Bless This Mess: Alchemised by SenLinYu
So, I read Alchemised. I have some thoughts.
In short: it’s too damn long.
At length: …well, you’ll just have to read further.
I read this book partially because it began its life as a fanfic, and I was curious to see how that played out. I’m not going to talk about that in this review, because I want to talk about the book as it stands on its own, but I do have some fanfic-related thoughts, and they are here if you’re interested.
Content warnings: discussion of gore/body horror, rape/sexual assault
Bless This Mess: Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
I’m back! Been a while since I read something that was this bad and yet this compelling.
Young girl with cancer gets isekai’d into her favourite (kind of) book series, into the body of the villainess, and has to survive. I was immediately sold on this concept, and then the execution, uh, left something to be desired.
Question up at the top for anyone who can help me out here: big boobie evil (maybe sorceress) lady who seduces the king. What are we referencing here? Where does this trope come from? Because this book was certainly interested in critiquing it and I just want to know. Please tell me where to find the big boobie evil villainesses, I need to know for science.
Let’s get into it.
Bless This Mess: A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
I’ll be real with you: I was not excited to start this book.
And then when I did, it was a bit of a slog to get through. Moreso than the previous books in the series, by a long shot.
Now, I have what I was describing to a friend the other day as a deeply toxic relationship to this book and the series as a whole. I recognize all of the problems but I also just! Can’t! Seem! To stop talking about it and thinking about it. Fuck you, Sarah J Maas.
This book drove me, somehow, to reading fanfic about this series. Specifically, reading fanfic that actually addresses the issues in the book/the series and takes it to task on things, as well as giving justice to certain characters and plotlines. So there’s that, I guess?
Let’s get into it.
