Fastidious Kingdoms’s review of Faceless: A Pride and Prejudice Forced Marriage Steamy Gothic Romance (Boundless) > Likes and Comments
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I thinki this remarkable author has gone to the dark side if you know what i mean. I really love JAFF and have been reading it for a long time but it seems like there is a lot of AI stuff out there now, even from the authors who were so good befoer it was around. their all drinking the kool aid. quantity over quality I guess. I think I need a break from this genre which stinks because i love a good JAFF.
THIS !!!! So many formerly “good” authors have gone sour because of some (mercenary?) pressure to churn out books at a rate they can’t keep up with… results are that quality is a thing of the past, editorial standards rest long forgotten, and unnecessary fillers seem to be a requirement !!!
Definitely there is a problem with quantity over quality. I no longer have "must read" JAFF authors where I immediately borrow their new releases and eagerly read ASAP. I've borrowed "Faceless," but I just can't quite bring myself to start it yet. I've been so disappointed with this author's recent works. For example, the gaming series (4 books) and magical series (3 books), all full-length novels released at 6-8-week intervals designed to maintain a steady stream of royalty income. I read a couple of the gaming themed books, and then I gave up on the series. After reading reviews, I didn't even consider the magical ones. And it's not just her; rapid releases that are overstuffed with wordy descriptions are so common now.
The filler paragraphs are *endless*, the over-poetic abundance of literary figues hard to explain, and as we have mentioned before, it’s not just one author or one niche type of JAFF… it’s everywhere now, like a concerted plot against readers’ common sense.
Lit wrote: "The filler paragraphs are *endless*, the over-poetic abundance of literary figues hard to explain, and as we have mentioned before, it’s not just one author or one niche type of JAFF… it’s everywhe..."
It's very discouraging. I'm thankful for older titles. These favorites are a joy to revisit, especially if they have audiobooks.
This is so discouraging. Nicole/Alix used to be one of my favorite JAFF authors, but I haven't enjoyed the last few books and didn't even attempt the fantasies. I've watched a few of the awful AI stories on YouTube, and the writing sounds exactly like the examples you gave from this one. They all use the same formulaic sentence structure. I only read trusted authors now, or books that predate AI.
Nooooo. I just finished "Shimmer in Time" and writing was the very same thing . It was a very unenjoyable reading experience. It, too, had a very high star rating. I am trying to decide what to read next, and apparently, this will not be it.
How is the editing? I usually don't read Alix James due to the editing. Is it any better?
Alas, I can’t tell you anything about the finer proofreading details. The senseless prose suffocated me. I know nothing beyond that.
I feel so bad even hinting that AI was involved. I don’t know how else to account for the discrepancy between the Nicole Clarkston who wrote These Dreams and the Alix James who wrote A Fine Mind (such a beautiful tale!), to the Alix James who published this. It’s like watching a beautiful star become obsessed with plastic surgery. Why did this author think she needed to change anything about her writing style?
I saw a comment on Facebook, which I took with a grain of salt, that bigger books get more page views on KU and thus earn the authors more money. That is most unfortunate. KU has been a godsend. Very few of us could afford to pay for each variation we read. KU seemed like a great answer—new authors get exposure, authors get some money based on the views, and we can read to our hearts’ content.
Now, however, some authors are gaming the system. It is infuriating and discouraging. Will it help them in the long run? If disgruntled readers refuse to read an author’s future books based on their past use of AI, that’s thousands of fewer page views for the author.
If I’m wrong on the page view concept, please forgive me.
Re KU
For the record, I buy books I’ve reviewed as four or five stars. I will buy a three-star book if I find myself rereading it or if something about the book particularly stood out (such as a dynamic storyline, however minor, for Lydia. I will also buy a three-star if it has given me a greater understanding of P&P (such as showing me the similarity between Caroline and Mr Bennet)).
Fastidious Kingdoms wrote: "Alas, I can’t tell you anything about the finer proofreading details. The senseless prose suffocated me. I know nothing beyond that.
I feel so bad even hinting that AI was involved. I don’t know ..."
Authors are paid by the number of page views. The reader has to look at the page long enough for the system to decide the reader was actually reading. If you are flipping through pages, or you skip pages, there is no payment for those pages.
I loved These Dreams, Nefarious, London Holiday, and A Fine Mind. Sadly, these recent stories seem to have little in common with what I liked about the older ones.
Authors are definitely "gaming" the system by releasing longer books, and also by adding a "bonus" book at the end of a new release. The bonus is an older title. KU only pays for the first time a book is borrowed/read. By adding an older book at the end of the new one, the author has a chance to earn some money from page reads of the bonus book. This is technically not allowed, but I don't think KDP is enforcing it. To be safe, we are now seeing authors release "book sets" with several older titles bundled together. Reading the new set will earn money.
Fastidious Kingdoms wrote: "Re KU
For the record, I buy books I’ve reviewed as four or five stars. I will buy a three-star book if I find myself rereading it or if something about the book particularly stood out (such as a d..."
Yes - I also do this. I want to support authors for their hard work. I'm an author too, although I don't write JAFF. I like the idea of the author getting KU money plus money from my purchase of their book. But it has to be a quality story, as you said, 4- or 5- stars with the occasional strong 3-star read.
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Karina Jay
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Jul 24, 2026 01:48PM
I thinki this remarkable author has gone to the dark side if you know what i mean. I really love JAFF and have been reading it for a long time but it seems like there is a lot of AI stuff out there now, even from the authors who were so good befoer it was around. their all drinking the kool aid. quantity over quality I guess. I think I need a break from this genre which stinks because i love a good JAFF.
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THIS !!!! So many formerly “good” authors have gone sour because of some (mercenary?) pressure to churn out books at a rate they can’t keep up with… results are that quality is a thing of the past, editorial standards rest long forgotten, and unnecessary fillers seem to be a requirement !!!
Definitely there is a problem with quantity over quality. I no longer have "must read" JAFF authors where I immediately borrow their new releases and eagerly read ASAP. I've borrowed "Faceless," but I just can't quite bring myself to start it yet. I've been so disappointed with this author's recent works. For example, the gaming series (4 books) and magical series (3 books), all full-length novels released at 6-8-week intervals designed to maintain a steady stream of royalty income. I read a couple of the gaming themed books, and then I gave up on the series. After reading reviews, I didn't even consider the magical ones. And it's not just her; rapid releases that are overstuffed with wordy descriptions are so common now.
The filler paragraphs are *endless*, the over-poetic abundance of literary figues hard to explain, and as we have mentioned before, it’s not just one author or one niche type of JAFF… it’s everywhere now, like a concerted plot against readers’ common sense.
Lit wrote: "The filler paragraphs are *endless*, the over-poetic abundance of literary figues hard to explain, and as we have mentioned before, it’s not just one author or one niche type of JAFF… it’s everywhe..."It's very discouraging. I'm thankful for older titles. These favorites are a joy to revisit, especially if they have audiobooks.
This is so discouraging. Nicole/Alix used to be one of my favorite JAFF authors, but I haven't enjoyed the last few books and didn't even attempt the fantasies. I've watched a few of the awful AI stories on YouTube, and the writing sounds exactly like the examples you gave from this one. They all use the same formulaic sentence structure. I only read trusted authors now, or books that predate AI.
Nooooo. I just finished "Shimmer in Time" and writing was the very same thing . It was a very unenjoyable reading experience. It, too, had a very high star rating. I am trying to decide what to read next, and apparently, this will not be it.
How is the editing? I usually don't read Alix James due to the editing. Is it any better?
Alas, I can’t tell you anything about the finer proofreading details. The senseless prose suffocated me. I know nothing beyond that. I feel so bad even hinting that AI was involved. I don’t know how else to account for the discrepancy between the Nicole Clarkston who wrote These Dreams and the Alix James who wrote A Fine Mind (such a beautiful tale!), to the Alix James who published this. It’s like watching a beautiful star become obsessed with plastic surgery. Why did this author think she needed to change anything about her writing style?
I saw a comment on Facebook, which I took with a grain of salt, that bigger books get more page views on KU and thus earn the authors more money. That is most unfortunate. KU has been a godsend. Very few of us could afford to pay for each variation we read. KU seemed like a great answer—new authors get exposure, authors get some money based on the views, and we can read to our hearts’ content.
Now, however, some authors are gaming the system. It is infuriating and discouraging. Will it help them in the long run? If disgruntled readers refuse to read an author’s future books based on their past use of AI, that’s thousands of fewer page views for the author.
If I’m wrong on the page view concept, please forgive me.
Re KUFor the record, I buy books I’ve reviewed as four or five stars. I will buy a three-star book if I find myself rereading it or if something about the book particularly stood out (such as a dynamic storyline, however minor, for Lydia. I will also buy a three-star if it has given me a greater understanding of P&P (such as showing me the similarity between Caroline and Mr Bennet)).
Fastidious Kingdoms wrote: "Alas, I can’t tell you anything about the finer proofreading details. The senseless prose suffocated me. I know nothing beyond that. I feel so bad even hinting that AI was involved. I don’t know ..."
Authors are paid by the number of page views. The reader has to look at the page long enough for the system to decide the reader was actually reading. If you are flipping through pages, or you skip pages, there is no payment for those pages.
I loved These Dreams, Nefarious, London Holiday, and A Fine Mind. Sadly, these recent stories seem to have little in common with what I liked about the older ones.
Authors are definitely "gaming" the system by releasing longer books, and also by adding a "bonus" book at the end of a new release. The bonus is an older title. KU only pays for the first time a book is borrowed/read. By adding an older book at the end of the new one, the author has a chance to earn some money from page reads of the bonus book. This is technically not allowed, but I don't think KDP is enforcing it. To be safe, we are now seeing authors release "book sets" with several older titles bundled together. Reading the new set will earn money.
Fastidious Kingdoms wrote: "Re KUFor the record, I buy books I’ve reviewed as four or five stars. I will buy a three-star book if I find myself rereading it or if something about the book particularly stood out (such as a d..."
Yes - I also do this. I want to support authors for their hard work. I'm an author too, although I don't write JAFF. I like the idea of the author getting KU money plus money from my purchase of their book. But it has to be a quality story, as you said, 4- or 5- stars with the occasional strong 3-star read.