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Baldur’s Gate 3: Okay, what if we did a play on the sexy vampire trope where the sexy vampire rogue has endured extensive sexual trauma for 200 years because of his attractiveness. Him playing the rake is specifically a defense mechanism developed to keep himself from being tortured and abandoned. You can help him realize that he is worth more than just his sex appeal and that he can break free of the cycle of abuse. BookTok: did you say sexy vampire rogue 👀👀👀

@kandibug5303

3 ай бұрын

Look all they could see was the word sexual and not trauma. Like if you click or switch to him in the game he'll sometimes say "don't touch me" in a very defensive way from my reading. Which is when I immediately clocked that Astarion had gone through something very bad and was putting up a sexy man front in Act 1.

@xRaiofSunshine

3 ай бұрын

Awww poor guy :(

@Louves192

3 ай бұрын

Well I guess it's difficult to follow the story when you can't keep your hand out of your pants 👀

@asteridshydrangea-jt2hf

3 ай бұрын

I’m not surprised because I haven’t even played BG3 (can’t afford/run it rn) and I was still witness to the rage fit certain gamers threw on Twitter when they continued the cycle of abuse and pressured/manipulated him to sleep with him (at least that’s my understanding from descriptions) and then he….didn’t like them much after/left? Some people’s protagonist syndrome REALLY comes out through gaming

@haunting_bluejay

3 ай бұрын

me being both on booktok and playing bg3 religiously is so weird because oh my god you would think there's more reading comprehension and media literacy surrounding both those things, but no.

My friend repeatedly describes Asterion as "yassified George Washington" to make my other friend who hooks up with him every time angry.

@xRaiofSunshine

3 ай бұрын

He looks like a yassified Preminger from Barbie the Princess and the Pauper 😮

@notreal9214

3 ай бұрын

@@xRaiofSunshine HOTTTTT

@redblushinrose

3 ай бұрын

​@@xRaiofSunshinepreminger was already yassified

@piffba

3 ай бұрын

Why is Astarion the popular male one when Halsin is RIGHT THERE >:(

@abbeyBominable123

3 ай бұрын

​@@piffbaEXACTLYYY

Volta in Argentina is a really popular ice cream chain so her basically being being called Elsa Volta is giving dairy queen 💀

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

God this is hilarious but mostly makes me want to go to dairy queen

@platedlizard

3 ай бұрын

Lmao 😂

Noooo not Astarion, he’s been through enough 😭

@emmasawyer3571

3 ай бұрын

Right like leave our boy out of this please 😭

@BooksToAshes

3 ай бұрын

I thought this was giving us an Astarion rec until I realized it was slander. Insulted 😂🥲

@kandibug5303

3 ай бұрын

First Cazador Szarr and now this... 🤕

@chiefpurrfect8389

3 ай бұрын

Right, imagine taking the dude whose whole story is about being a survivor of physical, psychological and s*xual ab*se and the many ways it has affected him and all you take out of that is "rogue vampire man? Rogue vampire man hot!"

Elma is too close to Elmo

@stephennootens916

3 ай бұрын

Some times it sounds like Elmo and sometimes I hear Elmer like Elmer fudd.

@ettaetta439

3 ай бұрын

It's also too close to Elsa, given the icy setting.

@frenzy2061

3 ай бұрын

@@stephennootens916 He's who I was picturing every time the main character was mentioned.

@starlightarcher1534

3 ай бұрын

I also just spent the whole time picturing her as Elmo but with big false eyelashes on tbf

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Dang i missed the opportunity to make a Rocko joke

I will say Astarion is an incredible character, with an arc that, depending on your choices as the player, demonstrates the process of healing from SA in a way that I've rarely seen portrayed with such empathy and nuance in any medium. In addition, if you play into his bad traits, he has a tragic ending and becomes evil, losing himself entirely and ultimately becoming what he hated most. The storytelling is incredible, and if someone could manage to create a world as rich as Baldur's Gate with that kind of multi-faceted male lead, I'd eat that shit up. Sadly, I can't imagine any Romantasy coming close, not from the ones I've read so far.

@britt6184

3 ай бұрын

Astarion was always on the evil side to a certain degree. While his bad traits were amplified in his evil ending, it's still very much him, supposedly how he was before he was turned into a vampire.

@catandrobbyflores

3 ай бұрын

I think a lot of Astarion's success as a character has a lot to do with his actor's incredible performance.

@NotSoBooshie

3 ай бұрын

@@catandrobbyflores oh absolutely. I'm glad he won awards for it, it was well deserved.

@shalomantony

3 ай бұрын

​@@britt6184 {obvious spoilers!} there's also the very big influencing factor that he is an ascendant Vampire. Iirc, in DND lore/universe, Vampires dont really have "feelings" like normal humanoids or spawn do. They have, from what I understand, what's close to 'urges' and obsessions. Like for example, the very well known trope and obsession for Vampire is power. For ascended Astarion, he despite what he "says" to the player if he was romanced, he feels nothing but lust and control and he uses his deception to achieve what he wants like before which is likely what he retains from his spawn self. There's an option to read his mind at a certain scene after he has ascended, and the game tells you that he only sees you as his slave which is a jarring contrast between spawnastarion when he actively hates that concept (well ofc now he stays in that cycle of abuse so it makes sense ig). Astarion imo is definitely written as chaotic evil who goes to CN or TE depending on how you choose his fate. Especially knowing he truly does sympathise with you having the feeling of "losing your body" if you chose to take a deal with a certain incubus and he sympathises with you if you choose to fight your dark urge/find out who your father is. It leads me to believe Astarion before he was turned at all, was probably just a decent person, if not CN.

@theflamedragon2508

3 ай бұрын

@@shalomantony you have it backwards. Vampires have feelings. Becoming a vampire heightens your worst traits to the extreme. If your a little jealous youll turn controlling. Love will turn to obsession Strahd von Zarovich obsessively goes after anyone he perceives to be his old love because he "ascended" and is now OBSESSED with her. He can not die and he can not let her go. He does actually love her though, just to an unhealthy degree. also that scene is astarion saying he sees you as degrading yourself by being with him, its a sign of him still hating himself despite being all powerful. I am a giant dnd nerd and Curse of Strahd is my favorite game. I know too much of dnd vampires

This author really stole Astarion's "how do you want to die?" moment STRAIGHT from the game and thought we wouldn't notice TT

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

That happens in the game? Genuine question lol i really know nothing about it

@kandibug5303

3 ай бұрын

@@ReadswithRachel Yeah he asks those questions jokingly in the context of a camp conversation where everyone is relaxing and resting for the night so it is very different circumstances the life and death questions that happen more seriously in the book.

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Ohhh got it!

@authorhalierivers

3 ай бұрын

and the responses are hilarious and weirdly flirty @@kandibug5303

Are we sure this isn't somehow Elsa/Jack Frost shipfic?

@sleepy.timaeus.arts.

3 ай бұрын

you might be on to something!!

@10puppyluv

3 ай бұрын

That's what I thought as soon as it was Not elsa and a white haired boy

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

It was promoted as “astarion vibes” but I could see that duo as kinda being a way to promote this too lol I know someone who’s been dying for a book with that particular ship as inspiration. I might tell her to try this and tell her it’s the story she’s been searching for 🤣

@izzisart

3 ай бұрын

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It's Elsa/Jack Frost that was coincidentally similar enough to Astarion to get published at this point in time.

@ps1hagridoufofcharacter

3 ай бұрын

im screaming thats one of my crossover otps (im sorry i know im cringe)

Man, if Astarion fanfic is what’s getting published right now, I think I could get twenty novels out within the next week. Edit: Jesus christ, what did this book do to him.

@kandibug5303

3 ай бұрын

I know right? Like Asterion is more than just a cool dude who can use knives very well (and totally doesn't get his ass kicked so much in game due to his poor endurance as a rouge on Tactician mode). I'm guessing this Astar-knock-off must have been written in early access where Act 1 was only available.

ELMA??? WHY ARE WE ONE LETTER OFF FROM ELSA. WHY ARE WE NOT PUTTING THE SMALLEST BIT OF EFFORT IN. 👹

@strangeaelurus

3 ай бұрын

THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT 😭 it's so goofy

@starlightarcher1534

3 ай бұрын

The naming was so lazy 💀💀💀 and the world building was lazy too and idk what's worse

@marocat4749

3 ай бұрын

Whats with elmas 3 mysterious mentors , who are they, whats their deal , that worldbuilding really needed effort, if you make a fanfic a book, bloody rewrite it, ok, with more worldbuilding. Also why is elma standoffish this time, whats her trauma. whats elmas internal conflict. God that even has potenmtial for a decent story.

@cometrudolph

3 ай бұрын

Also one letter off from Elmo

@caitlinbrewer4843

Ай бұрын

It's also one letter off from Elmo

‘Rune’ as a heartthrob name in english fantasy is funny to me as a norwegian person, where ‘Rune’ (said like runé) is one of the staple grandpa names

*sigh* it's so hard being a fan of characters like Astarion and then having to watch half the fandom completely miss the point of him. media literacy doomsday clock really do be chilling at 11:59:59 these days

wdym the love interest isnt a vampire thats the fun part

The puddle of blood thing . . . I grew up hunting and have field-dressed deer. Blood gets cold, thick, and sticky really fast. It's incredibly unsexy.

@VieDeBle

3 ай бұрын

I've been exposed to large quantities of blood for my job and I can confirm. It also STINKS

@fuentes_fantasy7906

3 ай бұрын

It does! It is not a fun slippery time at all.

@quiestinliteris

3 ай бұрын

That gelatinous, jiggly thing it does is the WORST and the last thing I would want to be covered with.

@fuentes_fantasy7906

3 ай бұрын

And it's SO hard to get out hair and clothing.

@quiestinliteris

3 ай бұрын

@@fuentes_fantasy7906 oh, for real. People seem to forget that if it'll stain wool, it'll also stain human hair. I had white-blonde hair as a kid, and after a minor scalp injury wound up with exactly the kind of rusty stain you'd expect. On my head. Had to bleach it out. White-haired love interest is going to have a rough time.

Elma is a little too close to Elmo for me to not keep picturing a certain Muppet.

I don't think it's wrong for writers to develop their fanfics into an original narrative. I do, however, think that a lot of people leave it at swapping out names and rush it to publishing. To... Various results. 💀

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Oh for sure, I agree. I don’t have an issue with redeveloping fanfic into original content as long as there’s enough differentiation. This seems to fall into that category. I don’t actually know much about Astarion tho tbh. I don’t feel like I know a ton about Rune either which sadly is the issue I had with the book

@marocat4749

3 ай бұрын

Ok why didnt we see anything of the 3 mysterious mentors and what other reasons they could have , what s about the kingdoms, whats he trauma, that sounds like it could be good ideas if worked out, , :(

I see Astarion in the thunbnail and I must stop everything to know what's happened to my boy.

"Not me, telling a man he deserves higher standards." 😂I love your videos, Rachel. Thank you for keeping me company today!

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Not even 1 "Well, hello darling"?! #NotMyAstarion

I have to challenge myself to write a romantasy that isn't shit.

Haven’t watched the video yet, but my first thought was “Damn, ain’t he been through enough? Leave him outta this” 😭

A criticism I didn’t know I needed to have in my pocket until you said it. “ I think I’m stupid, I don’t want to read about characters dumber then me.”

Off topic but I love the casual webcam set up. Feels like I'm just listening to my friend rant about a book on zoom

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Thank u 🥹

How on earth did someone crank out an entire book and get it published in the time BG3 has been out and even hope to make it good??? That’s… I… well and like… it makes me crazy that part of so muck marketing is “it’s just like these characters from this other fandom!” Like… no, please give me original characters, if I wanted that ship I would just read actual fanfiction

@sourcandyspite

3 ай бұрын

tbf, people have been playing the early access version of baulders gate 3 for like 3 years

@robinronin

3 ай бұрын

I mean, rapid release publishing is not super uncommon in the indie community. Writing + publishing one book every single month to cash in on a current trend and whatnot. I’m actually surprised it took this long, but I guess Astarion never gets old 🤭

@platedlizard

3 ай бұрын

Well there's multiple 300k+ word count BG3 fanfics on AO3 so honestly I'm not surprised

This can't be Astarion. Astarion is a rouge / arcane trickster with RED EYES, a starting stat of -1 strength, and gets his ass kicked when he is surrounded by more than 2 enemies which requires my half orc monk (or Lae'zel, Karlach, or Halsin) to keep him safe (I'm playing on the second hardest difficulty, Tactician) and is a very silly, cheesy, and emotional dude (which is why I like him) in my opinion.

@waimarieheap5608

3 ай бұрын

That’s what I’m thinking. Astarion is a sassy bisexual twink not a giga Chad tank lmao

@Louves192

3 ай бұрын

His silliness, humour and emotional side is what makes him appealing to me as a character as well. Also the handling of the trauma / ab*se in his story is so respectful (which is sadly really rare).

@platedlizard

3 ай бұрын

He's an S tier tailor though lmao

@anacarla6888

3 ай бұрын

I mean, to be fair I don't think his performance in game counts as much to show how great of a fighter he is or isn't, it's much more up to how you play the character than how skilled they are supposed to be according to the story (also, mechanically speaking, classes like barbarian and fighter feel way stronger than any other in game anyway), but I think he could fit the deadly assassin part of the character from the book, it's the personality that's really a miss....

@waimarieheap5608

3 ай бұрын

@@anacarla6888 I think his fighting style does contribute to his personality. Astarion suits a ranged playstyle with a lot of kiting (running away from enemies to keep them out of melee distance) or he’s good at assassinating lonesome enemies using stealth or duel dagger/short sword attacks. But he cannot take many hits, he’s not big and brawny, and raw strength and power are not his strong suits. Personality-wise, because of this - he uses guile, seduction, snark to hide vulnerability and largely prefers avoiding fights via deception. He’s a “charlatan” for a reason.

30:34 nahhh give me the terrible euphemisms all day please 😂 "her center" "his tumescence" "velvet wrapped around steel" "slammed to the hilt" and "blazing furnaces of pleasure" are the ONLY things I read these for. Shout out to GRRM for having the most appallingly descriptive sexual metaphors!

@dustrose8101

3 ай бұрын

dw I gotchu. My personal favs have been "turgid length" and "gummy walls"

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

TUMESCENCE

@SuperEkkorn

3 ай бұрын

I can up you all; I once tried to read a Bucky fic and had the unfortune to have my eyes assaulted with "bloated meat"

@dustrose8101

3 ай бұрын

@@SuperEkkorn Yeah you win I'mma go vomit now

@clarkispotamia

3 ай бұрын

Shout out to “throbbing lavender man fruit” from a horrible I think twilight fic I read in middle school

Rachel, girl you're not stupid but Elma definitely is😂

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Idk me and Elma might be evenly matched 🤣 I just don’t understand she heard that dude say to rune “your mother-“ and she never thought IT WAS PERTINENT TO QUESTION???? MAAM you are IN CHARGE of a COUNTRY you need to be not so aloof!

I'm mad that we didn't call it the Col-ICE-eum

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

OPPORTUNITY WASTED!

This feels like if Astarion is a twist on Zevran we've just untwisted him back to being Zevran, the stupid hot assassin turned bodyguard of his target (who loves you the moste). Unfamiliar with Frozen, what are the similarities? Other than queenliness

@platedlizard

3 ай бұрын

Ice powers and frozen kingdom.

@marocat4749

3 ай бұрын

through zevran is , he is likable. and funny . and i love him. It doesnt sound like zevran. Pretty sure zevran too puts up walls with jokes?

@TonksTheFool

2 ай бұрын

The kicker with Zev is he has SA trauma like Astarion, he just goes super hyper sexual with it and gets iffy about real feelings, hiding behind his jokes. The THING with Zev though is he needs your protection from the guild, so he keeps on your good side as a play of his best chance at survival until you win his trust (if you don't he betrays you for the guild because he see's a losing battle and has zero incentive to fight his programmed instincts when an offer comes along - but if you actually trust him and respect him, he chooses you and the warden's regardless, it's a good and big moment for him.) Him and Astarion are way more nuanced than whatever this guy is. Zev is my favourite DA character because he helped me get through my panic attacks surrounding sexual characters. (I know that sounds weird but my trauma had me as the opposite of them, where I would hide and be repulsed.) Basically, it's not Zev and it's def not Astarion. This person did what most of the fandom did. Oversexualise and fixate on 'hot vampire man'. Just like most coin Zev as 'hot assassin elf'.

Pausing at 8 mins to comment (rant, sorry) on the likely difference between using the bedslaves & having sex with, I assume, a free man from the same place. It's common semantics in cultures of hate that "using" or r*wording a person seen as lesser is A-ok, but to have consensual relations, give agency to or treat as an equal someone that is deemed the enemy or lesser makes you as dirty or unwanted or evil as those that are to be vilified. It would be culturally acceptable for her to use those slaves however she saw fit because they're unable to consent & just have to accept it as their fate having been arrested or captured. Even if they like what she might do, it doesn't matter because she's still asserting the dominance of her people, as captors, over the slave. But if Rune isn't a captive or in a subjugated position and Elma has relations with him then that's tantamount to treason that she might be seeing him as an actual person. There's a lot of racism & sexism built into arguments like this going back to slavery in the US (further to any/all instances of enslaved people) where you'd have slaves impregnated by their owners with little consequence to the man, but if a wife or daughter of the plantation owner has consensual relations & bore the child of a slave there were consequences for all involved - though the consent of the slave is always dubious at best. I'm very unlikely to read this title, more unlikely hearing this, but it sounds like there is some necessary worldbuilding left out on the power dynamics & class structures. This is disturbing to me, especially if readers are supposed to read the bodyslaves kissing one another as a hot or sexy act when it's very likely a performance forced upon them without concern for their sexualities or wants. If "slavery in a negative light" is the extent of the content warning for reference to what is clearly sexual slavery, I think more was needed because I, personally, am not inclined to just brush aside atrocious behavior that happened & happens irl because it's supposed to be sexy in your romantasy fiction. If they're saying here are these bodyslaves, ride them through your bed & Go queen, but also saying OMG you slept with that free man, you whore without explaining the harm of that ideation in regard to slavery then they're NOT writing slavery in the negative light that the plot should be casting on it. I'm stopping now because I think I've lost the plot of my point & the story now.

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

This makes total sense!

I feel like a lot of people are already saying this, but it bears repeating: having "Astarion" do the things in this book is INCREDIBLY insensitive if you consider his backstory and trauma. This author clearly didn't know anything about Astarion beyond surface level info, but oh my lord, this was hard to stomach knowing the context.

In love with how the 'frozen sea' is very clearly a lake

I wish I could distill BG3 into a fantasy novel because I think you'd genuinely love all the characters (including the *real* Astarion who has amazing character growth.) Also where are the classic fantasy archetypes that made fantasy so great these days? Imagine: An assassin who truly only cares about coin (hence why Not-Elsa could buy his loyalty to begin with bc how is assassin just not gonna fulfill their job?) and then in the end he has to decide between being set up for life or saving her life. That's that good sh*t 😭

'Where the dark stands still' by A.B. Poranek recently really blew my mind with how beautifully written and well thought out it is!

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

I seriously cannot wait to read it, i really think its gonna end up being on my faves of the year list

❄ Funny that I recently made a fanart of Astarion and my player character depicted as 80's romance book protagonists as a joke and this beat me to the punch.

Wait... the main character has a bloodlust fetish and apparently learned morals because she was separated from her evil father? And she's romancing an Astarion type? Is this Durgestarion fanfic?

I had a friend who was obsessed with going to Sonic for a “lime ice” so every time you said rhyme/rime? ice I was thinking sounds delicious. lol. Also I saw the other review on goodreads about this author naming characters after bad reviews and I hope she goes with Readswith Rachel. I’d love a character named Readswith.

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Hahahaha

@sleepy.timaeus.arts.

3 ай бұрын

readswith would be a nice last name 😭

@skadi5802

3 ай бұрын

... now I want to create one just for the fun of it XD

Thank you for saving me lots of time! I absolutely would have grabbed this as soon as I heard “Astarion.” 😅 But now I’ve gotta be more careful if people are already churning out books inspired by BG3… This is not my Astarion!! 😂

@banafanafofana6914

3 ай бұрын

#NotMyAstarion

Every time I hear Elma, all I can think is Elmer Fudd from looney toons.

There’s only one book where blood play has been anywhere close to ok in my opinion and that was Kushiel’s Dart. These new romantasy are just 😭

Ironically I am playing an Astarion Origin run as we speak when this was uploaded so I suppose I HAVE to watch this (im filled with terror, I might add)

I feared this day would come where ✊😔. But for anyone who has been wondering the descrepency between the game's release date and this book, the game has actually been out in its early access around two years prior of its release where Act 1 was only available. Even then Astarion was quite popular in many circles. So I'm not surprised if someone wrote this as fan fiction back then, did some tweaking when the game came out because his character was more fleshed out, and got it published ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

BG3 just came out and ppl doing this already? damn lol

@estefizamora

3 ай бұрын

they aren't wasting any time 😩but whyyyyyyyy? seriously

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Did yall hear about the author who wrote a Taylor swift and Travis kelce fanfic in three days and was selling it on Amazon until it got removed? THREE DAYS. I think about this all the time

@estefizamora

3 ай бұрын

@@ReadswithRachel wait ... what??? 😀💀

BookTok never has anything good come out of it. Like every book I've heard go viral on that website has been some flavor of half-baked awful.

@ofthewilderwoods

3 ай бұрын

I liked Divine Rivals and This is How You Lose the Time War But yeah weird smutty books gonna smut weirdly

@ChronicReads

3 ай бұрын

Im on a niche of booktok and was introduced to Angels before man by Rafael Nicolás which is easily one of the most beautiful books I have had the privilege of holding and reading. You just gotta find your niche :)

@vvitch-mist20

3 ай бұрын

@@ChronicReads I'm not talking about niche books. I'm talking about books that make the front of people's FYP. The ones that escape containment and blow up like LightLark and Fourth Wing, and then this one.

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Tbh the spicy scenes in this are totally fine but WHOO BOY I cannot say the same for other booktok books. The smut in fourth wing makes me cringe just remembering it.

@thatrantinggirl7376

3 ай бұрын

@@ofthewilderwoodsgod this is how you lose the time war was so good, love how experimental and weird and queer it was! Edit: another really great book that went viral a while ago is Aristotle and Dante, it sucks so bad that the author is transphobic but that’s the type of book that I almost wanna see studied in classrooms

opening with a thirst pun is peak comedy and i am honoured to count you among my friends

"He goes down on her, good for them" I love your commentary

I have a weird routine where whenever I’m painting something from studio ghibli I ALWAYS listen to your videos whilst transferring my sketch to canvas hah Idk how I got here but it’s become a real habit! I think because using a projector is a nightmare and listening to your videos is interesting and stops me from getting as frustrated as I want to be

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

I’m so glad you’re here!

I highly recommend Blood Mercy by Vela Roth! It’s a romantasy with a mmc who actually cares and is genuine with his love for the fmc and there’s lots of court intrigue!

It's not a new book by any means, but the Merciful Crow is such an incredible fantasy duology! It's a bodyguard romance with LGBT characters and fascinating worldbuilding! Would highly recommend if you're looking for something to read ^.^

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Listen i LOVE MARGARET OWEN so i dont need any further excuses to read her work... but this is selling me further

Elma is a common name where I live, but it was mainly used like 60ish years ago, so it's an old lady name to me. Wild to hear it in this context.

This guy is so not Astarion. He’s so not cool enough lol 😂

@kandibug5303

3 ай бұрын

This dude also doesn't have the emotional range and cheesy romance lines that Astarion has.

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

There were a couple cheesey romance lines but they felt a little out of nowhere because initially when we meet him he’s very “I want to kill you” in a horny way and then a few chapters later he’s like “I’m nothing if not yours” so they just didn’t hit for me

@kandibug5303

3 ай бұрын

@@ReadswithRachel I guess to give context in the game when Astarion is giving cheesy romance lines, he is fully aware they are over-the-top cheesy and is trying to make you laugh at his goofy behavior. On top of that this is after you have been traveling with him in your party group for some time. Though in the game he does try to knife you out of desperation and a misunderstanding believing you are an enemy.

My absolute favorite book is Swordspoint from 1987, which I think could technically be considered a romantasy. It doesn't feature magic (at least not in the first book), but takes place in a fictional setting with its own history and culture. It's about young swordsman named Richard St Vier and his lover, Alec. They are already in a relationship when the story begins and it's more about them navigating the political drama that everyone is trying to get them wrapped up in. I think both of them are really compelling characters, both morally grey in the actual sense, and as someone who typically finds romance boring the book has some of the most romantic moments I have ever witnessed. It also have a BEAUTIFUL audiobook, narrated by the author, with music, sound effects, and some sections with full voice acting.

LOOK HOW THEY MASSACRED MY BOY

Oh Noosss! Astarion (or any of the other Baldur's Gate 3 characters for that matter) don't deserve this!!!

props i guess that the love interest isn't like 6'7" with a chest the size of a tree, but he does lose points for being a prince who kills one of his own subjects over some random girl he just met

I'm with you on so many of your hang ups however I would like to point out the double standard of using slaves for sexual pleasure and not thinking anything of it, but falling in love with said slave and suddenly being called something derogatory is actually something we see in history, as I black woman I can point it out in black American history best but I would bet anything it's not the only place you hear those stories. So as someone who hasn't read the book, I would assume since it's very clearly stated the characters have Feelings for each other, this is why her uncle calls her that.

Ok, but Baldurs Gate 3 came out 5-6 months prior to this book, I'm kind of amazed by how quick these authors write and get the book to be published

Also not me about to play Baldur's Gate 3 while listening to this. 😵

Lol. Whenever people said Asterion recently I thought they meant the Minotaur!

I liked the book Daindreth's Assassin by Elizabeth Wheatley. There's curses and possession and that's just the main characters.

i need a good karlach fanfic or something adjacent. i'm sick of the vampires getting the good-good 😤

@britt6184

3 ай бұрын

Only if it's done well. Sweet girl deserves nothing less. That said, I will admit that Astarion has inspired me to incorporate vampires into my main fantasy world where most of my book ideas take place.

Honestly I think what could've solved a good bit of the problems with the characters here was flashback chapters, like just full on chapters that describes the main characters life in her original living place (I forgot what it was called :

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

I think this would’ve been a super helpful idea!

“Yes, I’ll show you later, you depraved thing.” I almost did a spit take in the middle of my office 😂

why does the whole thing of weapon magic in the royalty sound like they lifted it from ffxv and replaced actual weapons with ice 😭

I keep think she is going to say Elmer Fudd any second.

He sounds nothing like Astarion 😭😭 or is she supposed to be Astarion? Nether sounds like him like what happened to just upload your fanfiction on Tumblr/ao3 why they had to publish it 💀

saw the thumbnail for this and got an Astarion jumpscare

hearing someone point out that a character isn't asking the obvious questions is surprisingly helpful writing advice that i'm shocked i didn't hear before, it really helps contextualize why some stories and characters stand out as poorly written in a less initially obvious way than them just being bland.

One of the best romantasies I've read in a long time is Radiance by Grace Draven. It has a believably strong female character in an arranged marriage to a man who belongs to an otherwordly race - not demons or elves but very different i.e. nocturnal. They have no initial attraction or love for each other but manage to foster mutual respect and that evolves into love over the course of the book. There are some interesting cultural adjustments that have to be made, and there's political intrigue and magic, etc. But the relationship between the two leads is sooo satisfying. Very believable. The only downside is it ends on a kind of out of nowhere cliffhanger and is the first book in what I *think* is an unfinished series (I'm on book 3 and things feel nowhere near wrapped up). But the couple in the middle of the story are #romancegoals. 😅💜

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Everyone who’s tastes are similar to mine loves Radiance! I need to try it

Just letting you know that I’ve been spending a LOT of time catching up on chores recently and I keep coming back to your videos as my background noise while doing so. The rage in your voice as you talk about terrible books is lending me the energy to do the dishes this day 🙏 Keep it up queen!

This review was such a journey for me. At first I was mad that fan-fiction that used IP got published once again, but at 6:15 it went complete meta for me. I can’t stop laughing, it’s so unserious as if “The Lusty Argonian Maiden” wasn’t an inside game joke but was written and published by someone who never touched the game

I'm sorry, but every time I hear the name Elma, my mind immediately jumps to Elmer, as in Elmer Fudd. Now I'm imagining a Looney Tunes character with a blood fetish, which is probably why he carries a rifle with him everywhere he goes. Sorry I haven't been around in a long time. I, uh...got off my Risperidone and it fucked with my brain for a whole month. I'm doing mostly okay now. I hope you're doing well too. :)

Seeing Elsa starring across from Astarion is making me wheeze

"Don't leave" You can't tell me what to do 😤 *Stays seated because I adore this channel* 🤣 I'm so glad I work remote because I get to listen to videos like this! Thank you for your service in digging into the BookTok trenches for our entertainment, Gaia bless you 🙌🏾 Haven't finished the video yet, but if you celebrate Easter, I hope it's a good one for you and your loved ones! If you don't celebrate like me, I hope you get your money's worth in some candy 'cause that's what I'mma be doing since the sales are too great to miss! 😂

YAS! Trigger and content warning is what we need! I did this when self publishing because i know people will be uncomfortable reading certain topics!

I keep hearing Elmo instead of Elma and it throws me off every time lmao

Of course booktok would hyper focus on the whitest baulder gate 3 character and not the 7 foot muscle demon thats a ball of sunshine, we cant have anything(I love my vampire boy but folks have no imagination)

@kandibug5303

3 ай бұрын

Look at it this way. At least Karlach (or the other characters) didn't get a bad romantasy book under her honorable and good name. Poor Astarion is protecting the others from being in bad books. 😭

@Devil6442

3 ай бұрын

@@kandibug5303 fair but also I can only imagine the disaster that if they tried with gale or God help us wyll

@platedlizard

3 ай бұрын

I'm glad Mama K has been left out of this lmao

@marocat4749

3 ай бұрын

Or lazeal

The book sounds interesting and I'm relieved it doesn't have weird nonsense descriptions.

This looks like the very kind of book where I'd go "I hate this" every page.

I haven't read this book, but the setup reminds me a lot of The Winter Duke by Claire Elizabeth Bartlett, which I have read. Similarities include: -Everything is cold and ice setting etc -Main character's dad is awful and heartless (whole family, in the case of TWD) -Dad, who is ruler, dies (or is cursed unconscious) suddenly, leaving FMC to rule abruptly even though she doesn't know what she's doing -Nobody knows who got the dad and someone unknown is also trying to kill FMC -FMC's advisors/people running the government don't let her get anything done -How magic works is a secret that only rulers can use -FMC thinks people close to her/advisors/government folks are the ones trying to kill her -Love interest acts as a sort of bodyguard in addition to official bodyguard Doesn't sound like the rest of the plot really follows at all, but I thought that was noteworthy.

Just a small side note: hair dye and hair bleach are actually very old practices. While modern permanent hair dye goes back to the 1920's and synthetic dyes go back to the 1860's, there's evidence of hair dye as far back as ~2200 BC in Assyria. Bleaching hair was pretty common during the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras, but was also practiced in Ancient Greece and Rome.

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Was it really?! Holy shit I had no idea

@skeletal-decay

3 ай бұрын

@@ReadswithRachel Yup! In Rome, people would have used basically lye (ashes mixed with water) or ammonia (usually from urine or bird droppings) to bleach their hair. I believe it was common for both genders during that era. Bleaching the hair also had the benefit of killing lice. This tended to make hair weak so wigs were common and typically would have been made from slave's hair then braided into the existing hair or glued to the head. They would have had access to a lot of cosmetic devices we consider modern like heated curlers and hair gel (usually animal fat). Sulfuric acid and citric acid would become popular methods in addition to the aforementioned methods toward the Renaissance. The substance would be applied to the hair and the individual would sit in the sun for usually around an hour then wash their hair. Fun sidenote: historians used to believe that the very intricate hairstyles depicted on Roman statues were wigs, but we've recently learned that in most cases, it was likely their natural hair that was sewn in place with needle and thread. Janet Stephens has some really cool videos on it. Dying the hair darker would have been similar to methods used to dye wool or henna. Both lightening and dying the hair are found in a wide range of cultures, it seems like most cultures have at least dabbled in it.

It's "not as good as Forest of Dreams and Whispers?!" 😊😭❄ I came here to watch you be salty about a book, not be nice about mine!! (PS, I too, now want to watch Gladiator)

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Lmaooo the way i didnt even know you'd be here to hear me gush listen I'm not kidding your book is the blueprint and i wouldnt say it if i didnt mean it

yes elma is only one letter away from elsa but it’s also only one letter away from elmo which is arguably worse

Booktok leave my boy outa this 😭😭😭

Hey! You aren't stupid! I really like and appreciate your opinion. I'm very, very, very picky about my BookTubers because I have a phd in English and teach literature/writing. I find most people to give really surface-level analyses but your reviews are thorough and well-considered. Thank you for sharing all of your thoughts

man, there was a better way to do the 'we don't know about rime ice' thing..... like, even if Rune doesn't know the details, he could've at least described how it felt to use! maybe it feels like having a permanent piece of ice in his chest, that ripples cold through his veins down into his palms. maybe it feels like gathering cold threads from the air around him into his hands, shaping them by his imagination and will. just as two examples off the top of my head! cause then the characters could talk about how that feeling might come from its source and have speculations, to engage the reader further! ugh. man this book sounds like such a low-effort disappointment, even more so as an astarion fan lmao

Baldur’s Gate 3 came out only in august of last year… I’m scared of how fast this book was written

I don't think ive ever given a Romantasy a five star. Not that I don't like Romantasy, far from it, I read a like one a month. But like Ive never been never been head over heels for one, theyre mostly just a fun time but I always find them lacking in one department or another~

Sharon Shinn is the monarch of Romantasy. Older books but if you’re interested I’d start with Mystic and Rider

@platedlizard

3 ай бұрын

Seconding this!! I love Mystic and Rider

her name is funny to me because "volta" in Brazilian portuguese is used in the expression "volta aqui" which is equivalent to "come back here". the author needed someone to read and point out the incoherences before sending this to publish

elma volta isn't bloodthirsty like her forebears, she's just into bloodlust instead *wink wink*

I'm working on a necromancer book right now, and I've been keeping a running list of content warnings so I miss as few as possible once I start looking for beta readers.

OMG I JUST GOT WHERE THE DARK STANDS STILL

I'm just gonna make this a bit now, HOW CAN A QUEEN BE FROST????

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

Oh the city is called frost city!

@Mushroomelixir

3 ай бұрын

@@ReadswithRachel HOW CAN THE CITY BE FROST???

My favorite romantasy this yar has been 1.That Time I got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming (the whole series is great but be aware it pokes at the 4th wall a bit) 2. Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater (they are soo adorable) 3. Dragonfall by LR Lamb needs soo much more love than it gets it genuinely good well written romantacy with dragons! Theres good LGBTQIA rep in it. A thousand times better than fourth wing. 4.Godkiller is really walking the line its more fantasy than romance but there is on page sex 5.Bitterblue by Kristen Cashore (there are two prequel books you can skip if you want they are ok but not as good a Bitterblues story arch) sex scenes are closed door 6.Thief Liar Lady by D.L. Soria isn't perfect, but it's good fun 7. A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland is good sexy and well plotted 8. If you haven't tried Encyclopedia of Fairies it really does live up to the hype but the mmc is really fucking annoying which is honestly refreshing because the fmc is actually competent for once. 9. I am currently reading Assistant to the Villain 26% I have mixed feelings but its competently written at the very least so far Dishonorable meantion I really need you to read A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair I felt so gaslight by the hype around that book i still cannot believe it has 4 stars on goodreads i need someone else to tell me im not crazy. The writing in that book is so horrendously bad.

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

I keep seeing Half A Soul and I am SO INTRIGUED

@aluralorrell3297

3 ай бұрын

@ReadswithRachel I was very pleasantly surprised. There were some ppl complaining about magical abelism, but I have the disability that ppl were saying was implied in the story, and I did not see it that way. I don't wanna get too much into it bc I think it will spoil the book. That's the only debate I've seen about it, and I emphatically disagree with it. It think it is a sweet, adorable, affirming love story. Her prose is entry level for adult fantasy but solid. One of the twists in the series actually managed to catch me by suprise. And there is very good saffic rep later in the series.

@aluralorrell3297

3 ай бұрын

@@ReadswithRachel oh and the handling of mental health in such a short book is done incredibly well for how short the book is. And we get character growth from both MCs it's just🤌.

Elma Fudd

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

I like to pretend her middle name is Fudd

The fanggg in the frost kingdom 😂

Can we pls rename Astarion to "Baldur's Gate guy" its freaking hilarious 😂😂😂😂

I don't know if it's technically a Romantasy but a book I really enjoyed is "The Phoenix King" by Aparna Verma. It also has a romance between a Princess/Queen and an assassin but it's done pretty well imo. It also has a pretty good love triangle, awesome world-building, great characters and has excerpts from in-world texts that relate to the story. I really liked it (it's gonna be a series, only the first book is out so far). I can only recommend it

@ReadswithRachel

3 ай бұрын

I’m planning to read it!