#Andrew Shvarts

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer MG/YA Set at Magic School

Gallowgate by K.R. Alexander (MG) It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts (YA) Scholars and Sorcery series by Eleanor Beresford (YA) A Hundred Vicious Turns by Lee Paige O’Brien (YA) My Name is Magic by Xan van Rooyen (YA) Bonus: These are all prose novels, but for a YA graphic novel set at a magical culinary school, check out Basil and Oregano by Melissa Capriglione Double Bonus: The anthology The…

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#A Hundred Vicious Turns #Andrew Shvarts #Basil and Oregano #Eleanor Beresford #Gallowgate #Hanna Alkaf #It Ends in Fire #K.R. Alexander #Lee Paige O&039;Brien #Margaret Owen #Melissa Capriglione #My Name is Magic #The Grimoire of Grave Fates #Xan van Rooyen

[sapphicbookoftheday]

It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts

Today's sapphic book of the day is It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts!

TW for parental death mentioned in summary

Summary: "ALKA CHELRAZI IS ON A MISSION: 1. Infiltrate Blackwater Academy 2. Win the Great Game 3. Burn Wizard society to the ground

As a child, Alka witnessed her parents' brutal murder at the hands of Wizards before she was taken in by an underground rebel group.

Now, Alka is deep undercover at the most prestigious school of magic in the Republic: Blackwater Academy, a place where status is everything, where decadent galas end in blood-splattered duels, where every student has their own agenda. To survive, Alka will have to lie, cheat, kill, and use every trick in her spy's toolkit. And for the first time in her life, the fiercely independent Alka will have to make friends in order to recruit the misfits and the outcasts into her motley rebellion.

But even as she draws closer to victory — to vengeance — she sinks deeper into danger as suspicious professors and murderous rivals seek the traitor in their midst, and dark revelations unravel her resolve. Can Alka destroy the twisted game...without becoming a part of it?"

#bisexual #bi #wlw #sapphic #queer #lgbtqia #lgbtq #lgbt #books #book recs #book recommendations #bookstagram #ya #ya books #young adult #young adult books #fantasy #ya fantasy #it ends in fire #andrew shvarts #booklr

[gutsfics]

YOOOO. ANDREW PBWRITER HAS PUBLISHED BOOKS. FUCK YES THATS SO POGGERS

#ive been wanting to read more stuff by him #btw his name is Andrew Shvarts 4 those of u like me who didnt know

[gaiuskamilah]

why do you think that confession was "eww sex so gross porn is sinful" and not "pb is gonna keep making crappy porn books with sex every chapter bc it what makes them money instead making stories with substance"

like. have you seen the vip books.

i know this ask is rhetorical and you're not looking for an actual answer but i'm going to take this as an opportunity to vocalize all my thoughts regarding the trend anyway.

for the record, no, i don't play the smut books. i'm more interested in PB's adventure and horror books, and thus those are the ones i actually invest myself in most. if i wanted to consume porn i would look for it elsewhere because choices' smut books don't interest me for a number of reasons. i also don't play or pay for VIP. however, i know enough about the vip and smut books to know enough about them they cater to a very specific audience: older women interested in escapist, arguably "taboo" sexual fantasies who are willing and have the means to spend money on the sex stories they like.

i have no idea if anyone in this fandom has actually bothered to understand economics or even recognize that we live under a capitalist system, but the way a good number of people and career complainers take it out on the writers and how PB just "chose" to make porn never sat right with me. especially since most of these people, again, do not take into account or even vehemently refuse to consider the context and circumstances of the production behind the games. the writers have time and time again been open regarding the circumstances behind book production, and they have always mentioned that economic factors play a large part in it because they work within a capitalist market. here are some times they've spoken about it, particularly andrew in 2019 (writer for blades, bloodbound, endless summer, crimes, etc.) and kara in 2023 (TRR, TCATF):

the trend of smut and single LI books started in 2020 with the release of books like the nanny affair, queen b, and wolf bride. if you check the top 10 category on the app, TNA and WB are both in it — an indication that they do well revenue-wise. companies are driven by data and when they're successful, in kara's words, "it's easier to make a case for making more like them." also please remember that 2020 was the year covid broke out and no doubt affected the production in pixelberry in a negative way the way it did other industries. it's no wonder then that they've since resorted to making smut books since they need to make up for the losses in 2020 as well as keep up with global inflation (this is my own hypothesis— i haven't had the time to check pb's reports, but they are public for anyone who wants to look them up. i have seen a post detailing that PB's revenue has been declining in the past year or so).

it's easy for people to just say and complain "pb is gonna keep making crappy porn books with sex every chapter bc it what makes them money instead making stories with substance" and to an extent i agree. they are going to make "crappy porn books" because it's what makes them money. but they aren't greedy assholes and even your beloved andrew shvarts has asked fans to not portray them that way.

i found that confession dramatic because i think it exemplifies two trends that i've seen in the choices fandom in the past few years i've been here: the tendency to regard the writers as money-hungry cunts without understanding the capitalist circumstances and the liberal "everything must be pure and wholesome and respectable" push back against anything that isn't god-revering missionary sex.

"Honestly the fact that choices' porn-masquerading-as-plot books makes the most money for them scares me. A lot." please ask yourself why that scares you. aside from the obvious fact that people don't seem to or just refuse to understand the economic reason for creating these books, please ask yourself why choices' mediocre porn "scares you". these stories cater to a specific audience as i mentioned before: older women interested in escapist and "taboo" sex fantasies. having these fantasies aren't bad and we really do not need people acting like entertaining them through a self-insert app game (with warnings holding your fucking hand and telling you this isn't necessarily good and giving you the chance to opt out should you please) is akin to being a sex offender. the only thing you're doing is reinventing thoughtcrimes.

sex is one of the most normal things in the world. whether or not you personally have sex you can't deny that it's been a factor in the lives of many and frankly you wouldn't even be alive if your parents didn't decide to suck and fuck. in a world where women's desires are suppressed and aren't taken seriously, why do so-called "progressive" fans find it disgusting that some women might want to spend some money to safely explore their sexual fantasies? enough to be disgusted by it that they say they are "scared" by it? it's trashy, it's stupid, it lacks substance, and who the fuck cares? you are not inherently better than these women, and 95% of the time all i see in the tags are people focusing on the romance aspect of these "substantial" books anyway. if you seriously think that an app game like choices can magically make cheating and having affairs a "normal and good" thing irl then you're just a fucking idiot. if game of thrones and house of the dragon didn't make siblings worldwide suck and fuck then what makes you think that choices can abolish the western institution of monogamy overnight?

at some point some people just have to realize that they have the choice (lmao) to close the app and delete it if they aren't happy with it. if you don't like their porn books then go play something else, they have an expansive library and beyond that there are tons of interactive fiction games, dating sims, and visual novels to explore. that's not even touching the fact that you can, i don't know, read an actual fucking book if you want. i see no point in consciously sitting and tapping through these books when you know they just make you miserable and add to the statistics of people playing it. you can't dismantle the capitalist system overnight but you can choose to just not play an app game if it makes you want to peel your skin off.

#playchoices #choices #anonymous #answered

[kainebell]

ohhhh my god you think Valax is a “half-assed imitation” of Aerin? You think she “couldn’t be a bigger Aerin wannabe if she tried”? Should we tell everyone? Should we throw a party? Should we invite Andrew Shvarts?

#please read actual books!!! #playchoices #main tag bc u guys are annoying as hell

[yourqueenb]

This might seem like it’s coming out of left field, but I’m gonna say it anyway because it’s something that’s been in the back of my mind for actual years…

I feel like a good number of Choices fans on Tumblr specifically have this weird sense of hero-worship for Andrew Shvarts because he had a major hand in two of the most popular series (Blades and BB), because he can use basic symbolism, and because he is at least mildly aware that writers should be critical in both creating and consuming. And due to that, those particular fans think that anything he puts out is like the most groundbreaking thing to exist and is above criticism when it comes to the underlying messages. However, that could not be further from the truth. And I think it’s funny how those fans praise him for that last point about being critical when they clearly haven’t completely grasped what that means

#choices #choices stories you play #playchoices #choices app #tldr; your unproblematic fav probably isn’t unproblematic #just because someone knows that it’s important for people to check their biases doesn’t mean they always succeed at it themselves #and in the same vein just because someone subverts certain tropes doesn’t mean they don’t perpetuate others #consciously or not #so you can’t just stop being critical just because someone seems socially aware #that’s how harmful biases and stereotypes continue to thrive bc people think it’s possible to somehow be completely unproblematic #and this is not me trying to come for Andrew or saying that he has purposely written harmful things #its actually more of a fandom criticism #of the Choices one specifically because it’s the one I participate in #but tbh it can really apply to all fan spaces and society in general

[farizrz]

Well, since 2021, Andrew Schvart (writer of BB, VoS, Blades, CoP, etc.) No longer to be Director of Writing/Narrative. Currently his position is Creative Director.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-shvarts-540b113/

#playchoices #choices stories you play #choicesgame #choices game #choicesstoriesyouplay #play choices #bloodbound #veil of secrets #blades of light and shadow #crimes of passion 2 #crimes pf passion

[elfilibusterismo]

one thing about blades that i've always loved and felt gets overshadowed by the focus on the romance options is its world-building, particularly in showing both the "good" and "evil" of the world (light and shadow after all). this all goes with its theme that nothing is ever really good or bad - there's "light and shadow" in everything and you have to get the balance of that.

one of the great parts about it is its portrayal of the three races - men, elves, and orcs - in a nuanced way. in doing so it subverts many fantasy tropes which often is rooted in racism, antisemitism, and imperialism (see: its portrayal of elves and how it forces the player to accept that elves aren't all the hot shit they like to present themselves as).

and honestly this comes as no surprise seeing how andrew shvarts himself has talked a lot about this. i've seen some players point out how blades race-coded the fantasy races but that is the point - and it does so well because it provides us with nuance and refuses to just say "this is bad, that is good." it makes you Think and i believe that's what andrew, a jewish man, was going for if these tweets were any indication:

#choices posting in 2022 yeah #playchoices #choices #blades of light and shadow #bolas

[somewillwin]

To put it simply, PB has laid off a lot of their writers, including Andrew Shvarts and him and his brother have decided to form a new start up. I think the previous anon wants to know if Chelsa is part of that since it seems like PB and choices are doomed

Oooh yeah i have been reading a bit about it since the other anon and damn…. Storyloom kinda flopped.

Im excited to see what new story and studio or app they come up with!

About chelsa…. Idk, she hasn’t been active on twitter since like July of last year, and insta since January of this year…. Also her insta has nothing about her work so idk if I should ask there. Feels wrong to do that.

#gabi answers things #playchoices

[sciralta]

The way I had to pause chapter 1 four times to pick my wig up off the floor…Andrew Shvarts the man that you are

I’m going to be honest… I think they should’ve released Ch1 and Ch2 at the same time so we could really get into the groove because just Ch1 I wasn’t in it, but I have an almost certainty when Ch2 comes I’m back in the game fully.

#ask me

[profiterole-reads]

🌈Pride-Inspired Scavenger Hunt

A whimsical, silly, and pride-inspired Scavenger Hunt for you to enjoy this June!

🍑Love: A Book that you absolutely, unconditionally love.

🍑 Relationships: Give us a book with your favorite queer relationship! If it's queer it goes here. Do I need to specify that platonic and all others involved qualify or--

🍑 Color: Show us a book that is bright and colorful!

🍑Letters: Pick out a book that starts with any of the following letters; L G B T Q I A

🍑Representation: For the last book, show us a book with representation that you enjoy. Show us what YOU want to see more of!

Thanks for tagging me, @dracereads! I’m honoured to be amongst the first batch of tagged people.

🍑Love: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

🍑 Relationships: The main pairing in All for the Game by Nora Sakavic. I had the chance to read it without knowing who ended up with whom and it was a lot of fun (check the content warnings for this one).

🍑 Color: Bright World written and illustrated by Stan Stanley (cover art here)

🍑Letters: I’m doing them all:

The Labyrinth's Archivist by Day Al-Mohamed

Glorious Day by Skye Kilaen

Burning Roses by SL Huang

Tim Te Maro and the Subterranean Heartsick Blues by HS Valley

Queer Ducks (and Other Animals) by Eliot Schrefer (I haven't read this one yet)

It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts

Ana on the Edge by AJ Sass

🍑Representation: More queer autism rep, with Failure to Communicate by Kaia Sønderby

Tagging anyone who wants to do it.

[lgbtqreads]

Do you know any queer books that are dnd or something similar.

The book you want most (assuming I understand your questoin correctly) comes out next week and is called Til Death Do Us Bard by Rose Black. If you're looking for books where they play DnD or similar, try Even if We Break by Marieke Nijkamp, The No Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall. For "friends on a quest" vibes, try Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria and It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts, or, for friends who've just returned from a quest, try The Afterward by EK Johnston and So This is Ever After by FT Lukens.

[giggly-squiggily]

#135! What’s your favorite book?? I love hearing about other people’s faves! Hope you’re having a good week, friend! 🥰

*squees* Heck yes! I'm so excited to talk about this one!

135.) recommend any book you like!

So, while my favorites change frequently from year to year, one of my timeless favorites is Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts!

Tilla- our main heroine; is the bastard child of Lord Kent- one of the highest ranking Lords in our story and the "backup heir" if he doesn't have any official ones. One fateful night she meets up with the princess of the Kingdom Lyriana who asks her to show her some sights. During this trip she, Lyriana and the rest of their rag tag group (consisting of Jax, Tilla's half brother, Zell, a Zitochi, and Miles, a childhood friend) witnessed a crime they shouldn't have. One thing leads to another and now they are wanted dead! The only way to survive? Get Lyriana back to her kingdom and father and prove to them they weren't the real culprits!

The book is- admittedly, far from perfect. It's not ground shaking and filled with deep meaningful themes, but it's charming and funny and the characters are absolutely lovable- this book never fails to make me laugh and cry within the span of twenty minutes. It's so good and I recommend it if your looking for a fun story to settle into!

(Now I can't speak for the rest of the series- I've only read the first book; but it's so good!)

Thanks for asking! :D

Send me a book number ask!

#squiggily plays #intheticklecloset #nym #friend :3 #bookish ask game #I could probably read this book again and again it always makes me happy #non tickle

[profmorbius]

Posted a review of It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts on my blog. Read it here.

tl;dr – Decent

#review

[gaiuskamilah]

i want to lock you and andrew shvarts in the same room and see what happens

the room in question:

#HGJFHGKFDGDK THIS ASK MADE ME LAUGH #anonymous #answered #cw blood #cw gore

[pagingserenity]

QTOD: Do you use the maps in books? I love them. I love looking at them. I love studying them. I love how pretty and detailed a lot of them are. But apparently, I don’t love using them. 😅 Honestly, when I get caught up in the story, I tend to forget that a map exists, no matter how helpful one may be for my reading comprehension. Don’t get me wrong, I still think they’re useful to have; it’s just that I’m not great with geography. Or keeping up with geography and the journey the MC(s) take throughout a book. — [Image description: A hardcover copy of Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts open to the included map.] . . . ⚔ challenges #MyFictionalMusings [map] . #MapMonday #AndrewShvarts #bookgeek #bookworm #bookalicious #readeveryday #bookreaders #readingstagram https://instagr.am/p/Chk49X9Mxr9/

#books #bookstagram #yareads #reading #book #bibliophile #bookphotography #Instagram #pagingserenity