When I started at Emerald Audio in August it became a running joke that I needed to get caught up on female fiction books and shows. I didn’t mind since I’d read 20+ Colleen Hoover and Elin Hilderbrand books and have watched Tell Me Lies and The Summer I Turned Pretty. So, next on the unofficial office list was none other than the A Court of Thorns and Roses series.
By the time my coworker Lexi lent me her copy of the first book, I was excited and started telling my friends I was beginning the series. Fast forward to Thanksgiving, I was flying to Florida to visit family and assured my coworkers I’d finish the book while traveling. Plenty of time to read on the flights, plus the beach, the pool… you get the vibe.
I came back to the office in early December with about 10 pages down. I just couldn’t get through it. Since then, I’ve taken four more trips to Florida with ACOTAR in my carry on, and I’ve only made it to page 100.
Something about animals with wings just doesn’t do it for me.
For context, I don’t watch “dark” shows or movies. And by “dark,” I don’t mean the subject matter, I mean if it looks dark, like Peaky Blinders, I’m out. I know it’s dramatic, but I need visual stimulation to stay awake, and ACOTAR feels like it would be one of those dimly lit shows.
After nonstop complaining about this book, my sister sent me a meme that I attached below, and it made everything make sense. I never read any of the Twilight OR Harry Potter series! I’m just not that type of girl, and that’s ok, at least I tried.
I was looking forward to the romance, but I really couldn’t get over this Beauty and the Beast on steroids situation. Enjoy your bestiality– I’ll go back to my Nantucket summer reads with Elin.
The craziest, and most frustrating, part to me is that I wish I were part of the club that loves these books. I love competition, and love being part of a group, but this is one I have to sit out on. Opening the book feels like a chore, and I’m not just talking about the literal weight of it, though it’s way too heavy to read overhead on a pool lounge.
My mom was the one who finally told me to call it quits. Her reasoning? It’s better to read something you enjoy than not read at all. Very poetic, I know. But she had a point. At this stage in my life after getting my MBA and undergraduate degrees, reading should be for pleasure.
Maybe, more than anything, this is just a reminder to myself that it’s okay not to like what everyone else likes. And it’s even more okay to not like it when it involves people obsessing over a relationship between a werewolf/beast/fairy and a human.
Just like the old saying, if your friends asked you to jump off a bridge (or read ACOTAR) would you do it? The answer is no!
XOXO, Beckie
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