situations like, is this safe for me, et cetera. But I think overall I was like, you are very privileged and the choices that you're making right now, again. Are, may, will maybe benefit a very small percentage of women in your world. Mm-hmm. And this ultimately isn't about helping to improve the existence of all women in your world. Mm-hmm. It really is very self-serving. Mm-hmm. And so to me, and I'm not, again, I'm not saying like, oh, this is true of every white woman. But again, if you look at the history of the feminist movement, it very much started with Hey, we're just focusing on white women, and making sure white women get the vote. White women have these rights, et cetera. Like women of color were not part of the conversation for quite a while. Mm-hmm. So in general, so it did remind me of that because in some ways Seona in this world is, taking some first steps in what could be, the feminist movement in her world, right? Yeah. Mm-hmm. And again, you see it's like, okay, this is only going to benefit a small fraction. Yeah. Of the women. And it's certainly not taking into account the Quinn women who live in her city, like she's completely oblivious to them. Mm-hmm. She has no idea what their lives are like. She has no idea that Brigham, who is her mentor, who runs these factories that are like employing all of these Quinn women in horrible conditions and is literally making them infertile. Because the products they're producing are destroying their bodies. That is completely, she's completely oblivious and it's not entirely her fault, but also that comes with the privilege, of your status in this world.
Kelsey:Yeah. So
Amanda:I totally agree with mm-hmm. With that estimation of her being the white equivalent woman in this world. Yeah. Privilege. Yeah. And she does face, a lot of awful misogyny mm-hmm. In her world. Absolutely. But she also carries so much prejudice against the Quinn. Yeah. And I I struggled with that with her. Oh my God. Yeah. Because I was just like, you're so fucking annoying. Why are you talking to him like that? Like the way that she talks to Tamel because Tamel has obviously mm-hmm. A completely different worldview. Yeah. And he's challenging her throughout this book. Yeah. And she hates it at first. Yep. And she, like insults him and continues down that whole, that rabbit hole mm-hmm. Of no, my people are Right. Yeah. And you are lower than me. Because you don't believe in God and you don't believe in this and mm-hmm. How dare you speak against my God type of thing, and it's gross. Mm-hmm. Yeah.'Cause I think the thing that makes it even worse is like when you're in that situation, see that happening? She has such a strong conviction that her beliefs are the right ones and the only ones. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And so she's also like, I am in the right, I have morality on my side. And so there's like this additional layer of I am not open to even having a conversation about this. Yes. Reconsidering my perspective because my beliefs are also linked to my worth as an individual and whether or not I'm a good or a bad person. And so when you're in a situation like that with someone in this fantasy world or in the real world, it makes it so hard to have conversations right. Around issues. Mm-hmm. If that's the starting point. And you see that happening with Cy and even after she witnesses the blight in action and sees that like it murdered this girl and just like literally ripped her apart, like this horrible, brutal thing. She's still trying to justify it. Yeah. She's still trying to justify it. She's still like, no, this can't be right. What? Yeah and understandably, if you realize that you have been part of this horrible machine for years, of course there's gonna be this moment of I need to like mm-hmm. Get my head straight. But also the fact that it took her so long to finally condemn it is really alarming. Yes. And again, something that we see in our real world. Mm-hmm. Because people don't want to be inconvenience. People don't wanna have to admit mm-hmm. Wrongdoing or fault people don't wanna have to grapple with these hard things. And then also it's this idea of always assuming good intent from people. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And that's what she really lives with. Yeah. And that's one of the things that really bothers me about these courageous conversations, like that framework that people have, it's where you're always going to assume positive intent.
Kelsey:Mm-hmm.
Amanda:And when you do that, you end up, like someone like Cy, where she's just like, no, the arch majors would never do that. Mm-hmm. And it was a big struggle for her to really understand like the actual reality of her world. Mm-hmm. And that's what I. Saw in that. Like she's just trying to see good intent and good intent is not always there. No. And if you realize'cause again, how do I say this? Her entire worldview perspective, belief system experiences are all built on this truth that, magic's fine. The blight is a curse for the sinful Quinn, like all of these things. Ah-huh. And if you realize that your entire society is built on genocide, like that is going to completely undo you.
Kelsey:Mm-hmm.
Amanda:And so I, yeah, again, I can understand this complete just WTF moment that she has and one of the things we don't talk about or haven't talked about is that she does attempt to take her own life. Like when she does Oh yes, that's right. Come to terms with oh my God, this is what. This is what my society is built on. This is the horror that my society is built on. Can't, and the amount of harm that I've created, the amount of harm that she's created, the amount of harm she's caused, like she can't live with herself. And I think that was a really raw moment and a very moving moment. Mm-hmm. Because it's like, yeah. What do you do in that position? Do you just call it and just like, I'm, I'm out, quite literally. Yeah. Or do you then do what she ultimately does, which is she uses her ability, her power, her privilege, and leverages that to try and enact some sort of meaningful change mm-hmm. In Teran. But it's, yeah it's tricky. It's hard. It's difficult. Uhhuh and you also see, which I'm glad that they included these characters.'cause again. Emma Wong doesn't want to paint with broad strokes. So she does include, you know, Ana's family like her, I think it's her cousin Alba and her, yeah. Is her aunt, I think that she lives with and helped raise her. Yeah, they raised her, but I don't remember if they were answer. Okay. Cousins. They were some sort of relatives after her. Yeah, her family left or her dad left and her mom died. And they're like for the most part, right? They're just like normal, everyday hardworking people who take care of their neighbors and bring soup to the sick or whatever. But they too are complicit in this. And so then there's oh, a lot of other questions that you could dive into there and like other discussions, but I liked that it's not like we just saw like, oh, the evil arch majors who know what's happening and are still perpetuating Exactly. Everyday people Yes. Of teran who don't fully understand what's going on, but are benefiting from the harm that's caused.
Kelsey:Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Amanda:And it's like, oh yeah, what, okay, what is their role? What is their responsibility? Mm-hmm. Yeah. I don't know. And at the end when ion's in the prison mm-hmm. Alba comes in, visits her, right? Yeah. And Alba is furious with Cyana because her life is changing essentially. Yep. And she's pissed. And Cyana is like, what the fuck? Yeah. People are dying and you're upset because yeah, your life is gonna change. Yeah. So that, exactly what you just said, ML Wong shows the layers of the mm-hmm. Of society, like who's feeding into this and who's willing to continue Yeah. This type of harm in the long run. Yeah. Yeah. It's wild. Yeah. And I think that's a big thing with addressing injustices in our world, is that anytime you are going to actually address an issue, right? It's going to unseat the people in positions of power and privilege. Mm-hmm. Yes. Yes. And that is going to come with change and inconvenience and adjustments. Mm-hmm. Most people don't wanna deal with that, right? Yep. They wanna deal with their comfortable life. They don't want the status quo to change. And so it's easy and we've, we see that when people are doing more performative things, right? Oh, mm-hmm. I put a sign up in my window, or like, I. Right. I don't know, I, whatever it might be. Mm-hmm. Where it's like that didn't actually cost you anything, it's not disrupting your life in any significant way. Exactly. Mm-hmm. And if it's not, then it's also not actually changing anything. Yes. If there isn't a disruption there, then nothing is actually shifting. Yes. Because that's required for that to happen. Yes. And I definitely, the, what, the one thing I did like reflect on and continue to do so mm-hmm. Is around my position in education, right? Mm-hmm. Because what ML Wong is saying is you're not necessarily making progress. Yeah. Even if you are attempting to be in these leadership positions. Mm-hmm. Yes. Because the harm is still being created. Mm-hmm. Within that system, and that system is just going to be what it is.
Kelsey:Yeah.
Amanda:And so anyway, yeah. Thinking about like some of our teachers, yeah. Kicking students out because of minor, what I perceive as minor things rather than trying to solve that with them. Yeah. And guess what? It's mostly our students of color, right? Yeah. And tends to be boys of color. Mm-hmm. And it's just a thing I continue to see in our mm-hmm. In our system. And I personally struggle with the idea of am I actually helping in any way? Am I supporting this system or am I actually supporting. Our kids. Yeah. And I have yet to see like that it's actually helping. Yeah. I, yeah. I think in my previous school that I was at, for five years, I did a lot of work with like DEI and was d facilitator, like all of these things. And I will say that at the end of my time there, I was just burnt out. I was like, does any of this matter? Is anything changing? Is this working in any meaningful way or am I just like mm-hmm. Shouting into the void and you even see to tie it back to this book when at the very end of the book Kelsey said in the summary, Cy does show. The entire city, she like casts mm-hmm. These large mirrors all over the city so people can see for themselves firsthand how blight works. Mm-hmm. And can see yes, in fact the magic that you're using every day to I dunno, run your cars and run your dishwasher, whatever. It's resulting in the death of someone or something. And even with that knowledge, people are still just like, Nope, we wanna turn a blind eye. Mm-hmm. And even at the end right when essentially the high magistrate is destroyed. Cy rigs up this spell and kind of wipes out the entire leadership. Yeah. There is this like ML Wong hints that yes, they've been destroyed, but that a new. System is just gonna grow up in its place and continue to perpetuate a lot of the same ills that are already happening. Mm-hmm. So the book does leave you with this what's the word I'm looking for? Yeah, like everything is futile. Like even if you do make these Yeah. Big changes and try to leverage what power you have, like how much can you really do. Mm-hmm. And ultimately Tamil and his people, or some of them realize that the only option is to leave. Yeah. It's not staying in the system and trying to make it work. It's like you just have to step outside of it altogether. Yeah. And obviously that's not always an option or even preferable, but mm-hmm. It is like, yeah. Like how that's an option. Yeah. My siblings and I have often had this conversation about systems of oppression. It's like. do you try to undo it from the inside? Like we were talking about getting into position of power and trying to change things from there. Or do you just burn the whole thing down and start from scratch?
Kelsey:Yeah.
Amanda:And we've gone back and forth about that and I was like, oh no. I think you should try and get the right people into positions where they can make, massive changes across the board. Meaningful change and, I, yeah, so it's, this book is so good for that though, in terms of inspiring these discussions and reflections and it's why I loved it and why if I was an English teacher I would absolute to freaking absolutely teach this book. There are so many ways to connect it to current events, to get kids to reflect on their own lived experiences. Yeah. I like, I'm like, I wanna become an English teacher just for this book. Yeah. Books like this. Yeah. Definitely. Inspiring. I wanna mention one other thing that I really liked
Kelsey:mm-hmm.
Amanda:Was the fact that, cyana dies. Yep. I actually, I love it when a, an author can do the hard things. Mm-hmm. And Cyana was never meant to like, continue in this Yeah. This world. Mm-hmm. And I appreciated that. It wasn't like this oh my God is she gonna survive or not? It was just like, Nope, she's dying and she's choosing to die. Yeah. In the end, and I was also glad that she didn't regret what she had done either. Mm-hmm. So I thought that was a really powerful part of the book. Yeah. Mm-hmm. in no way is this book a feelgood book, and it certainly doesn't have a feelgood happy ending. No, not at all. Ending. And I think because again, s si did attempt to take her life earlier, and so it's like mm-hmm. instead of. Her doing that. And I, I wanna be careful about how I phrase this. I think the fact that she was able to use her death in a way that incited some change to some degree
Kelsey:mm-hmm.
Amanda:Was very, almost like generous on her part. So she could have taken her life simply because she's like, I can't handle this, mm-hmm. Like the weight of my conscious is just essentially killing me.
Kelsey:Mm-hmm. But
Amanda:instead she was like, if I am going to end my life and make this choice, like you said, let me at least do it in service of the greater good and service of hopefully getting things to change in a way that will help the Quinn and maybe start to dismantle the system.
Kelsey:Mm-hmm.
Amanda:And I like that she, Emma Wong doesn't necessarily make her out to be. A martyr either. Yeah. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Which I think is important too. People actually very much hate her. Yeah. And the Quin don't see her as like this as like their savior or something. Yeah. No. You know, Uhhuh especially after all the harm that's been caused. So Yeah. I agree. I think it was a fitting end to this book. I am curious though,'cause I like what were your criticisms, your critiques of the book? Oh, she was annoying. I couldn't stand her and like how long it fucking took her to like, she kept going back and forth. That was annoying to me and I understand why that choice was made and I still didn't care for it. Yeah. So that was just one of them. The other thing that I wanted to bring up too was like, I don't understand why she had Tomil fall in love with her. What do you think why ML Wong did? Yeah. Why did. Why did she choose that? Yeah. That to me was the most unbelievable part of this whole thing. Yeah. Honestly.'cause the way that Sciona treats Tomil throughout the book is awful. Yes. And he still is just like there to help her there. To serve her, is biting his tongue, et cetera. Keeps coming back time after time. Yeah. And I wanted to just shake him and be like, let her have it. But yes. But again, if we're thinking about parallels to real life, if you are trying to get by survive, provide for yourself and for his niece Cara. You don't always like that is a luxury. Being able to basically stand up to the people in power and be like, fuck you. We want people to do that, but realistically, he has a young person in his care that he's trying to provide for, make sure that she's safe. Mm-hmm. And so I could understand why he was being as subservient and going with the flow as he was. But yeah, I didn't understand the romance and I don't know if she felt like she had to because that's what people are doing in fantasy these days. There's always like this. Yeah, maybe, but it didn't, or maybe she was trying to say that even in spite of these differences that we have, we can still just see the humanity in each other. Mm-hmm. And find meaningful connection. Yeah. That could be a message perhaps, it was subtle, whatever it was. But at the end, like he doesn't seem like super beat up about it. No, he that she's dead.
Kelsey:Yeah.
Amanda:But yeah, it's just like throughout, he's really interested in her and I'm like, why? And she doesn't, we don't get that from her. No, not until like later. And even not to the same degree. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So that was, it was just interesting to me. I didn't understand why. Unless I think, okay. The only other thing I would say really quickly is that maybe to some degree, so si is still a woman, and so she does face a fair amount of oppression based on her sex, her gender, right? Mm-hmm. Like sexism is a thing. Misogyny is a thing. And so I wonder if to some degree, and we do see that, like him connecting to her over that like this too, this too is another person who is oppressed to a very different degree. Mm-hmm. But who is also facing oppression. And so I wonder if there's some like comradery there as well and why he, especially at the beginning, why he's so willing to help her. Mm-hmm. Oh yeah. Maybe, figure her, find her way as a mage. Mm-hmm. Because he can see to some extent. This reflection of here's another person facing a form of oppression. Mm-hmm. But that's all I got. Yeah. That's all I got. The one person that I did not include in the summary was his niece Kara, and oh my gosh, she is hilarious. I love her. I love her so much. And I don't remember what part of the book, I mean it's page 2 95, but I don't remember what was happening exactly. Okay. It's a quote from Kara I wanna read, which also makes me further believe that, um. ion is an embodiment of a white woman in the soci in our society. Mm-hmm. And so Kara says, this is how you tarnish women solve their problems, isn't it? You just mope and cry, and woe is you and everyone comes tripping over their dicks to rescue you. Oh yeah. Yep. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So that just solidified that idea for me. Yeah. And I just thought, I was like, oh my God, she's talking about white women. It's so true though. White tears. Yes. White tears, white fragility, right? Yes. Yes. Yeah and you seek, which connects to what we're just talking about with Tomwell, because Tom will in some ways enables that. Like he's trying to help manage her emotions, especially when she finds out what's going on. Like he's more concerned about making sure she's okay versus like him giving into his own anger, pain, et cetera.
Kelsey:Yeah. And that
Amanda:again, very much is a reflection, like you were saying on how yeah, white women historically have been coddled in that way. Mm-hmm. And yeah, that quote, such a good quote, like sums it up so perfectly. Yeah. Yeah. I love Kara. She's such a badass. She says what needs to be said. And I think it's also really clear that this book was written by a woman of color, right? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Because I don't think, yeah, I think it would've been, I'm not saying it's impossible. I think it might've been harder for a white woman to again, step outside of their lived experience and write this story in this way. Yeah. And yeah, so I think that I can see that is very evident in the text. But yeah, I just, I, God, I just don't have enough good things to say about this book. There's just it's just a such a thought provoking book. Yes. And we could talk about it for hours. Yeah, you could talk about this book forever., I've put this book forth as a book club. Oh, nice option. And I'm gonna keep pushing for it'cause yeah. You could talk about this book for ages. Mm-hmm. There's so many little things that you could dive into. Yeah. And it does, yeah. It does make you think about what is my role in all of this? It even makes me think like, yeah, you know, I'm someone who still like, uses Amazon and like shops at Amazon and we know all of the horrible things that like that company in corporation has done. And like I'm, I am complicit, right? I'm helping this machine continue to run, but because it's convenient for me, right? Mm-hmm. And it's easy and fast, and I can find things that I can't find other places and dah, dah, dah. Mm-hmm. And it's it's easy to look at the characters in this book and be like shame. And it's like, okay, what are all of the ways? Yeah. Even just living in the United States, all of the things we're all mm-hmm. Inherently absolutely complicit in. Mm-hmm. It really does. It leaves you unsettled, but I think in a really good way, like a really necessary way. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. Even just thinking about Amazon I think that there's so many ways, even if you don't buy from Amazon, like my husband and I have gotten rid of our prime account, like mm-hmm. Over a year ago. Mm-hmm. And it's a freaking transition.
Kelsey:Oh yeah. And
Amanda:not only that, like sure we got rid of that, but there are times I still buy from Amazon. And I think that we don't fully understand like the web of Amazon. Mm-hmm. And like exactly where it's at. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Because Whole Foods right? Mm-hmm. Owned by Amazon now it Yep. Yep. I used it. And that is like one place where you can get really amazing, quality mm-hmm. Food. Mm-hmm. And like specialty items. Mm-hmm. And if you're deciding not to go there, then you just don't have access to that stuff. Yeah. Yeah. We have our PCC and co-op, but like mm-hmm. It's not the same. Yeah. And accessibility and so Yeah. It's a, that's just one. Yeah. Other way, you are supporting Amazon, but there's so many other ways that we just don't even know. Oh, for sure. Absolutely.'cause everything is intertwined with everything else. Mm-hmm. And if you truly were gonna be like, yes, I'm standing on principles and not doing all like. you would have to like just be in a random cabin in the woods somewhere, like living off the land. Like pretty much everything living off the land, like engaging with in some way, right? Is, it has an impact, right? I don't wanna be like, everything's awful, but yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And so that's just something to Exactly, and that's the point is like you can't escape it in the society. Yeah. Yeah. So what do you do? Yeah, what do you do? I don't know. And ML won doesn't give us the answer, which I like.'cause there isn't, I don't think. There isn't a simple quick fix answer. And we think about burn down is one answer though. And that would just lead to a different kind of chaos. I think especially because history has shown that we as humans, for whatever reason we. Constantly get ourselves into these hierarchical systems where like we have the haves and have nots of people in power. That's just what we do. Mm-hmm. For whatever reason, how we're hardwired. So even if we started from the beginning, we would probably end up here again. You look at civilizations across history, it's like the same thing. So I don't, I think it's just this is humanity. I dunno. Which is a bit bleak. I don't know how this episode is getting really dark. Um, I mean Philosophical um, if you think about the way like indigenous folks used to live yeah. It was different. It wa That is very true. That is very true. I think obviously there's problems in all societies. Yeah. But it wasn't like billionaires taking resources from everybody. Yeah, it's very true. It is very true. And the way that industrialization changed the world. And then of course, colonization changed the world. Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot there. All that to say, y'all, as you can tell, this book is just chockfull of food for thought. Yes. It really is. If you are willing and open to Having, tough conversations, tough things thrown your way, I cannot recommend this book enough. Mm-hmm. It's very thought provoking and it's, yeah. I'm curious'cause we're gonna get to our literally the best, are literally the worst in a second. I am curious to hear mm-hmm. The one star reviews and what people didn't like about it. I have some sneaking suspicions, but I'm very curious. Yeah. Did you, I'm assuming Cal Station assumed, but I'm assuming you would also recommend this book. Yes, I would. Or find a recommendation. I would. Okay. To really anybody. Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Again, you don't have to be a fantasy reader to enjoy this book. And like I said, when I made my TikTok video about it a while ago, the magic system can feel overwhelming at the beginning, but you truly don't need to have this deep knowledge and understanding of it. Yeah. To enjoy the book and to get a lot out of it. So don't get too caught up, especially at the beginning when they're throwing a lot of terminology at you and be like, this is too much. If you stick with it all will become clear and the most important things will be. Readily accessible for you. Yeah. So yeah. Okay. Let's have you start then with your one star reviews. Okay. And yeah. Alright. The first one is from Chandler. Okay. Someone said, read this instead of Rf kang's babble. And I really did a double take. If the main criticism of Babel is that it is too in your face and not nuanced enough, read this awful colonizer romance disguised as a fantasy novel to find out what too in your face can really be. Oh, yeah. I mean it is very blatant. It is very in your face. Yeah. I don't I'm not, are they saying it sounds like they didn't want something that was that. Yeah, they wanted more nuance or something, this too much. They wanted more nuance. I like why? I don't know why because it makes people feel better if we yeah, simplify it and like what's the sugarcoat it? Thank you. Then it makes it easier to swallow and people don't wanna have to grapple with the tough truth of being human and maybe all of that. Yeah. I don't know what that is about. I dunno, either. My first five star is a little bit longer. It's from Emma Skies following the sort of, I think it's Kagan Emma Wong proves once again with blood over Bright Haven that she's a master at character writing. I could say over and over again that this is one of the best books I've read all year. The best perhaps because the magic system is innovative and intricate, and the pacing is pitch perfect, and the actual structure of the storytelling is incredible. But at the end of the day, it's ML Wong's characters that set her work apart. I love a book that proves that a character doesn't have to be likable to be good, and the arc the main character goes through in this story is compelling from start to finish. Where does one choose to draw the line in the search for power? They've been systematically denied, or is there a line at all? What does it truly mean to dedicate yourself to truth in the pursuit of knowledge? How do ruling classes commit atrocities while pretending piety and goodness are we? And should we be judged more on our intents or our impacts? And what are we willing to do when our complicity and oppressive systems is put in front of our faces? Blood Over BrightHaven is another ML Wong book that will be on my mind for a long time. And for what it's worth, it is now the highest rated book club book. In the four years I've been hosting it, the majority of ratings were five stars, which I don't believe has happened before. And not a single person rated it lower than four stars. Yeah. Mm-hmm. It does, it forces you to like, ask all of those questions, Yeah. And I feel like, you know, that's what a, a good novel can do and should do. Okay, so my second one's a little longer than my first it's from M was m. Okay. This is a story about a white savior and a noble savage. This is the kind of story that would feel more at home back in the seventies or eighties, where the marginalized not only must navigate sys system set up to assure their failure, but must also expend the emotional labor of attempting to educate the dominant group. One of the good ones behaves in just the right way to get someone with more power to listen to their plight, when it suits them to listen. That savior finally sees the wrongs and goes on to challenge the system, the savior becomes the hero and the savage is remembered fondly, but in the margins. I was in all honesty, astonished at how many people whose opinions I generally respect praise this so highly. It's just another version of the help or the blind side without blackness. Mm-hmm. But the story is the same. The savage is still the other, still oppressed and seen as less than due to their race. How is no one seeing this? There's just no excuse for this story being written today. It's lessens and parables are antiquated. At best, we should be doing better, expecting more, and thinking critically about the message when a book is so obviously attempting to send a message as this one was. Huh. Hmm. I think there's a lot there. I do agree. I do agree to some degree, and I think we talked about it with like, yeah, Tom will like falling in love with mm-hmm. Leona just feels weird and off. Mm-hmm. And the fact that in spite of everything, he does constantly have to be the bigger person. But yeah, I think the challenge to that is like we see Cyana behaving in really horrible ways. So she's not this pure all good, shiny heroin. She's not, and like the book does not shy away from showing all of the horrible parts of her character. Mm-hmm. Her behavior, her intents, Tomil does call them out on several occasions, as do other people in her life.
Kelsey:Mm-hmm.
Amanda:And we also see Tomila, especially in places that are safe for him to do so, giving into his frustration, anger, rage, all of those things. Grief. So he's not just this emotionless. Blank slate that is just like, yes, whatever. Mm-hmm. So I can see what she's saying and I think if you zoomed out very far, you could be like, oh yeah, that is the, I dunno, the archetype that this is built on. Mm-hmm. But she takes that and I think overturns it by adding more depth to these characters. Yeah. And nuance. Because that dynamic is real though. In real life you have these people in power, and depending on your positionality as an oppressed person, you only have so much leeway to enact change without putting yourself and your life at risk and those you love, and some people have the ability and desire to do so and have end up getting killed, right? Mm-hmm. And some people are like, I need to keep my kids in mind, or keep my, whatever it might be. Mm-hmm. So I hear her, I think she does. Bring up some valid points, but I don't think this book quite falls into that trap. Yeah. And I also don't see Ana, I didn't see Ana as a savior. Me either. And I don't think she built up in that way. No. So I just, I struggle with that synopsis. Yeah. Or that yeah. Criticism. But I would also be angry or upset about another, like the help or Blindside book. Yeah, of course. Yes, of course. Yes. So I get where they're coming from and I just don't see the same perspective. Yeah. Yeah. I, same. My next one is just one sentence. This is from ri. I will be discussing this book with my therapist. That's a good way of putting it. Actually, I should tell my therapist to read this if they haven't already. They would love, I'm totally, I'm gonna gonna bring this up in therapy. Okay. My next one is a few paragraphs. This is from Megan. I really thought this was going to be my next five star read. Sadly, I was slapped in the face with Infantilization and in FMCI would've slapped myself. This is the first time I actually read a book and want to destroy it while reading, those were heavy topics, but they weren't handled well. The author was heavy on infantilization of the readers. The FMC complains about being stuck in a misogynistic world, but keeps putting women down herself, laugh out loud, talk about double standards. It was definitely intended for us to hate the MFMC, but as a character driven person, that's an aspect that didn't work for me. Also, the romance aspect was so icky. She started being less mean with the MMC just because she thought the racism he was going through was the equivalent of sexism she was going through. What was the message of this book? Who was this intended for? I'm curious about the infantilization of the audience. Is she saying that? Yeah. Is she saying, I think she's saying that ML Wong is being too obvious, too heavy handed and like spelling things out for us instead of maybe being more nuanced but I think it was nuanced and I think in a world that is full of sexism and misogyny, like you internalize that as a woman and often take that on other women, we see that with internalized racism. Mm-hmm. So I also thought that was like. Very believable and accurate. Mm-hmm. I, yeah I think this is a white woman, to be honest. And some of the ones that I read that I didn't include were people that really struggled with these ideas. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I thought that was super interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Because based on your own positionality
Kelsey:mm-hmm.
Amanda:That is going to change how you respond to a text and what and what you don't see and what you relate to and what you don't relate to. So it is curious Yeah. Hearing these other perspectives.'cause obviously like I am a black woman reading this book and so I'm gonna have a particular perspective. Yeah. So it is interesting, yeah. To see folks responding to it in ways that are very different from me. Yes, please. Okay. Alright, so this one's a little bit longer. This is from Jess Owens. Ml Wong did it again. As a fan girl of the Sword of Cagan, I had high hopes for this book. I didn't even read the summary, so I had no idea what I was going into, but that didn't matter because it was excellent. This was fantastic. Gripping from the first page complex and unique magic system. At first, I was so confused by the magic, but it understood it more as I read, and it's become one of the best written magic systems I've read. This story was well written, intense, and dark. Wong covered so many topics, but it never felt too convoluted, maybe because they're all intertwined. Sexism, colonialism, capitalism, racism. The best thing about this story and the topics it discusses is that it shows that almost nothing is black and white. Things are complicated. One solution for some may be a punishment for others. It presents tough questions and shows realistic outcomes of the struggle with humanity. I don't know what else to say without being s. Spoilery. Yes. The FMC is unlikable, and that's very important to the story. So even if you're annoyed with her, that's fine. That's expected. Don't quit because of that. This is such a worthwhile read. Both if you want an excellent standalone fantasy novel, but also because you're a human. And there's much to learn here. Yes, yes, Yes. Snaps. Just, yeah, no, honestly. I forgot what I was gonna say, but yeah. Agreed. Agree. Yeah. I love it. Love it so much. No, I hated Ana so many times. That's you're supposed to, that's the whole point. Yeah. She was so annoying though. Come on. Okay. Last one Star read by Christina Gunn. I'm just a girl standing in front of the Good Reads community, asking how. So many of you could possibly give this book so many stars, the FMC insufferable. It was a chore to read about her. The writing was not good enough to carry how horrible she was. Even the story itself has holes not good. What? I feel like the writing was so good. Oh, the writing was how to write? Yeah. I don't know. Yeah, what this person's talking about, Christine, like a lot of people, and I get it. I understand people not wanting to read annoying characters But yeah, again, she was insufferable for a reason, like a valid reason. Like it made sense. She wasn't annoying just to be annoying. Like the choices that she made made sense for who she was and I think the only reason why you'd be turned off by this character is if perhaps I don't know, it's like touching a little too close stone. I dunno. Yeah, exactly. Okay. My last one, just one quick paragraph. This is from Ali l. A young woman defies the odds systemic sexism, and passes the necessary exam to work for the municipal power company. Seona is a product of her environment xenophobia. So while all her casual racism is intentional and rather the point that doesn't make it any easier to read without making this face, and it's like a. Grimace face Tomil is a survivor of a truly gutting first chapter, rapid organic breakdown and being the target of Ion's. Mini Airy, isn't he Stupid? Laughs. This book is about both magical typewriters and resource exploitation, protective barriers and cognitive dissonance. There is a splash of romance, but it isn't really necessary. The stakes were already mountain high and needed no further sweetening and a healthy heaping of slap in the face reality. You'll be pretty bummed, ugly crying by the end, even if you're cynical, which is I think the mark of some good writing. It's not a happy story, but it's not a happy world right now. So who can blame it? Or happy world ever, honestly. But yes, I agree. And there was something in here, what was, oh, the cognitive dissonance. Yeah. That's such a thing that's pervasive both throughout our society and throughout this book where it's like, you know that something. Is true, but you basically are c continually lying to yourself, right? In order to get through each day or to justify it, rationalize it, et cetera. Mm-hmm. Yep. That's a huge part. Huge part of this story. Oh my gosh. Anyhow, if you can't tell, I love this book. We love this book. It's a good one. It's a good one. I love that. It's a standalone. I was like, how is this gonna end? I was like, yeah. I was like, okay, it's gonna be open-ended, but.
Kelsey:Yeah. Yeah.
Amanda:That was the other reason that I recommended it or wanted you to read it and why I wanted to read it was because it was a standalone. As soon as I saw that, I was like, sold Standal fantasy. I will read this standalone fantasy novel.'cause you don't often find that in the fantasy genre. Mm-hmm. They're always like so many books. Yes. So we love it. It's great. We will ask for you guys to chime in with your opinions this Thursday when we do our voting. Kelsey? Yeah. Can you tell folks one more time where to find us? Yes, please find us at Instagram at Live Vibes Only podcast and TikTok and YouTube at Live Vibes Only Podcast. Fun tidbit about YouTube. If you want to watch. The episodes, I upload them right away on Sunday nights so you have early access to them, early
Kelsey:access.
Amanda:If you so wish you can see everything that's happening on our end. While we're recording these on our faces over fun little antics. Thank you so much. So yeah, make sure to check out our socials. Make sure to absolutely chime into the conversation on Thursday. Let us know your thoughts on this book. I feel like, I don't know, I feel like we might stir the pot a bit with this episode, so I'm curious to see what kind of responses we might get. And as always, especially now that we're wrapping up this episode, take a moment please before you go on with the rest of your day, hit that five star rating. If you've got a little bit of extra time, leave us a one or two sentence review on Apple or comment on this episode on Spotify. You can let us know your thoughts there as well, and show some love. Yeah, show us some love and we will see you next Monday. Bye bye.