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#cinaja reads ccity
cinaja · 3 years
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Tw: nswf
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The emphasis on the sex is very weird, I think. Obviously, opinions on that can differ, but I'd say it is hardly the most important thing in a serious relationship, and it is definitely not a problem if partners need to communicate about what they want, especially in the beginning of a relationship. The idea being presented here is,,, not exactly good, I'd say.
In general, I'm not fond at all of the way Bryce's relationship with Reid is written. Sure, the thing with the phone is shitty, but honestly, the way Bryce talks about him is at least as bad. Beyond "he's hot", I haven't heard a single kind word about him from her - in fact, she really only seems to date him because she found no one better at the time and has a weird thing for dating human men even though she doesn't like them. She certainly doesn't seem to like him, and it does make me wonder if she ever communicated it to him in any way. It's just... Reid is, of course, very shitty (because sjm hates humans), but I think in that specific relationship, Bryce really is no better.
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cinaja · 3 years
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"At least he's got a good job," Bryce said to Dainka, who crossed her slender arms - arms that hid ferocious strength - and gave her a look. A look that said, Yeah, one that Reid's daddy gave him.
Ah, yes. Well, I guess that really sets him apart from Danika, who got her job by virtue of being shifter royalty and is working for her grandfather, right? Seriously, the absolute irony of Danika making fun of someone for getting money/jobs from their relatives...
Also, unless shifter anatomy is different from human one, "slender arms" will likely mean that she isn't unusually strong? Stronger than a human, okay, but not strong for her own species.
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cinaja · 3 years
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She. Said. No. She said no several times, and even went so far as to give a reason. And really, it doesn't matter how much Connor thinks that "she wants him" (or that he is apparently right, because Of Course He Is, I hate this stupid book), she said no. He shouldn't keep pushing from here, and yet, of course he does.
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cinaja · 3 years
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And then she [Victoria] read a shopping list of a cocktail of drugs and alcohol that would stop a human's heart dead. Stop a lesser Vanir's heart, too, for that matter.
I have several problems with this. I'll start with the biggest: This paragraph basically stated that Bryce took a potentially-fatal dose of drugs that night, yet that is never brought up again or talked about critically. Keep in mind, this was, apparently, just a regular thursday night for her and she does this regularly. (Evidence: just two days ago, she was still high when she went to work.) And still, it is never adressed that Bryce is apparently taking potentially-fatal doses of drugs regularly (as in, more than once a week), she never struggles with any consequences like addiction or other negative after-effect. This basically romantisizes her behaviour as "harmless and fun", especially since no one ever even brings up that it might be unhealthy bahviour.
Now, I realize that taking drugs and drinking is a thing adults do. But I still expect a book to treat that sensibly and discuss it as a problem if it is truly this bad, becazse this is legitimately dangerous behaviour. Or alternatively, cut the "enough to stop a person's heart" and instead make it just not a problem in this world. This is a fantasy book! Why not spare one of the many paragraphs of exposition to tell us that drugs are not dangerous here - either for Vanir or just in general? I'd still side-eye because obviously in our world, they are dangerous, so it would still come close to romantisation, but not as close. Or at the very least write Bryce purposefully sticking with non-lethal, less addictive stuff (still wouldn't be perfect, but slightly better). Just. Don't write your main character regularly taking potentially-lethal amounts of drugs and just brush it off as fun party stuff, please.
On a different note, what is this "lesser Vanir" stuff supposed to mean? Are there actual biological differences concerning resiliency between the types of Vanir? Because if there are, the book (for all its annoying exposition) never explains it. Besides, Bryce who is only half vanir, has no power to speak of and hasn't made the drop, should logically be far less resilient to any dangerous substances than any other Vanir. I'd even go so far as to say that she probably should have to be very careful arouns any substances made for Vanir. Or are we to understand that dying from an overdose makes people "lesser"?
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cinaja · 3 years
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1) Why is wanting to end oppression of the humans presented as a bad thing here? Is the reasoning really "oh yeah, if we want to end oppression, that means people will die, so the humans should just deal with it"? Because that reasoning is stupid af. The humans are slaves in most parts of the world - I'd say ending that is worth pretty much any price, and yes, that includes war.
2) I am so very tired of the trope of "activist with good goals who goes too far". Philip Briggs is trying to end slavery and oppression, and also fighting against a totalitarian, colonalistic government. I really think goals don't get much better than that, and he is the only character in the entire book who even gives a shit about any of that. But god forbid anyone sympathize with the humans over the vanir, so sjm just HAD TO throw in some needless terrorism and murdering-of-innocents there. It's just such a cheap way to demonize a character who, by all rights, should have been one of the good guys.
3) It doesn't even make sense. Of all the things to blow up, why some random night club? Why not a government building or a police station or anything. If the argument had at least been that this club is frequented by influential vanir, most of whom are involved in holding up the oppressive system, it might have made some semblance of sense, but apparently, sjm just wants him to seem EvilTM.
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cinaja · 3 years
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The slaves, at least, existed mostly in Pangera. A few lived in Crescent City, namely among the warrior-angels in the 33rd, marked by the SPQM slave tattoo on their wrists. But they blended in, for the most part.
Well, I'm sure glad the slaves your governor owns manage to blend in. No problem at all, then. /s But seriously, that makes it sound like the biggest problem with slavery is that it's unpleasant to look at or something, and as long as you aren't too obvious about it, it's fine.
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cinaja · 3 years
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I will never understand how a book with lines like these ever got past an editor. This isn't from 1990 either, it's from 2020.
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For the record, this officially makes both Connor and Danika into absolutely terrible people and it remains shocking that the book doesn't seem to realize it. Not only are they cops for an oppressive government, Connor also "kills, tortures and maims" people on Danika's orders. And this is presented as a good thing. It's written as them stoically bearing the load of all the terrible things they have to do and I hate it so much.
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cinaja · 3 years
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I am continuously confused by how much a totalitarian government seems to care about legal technicalities. And yes, I know that Micah is behind the release, but I'd still expect the others to be confused. Letting a known rebel go because of some minor technicality doesn't seem very dictatorship-like.
I am equally confused by the way Danika talks about Philip Briggs here. Wasn't she meant to be a rebel sympathizer? Then maybe we should see her, idk, sympathizing with the rebels at some point as foreshadowing for that plot twist later on.
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cinaja · 3 years
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For two years, Bryce had clung to those facts. That even though her world had fallen apart, the person responsible was behind bars. Forever. Deserving of every horror his jailors inflicted on him.
What is the message we are supposed to take away here? "It is okay for a government to brutally torture convicts as long as they 'deserve' it"? Because that sure is what it sounds like. (And yes, I know it is just Bryce's pov, but throughout the book, the idea that Philip Briggs (or anyone else, for that matter) deserves to be tortures for years never gets challenged, much less shown to be completely repulsive.)
No one deserves to be tortured, much less for several years straight. No matter what they did. I don't even know why that line was included, because it certainly doesn't make Bryce look like a good person. Have her say she's glad he's locked up, or even that she'd prefer if he was dead if you want to go that way. But don't let her say she finds two years of brutal torture justified and have the narrative agree.
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cinaja · 3 years
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Yes, Bryce. And the reason why Reid doesn't do anything about the sneering or whispering is that he is human and therefore doesn't have the privileges and security your vanir friends have. It's likely also why he is shaking his head at you pointlessly aggrevating Fae nobles - because he, as a human, has to be mindful of how he acts around vanir.
I'd argue that in this situation, Bryce as the (albeit illegitimate) dauther of the Fae king is actually in a more secure position than Reid and can therefore simply pick fights with Fae nobles while he can't. But they both certainly don't have the privileges Danika, being basically vanir royalty herself, has.
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cinaja · 3 years
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Unfortunately, this is not the "gotcha" moment Bryce or the book seem to think it is. It's just unnecessary. She very purposefully made him think that she was "more interested in getting her nails done than solving this case" by acting like she was refusing to write the list and not telling him about her investigation. How was he to know that she was just pretending for no good reason at all? (Bryce's one saving grace here is that Hunt did indeed think that she was dumb and probably also vapid before she started her stupid game. But she didn't know that.)
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cinaja · 3 years
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Bryce is really making a habit of being terrible to slaves, isn't she? I realize that this is likely meant to be banter, but it honestly doesn't feel like it. (It especially doesn't feel like it when Lehabah later asks Bryce to buy her freedom and she basically goes "it's not that easy" and doesn't even say/show that she is sorry.)
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cinaja · 3 years
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Yep. I can't stand Hunt either. I mean, at least he has it going for him that 1) Bryce started whatever game they are currently playing, 2) she IS currently refusing to cooperate on the investigation they are ordered to do together and 3) there are incredibly high stakes for him in this investigation (possible freedom on one side, probably punishment on the other). Still, there's really no need to be this much of an asshole. He hasn't even TRIED asking nicely! But, well, he's a sjm male character. What am I expecting? ("Do. Not. Fuck. With. Me." Seriously? This is ridiculous.)
Bryce, on the other hand, is being a typical sjm female character, aka sassy in the most insufferable way possible and also (more than) a bit of an ass. Also, look. I'd understand if she was unable to make that list because of trauma, but we will later find out that she does write it that very evening and in facts starts her investigation the next day, so the only reason she isn't telling Hunt is that she is being petty.
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cinaja · 3 years
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I'm on the second chapter and the amount of cursing is already going on my nerves. I've really never met anyone who curses that much irl. I guess if it was just one character, I could deal with it and chalk it down as a trait of that specific character, but here, everyone always curses.
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cinaja · 3 years
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(First speaker is Bryce, second Hunt)
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Look, they are both assholes, okay? Hunt's last line especially wins him no favours at all with me. Still, Bryce is the one I'm actually more angry with here. This is why:
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Hunt is a slave who was ordered by his owner to watch her constantly without being given a choice in the matter (at least as far as Bryce knows, the reader is, of course, aware that him and Isaiah came up with it as a way to keep him away from Sandriel). Bryce is AWARE that he is a slave, just as she is aware that he had no choice in following that order. Still, she doesn't show a hint of sympathy, or tries to make things easier for him. (In fact, she will later go out of her way to make his life miserable.)
Obviously, Bryce isn't obligated to allow Hunt into her flat. She doesn't even have to open the courtains to let him watch TV. But considering that he is a slave who had no choice in being there, I'd like to at the very least see some proper explanation for why Bryce makes him spend the entire night on the roof, without doing anything to make it more comfortable for him. Her privacy would work as a reason, but we never actually see her caring about that. Same goes for not wanting a strange man in her flat, but, again, she doesn't seem to care about that from what we can tell from her pov. (She also purposefully walks around in her underwear where he can see later, which does not seem like him watching her makes her uncomfortable in any way. She might be hiding it, but we don't see any sign of discomfort in her pov either, so I think it's safe to assume she doesn't actually have a problem with it.) Or, idk, we could hear about her having bad experiences with cops (being half human) and therefore not trusting him. (Which obviously wouldn't work since most of her best friends were cops, but well. In theory.) All these explanations would WORK. All these explanations would make me perfectly understanding to Bryce refusing to to open the courtains or let him use her guest room. But we never get any of these explanations, nor do we ever see anything in her pov that hints at one of those explantions being true. Instead, we have this:
She might accept Athalar's protection, but she didn't need to make it easy for the swaggering asshole.
This was in the last chapter, and with this (and also Bryce's later actions) in mind, I can't help but feel that the sole reason for her acting the way she does is that she is trying to provoke Hunt or make his situation as uncomfortable as possible on purpose. Which, considering his circumstances, honestly makes her a pretty terrible person.
(For the record, Hunt is ALSO shitty. But so far, most of that has only been his narration - with that "sweetheart" line and maybe the fact that he didn't say "please" when asking for a list of suspects being the exception. Any and all verbal tension between them has, as far as I can tell, been initiated by Bryce, who really has no proper justification for acting the way she does. Unless she can somehow read his thoughts, but it's been established that she is not a mind reader.)
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cinaja · 3 years
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I had forgotten how uncomfortable the way this book deals wit drugs made me. Basically, the characters appear to be regularly taking fantasy!grass and fantasy!cocain as party drugs, and I honestly hate it. The thing about drugs (especially harder ones, and especially if you take them regulary) is that you get addicted. But of course, that doesn't happen in this book. Instead, there are paragraphs about how good Bryce feels while high (with, as is later noted, enough drugs that it could potentially be life-threatening) and it's only ever treated as a fun, harmless activity that has no dangers and certainly no lasting consequences.
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