The Novel Navigator

Alright, I’m gonna be honest here…. not every book I read is good. And I’m someone with low standards who just enjoys a good time so if I’m saying not to read a book or that it’s actually not good, you know it’s probably not worth your time. For example, I started the Half-Blood Academy series by Meg Xuemei X a couple days ago. While I didn’t finish the series and have zero plans or interest to, I did get through 3 of the 5 books. Now that may seem like a lot but each book was under 300 pages and I finished them within a day and a half. Like many good romantasies (is that how you spell that word??), you’re dropped into the action right away which often means you’re confused but hooked and looking to unravel the story. Unlike many good romantasys (maybe that’s how you spell it??), there were so many plot holes and a whole lotta cringe. And while I sometimes enjoy a bit of cringe and don’t need the most amazing plots, there was too much I couldn’t ignore and too many inconsistencies.

Our girl Marigold has 4 mates who on their own are pretty funny, wholly obsessed with her and of course big ol studs that are the most powerful- duh! But they’re also overbearing assholes who never listen to what Mari has to say… alpha-holes to the max. While sure that irks me, what really grinds my gears is that as the FMC acknowledges this, tries over and over to tell them or advocate for something, and then just accepts they’ll continue to do what they think is best and not listen to or give the attention deserved. I think why this gets me so much is that she talks about herself and acts towards others like this bad bitch but then lets herself get railroaded over and over. Additionally, there’s no conversations or back stories or sharing of experiences or plans for taking on the bad guy. Generally, I think the lack of basic story telling just isn’t for me.

ALSO tell me why the author says on multiple occasions when describing a make-out scene the male’s tongue “sweeping over my hard palate” and how it blasts pleasure through the FMC?? How is that sexy and pleasure-inducing and why does she mention it so often??? Ugh idk y’all but based off of the hard palate thing alone, I’d say with certainty you can skip this series all together.