The Overbooked Society discussion
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Bonnie I completely relate to you, except on the friends front... But at the same time its exciting because it's a fresh start, you know?
Mod
I actually just chose the wrath and the dawn which has been in my tbr list forever.
I want some real enemies to lovers now.
..."
I was about to read The Wrath and the dawn like this Sunday after I finished the June boys!!! Buddy read???
Mod
You don’t sound nerdy , but you do sound sophisticated like a scholar.
I don’t know the keeper of the lost cities. But it’s good that you like that series enough to read the 4th book.
Mod
I actually just chose the wrath and the dawn which has been in my tbr list forever.
I want some real enemies..."
I don’t get goodreads notification at all. I didn’t see your comment.
Goodreads should really update.
But ok ! Let’s buddy read. I was gonna start this book tomorrow anyway. I’ll just put it one day forward.
So Sunday ?
Oh thank you! Yeah it's a middle-grade fantasy series, but I'm sure the later books lean into YA. Either way, I'm enjoying it a lot!
Mod
I actually just chose the wrath and the dawn which has been in my tbr list forever.
I want som..."
YAYYY! I can't believe we are buddy reading again and also you can start tomorrow if you really want to though.
Mod
Yeah it's a middle-grade fantasy series, but I'm sure the later books lean into YA. Either way, I'm enjoying it a lot!"
That’s great, I’ll check it out.
Though Middle grade might not be for me.
Mod
I actually just chose the wrath and the dawn which has been in my tbr list for..."
Yes !
Nah, it’s fine.
So let’s buddy read from Sunday !
What's the Wrath and the Dawn about?
Mod
I actually just chose the wrath and the dawn which has been in m..."
Okie, thank you. See you on the buddy reads section (I'll create one probably tmr or you can do too) Good night (It's like 10 in Indian so you are probably not sleeping but I am so byeee)
Mod
I actually just chose the wrath and the dawn whi..."
Do we really need a buddy reads section ? It’s two of us right. But if you want , you can.
Also, I’m not in India. It’s 8:30 here.
Anyway, good night 😴
Mod
1001 nights retelling. It is known for it’s enemies to lovers trope, so I’m kinda hopeful.
Also, I loved 1001 nights, so again I’m kind of hopeful
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I actually just chose the wrath an..."
Ohh yeah, you're right. We will just DM then, I almost forgot lol and bye (for real this time)
Mod
Hope you have sweet dreams 😴
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But I’ll catch up soon !
Hopefully.
Anyway. You can share your thoughts if you want, even without the spoilers tag.
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But I’ll catch up soon !
Hopefully.
Anyway. You can share your thoughts if you want, even without the spoilers tag."
Nah, it's fine even I have only read 2 chapters since this moring (it's 3 pm now) so don't worry and about the discussion, I can go without spoiler tags as long as you have read the part I'm talking about. Excited to read more!!
Mod
“One hundred lives for the one you took. One life to one dawn. Should you fail but a single morn, I shall take from you your dreams. I shall take from you your city.
And I shall take from you these lives, a thousandfold”
Beautiful. Just beautiful. No other words 😧
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Or the vain hope you might be the one to stay the course and win the heart of a monster.”
No Khalid…that’s just what we, the readers, are hoping.
“She watched him dress with neat, almost militaristic precision, noting the light sheen of sweat on his back and the lean muscles that coiled and flexed with the slightest of movements.
Oh no..is she gonna go ..’wow, muscles. He looks good’ ?
He was stronger than she was. Of that, there was no doubt. She could not best him physically.”
Never mind…actual logical reaction instead. Romance novels have ruined my thinking.
“She took a moment to steady herself. “I want to tell you a story.”
YES !!! The stories where my favorite parts from the original. Things are gonna get exciting.
Thanks for reading through that. I’m a bit slow for now but I think I’ll gain speed since this is exciting.
First, this university work I’ve been ignoring…🥲
Mod
So, the original tale of 1001 nights was that the girl says a story the whole night (though I don’t know how’s that possible. A story that short will at most take 1 hour ? ).
I like that they are doing something like that here. But now I’m more curious ! What’s the story behind the king ??? Why is he doing this ???
There was another retelling of 1001 nights called ‘one thousand nights’, in that (view spoiler)
I don’t think they will do that here.
What are your thoughts on this ?
Mod
I really really wish I was a faster reader but Now, I’m this close👌To skimming and going to straight to the answer.
Ok, without giving any spoiler, can you at least tell me if it’s worth it ??
Mod
I finished the wrath and the dawn and I have a lot to say. Let me know when you’re finished and ready to discuss !!
Mod
Or the vain hope you might be the one to stay the course and win the heart of a monster.”
No Khalid…that’s just what we, the readers, are hoping.
“S..."
I really loved the stories too, and i loved how she told them
Mod
I finished the wrath and the dawn and I have a lot to say. Let me know when you’re finished and ready to discuss !!"
Oh, that's great. I still have about 150 pages left and I am not sure I can read much today but I will finish it probably tomorrow but then I have two important tests on Wednesday so can we please do it on Thursday? Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to contribute to the conversation much. I hope that's ok with you but till then, you can tell me your ratings??
Mod
I finished the wrath and the dawn and I have a lot to say. Let me know when you’re finished and ready to discuss !!"
Oh, that's great. I still have about 150 pages left..."
It’s fine, Elena !
No need to rush, We can totally discuss later. To be honest, I did stay little late at night and read at 2.5x speed just so I can come to the end finally (impatient reader 😅). I am pretty sure I skimmed some scenes.
Anyway, I have mixed opinions about this book, so it is gonna be some discussion 🤭.
The thing is it was a solid 4 for me at the beginning 1/3 , maybe even 5 if the climax was incredible.
But uh…Some stuff required me take off one star. So it’s a generous 3 star.
Either way, Take your time, don’t stress too much !
Good luck on your tests !
Mod
I finished the wrath and the dawn and I have a lot to say. Let me know when you’re finished and ready to discuss !!"
Oh, that's great. I still have about ..."
Oh, I am so excited to discuss it with you, and thank you for being so sweet!!!! I thought would give at least a 4 so I am really excited to see what you thought, as for me it's a 4 I am really enjoying it but there are some things that are taking away my enjoyment!!
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See you later, then.
Mod
How are you ? How’s your day going ?
So, I need a little help !
I used to write a lot few years ago and I had a lot of plot ideas. I used to write a few chapters and then lose patience to write more.
So, I was going through old drafts and getting my memory refreshed.
Then I saw this draft -
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15...
I actually knew the stories of all my drafts except this one. I have very vague idea of what I was trying to write here, but I’m really really curious.
I’ve being trying to figure out what was the plot but I have no clue.
So can you guys please make some wild guesses about what is going on in this story ? Even a little idea can help !
I really hope something will trigger my memory.
One thing - I was definitely not writing a paranormal/supernatural story here .
Thanks a lot for your help !
Mod
I'm thinking the same thing as Elena! Maybe there was this secret organisation that did something... secret, and marked their members with various Roman numerals depending on their status, or something like that. Something went wrong and the memories of the members were wiped, and now they need to figure out what they were trying to do. There could be a corrupt government system they need to work against to save people. It's just the vibe I was getting, feel free to ignore this :D
I also just want to say- that's a really good piece of writing! I really enjoyed that little snippet of a story :)
Mod
First of all, thanks !
Second of all, ‘memory loss’ is 100% something my 16-17 years old self will write.
But the secret society ? That’s a brilliant story line which unfortunately my old self will never be creative enough to come up with me.
Thanks a lot Elena ! I loved your idea and I think the memory loss is true.
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Thanks a lot kelsie.
And oh my god, that storyline ! That’s so good and brilliant, I love it 😍.
But unfortunately, like I said before, that’s something my 16-17 years old will never come up with.
Seriously, that’s too good for my old self !
But I’m very inspired, thank you !
Mod
I just realized the gender of the protagonist is not obvious….it’s a male.
Lol, I can see why you think it’s a female, but actually this character was inspired by another character I was obsessed with 😆
What was the story though ? I mean, what was the old me trying to write ? I have no idea, and it’s ticking me off.
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You're welcome!!
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If you’re seeing this message, I want to say time differences suck and also I’m a bit busy but will be free in like 40 minutes ??
Either way, it’s not like we can simultaneously converse here because good reads is a bit ancient and it for some reason doesn’t work like other messaging app (yeah, it’s not a messaging app but it’ll nice if it worked a bit better)
Anyway, please begin and I’ll back in a while. There’s no need to use spoiler tag !
Thanks !!!
Mod
- I hated how fast they got together
- Didn't like the tensionless fights, they kept getting back and breaking up
- The reveal felt underwhelming cause he was just like "yeah, it's just a curse, I got cursed and now I kill every day when I clearly could have done something about it other than falling for it " (like actual volunteers willing to die for the country instead of young innocent girs
- The love triangle
What I liked
- I am not sure if I ship them or not but I guess I do like their dynamic quite a bit
- The story was quite addictive and I liked the setting quite abit
- Despina and Jalal
- The writing was really beautiful
- The stories she told Khalid
- Khalid (Not sure about the "redemption arc" he was supposed to get but like yeah I do like him)
I have more to say but it's a discussion and not a review, excited to hear your thoughts!!
Mod
Sorry, kind of lost track of time 😅.
Anyway, I’ll be pouring all my thoughts , so let’s start !
Your rating is 4 stars and my rating is 3 stars. This is gonna be interesting.
First of all, I agree on lot of points.
Let me discuss about the two biggest disappointments -
1. Enemies to lovers -
(view spoiler)
2. the lack of redemption arc and the weak reason for curse -
(view spoiler)
Yeah, the spoiler tags because these are long and I didn’t want to take up so much space.
I’m not done yet !! But this is already long and I wanted to know your opinions !!
Mod
Now about the first point, while I completely understand why Khalid fell in love with her in the first place (he felt his mother was there bc his mother also used to tell him stories) but I agree.
AND ABOUT THE APOLOGIZING...... Oh gosh that was frustrating like they're making out and then she asks him about the girls and he leaves all emo and hurt. (I still don't get why he WOULDN'T tell her like it's not that big of a secret???) and then the use of the word "wound" I was like did he physically injure her???
Well turns out NO, they were talking about hurting each other's feelings like who uses that??? Lol
It would have been super fun if she came to kill, realized that oh gosh he might not be that bad and GOING OUT AND ACTUALLY INVESTIGATING ( instead of asking him over and over)
And about the "redemption arc," I think it would have been better if it was highlighted that Khalid was being really ignorant in his marriage and he feels very very guilty for it instead of talking about it twice and forgetting about it. (But I liked the letters very much) And I wish he wasn't portrayed as being so innocent and like I said he could have announced to the kingdom that there is a curse happening and we need volunteers, maybe it would have been werid to tell them it's because Ava committed suicide but it's still better than killing girls for no reason) and I wanted more exposure to how exactly the girls are chosen/ invited to marry Khalid and I completely agree with your storyline (maybe not the second wife tho cause it seems out of character for him to marry again) and how it could have been done instead.
It feels like I am ranting but I actually liked this book.
Also, my next point is Despina and Jalal, I am excited to see more of their storyline and will probably read the novella, plus they give me Genya and David vibes (Shadow and Bone)
Mod
It would have been super fun if she came to kill, realized that oh gosh he might not be that bad and GOING OUT AND ACTUALLY INVESTIGATING
Lol 😂 . I really thought there was something big going on, like some sort of family secret and a big conspiracy or something. But nope, it’s some curse.
So why did they keep it a secret ?? Like just tell her.
Who knows ? Maybe she could help somehow ?
he could have announced to the kingdom that there is a curse happening and we need volunteers
Exactly, but nope let me portray myself as this heartless monster. And they didn’t even investigate properly. And we know that he could stall a bit ( headaches), so maybe some investigations ? Some kind of search for a cure ?
Idk..something ??
Also, I don’t remember the curse that much but…isn’t it directed to the king ? I don’t remember properly. So…this is crazy, but what if he sacrificed himself ? I don’t know how the curse works though.
The weak plan -
(view spoiler)
The love triangle -
(view spoiler)
The plot development
(view spoiler)
Despina and Jalal
(view spoiler)
Ok, I know I complained so much about this novel. But like I said before, I liked the characters ( yes, though Khalid could do well with a redemption arc), loved the writing, the stories were awesome though there were like only 2 ?, some scenes were exciting to read.
But the plot was so weak, plot development was slow and I really wish the relationship development was better. I did like their relationship though.
So, basically I think it could have been much better , so 3/5.
Also, if the second book is better than this and is actually written well. I will give it a shot.
What about you ? Do you plan on reading the next novel ?
Mod
So let's talk about each one of these
I don’t remember properly. So…this is crazy, but what if he sacrificed himself
I wish everything was explain a little more instead of focusing on JUST the romance
You just made me realize she had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what she was saying, Sharazad was just an angsty teenager planning for revenge that actually falls in love, And if it wasn't for the coincidence that Khalid's mom told him stories, she would be dead. Which i know very weak, you don't just walk to a king and kill him, lol
ok, maybe I did enjoy the jealousy plot 😶. I guess some scenes were a bit thrilling
The love triangle didn't actually annoy me at all, I mean I didn't love it but it wasn't annoying like many others. But I still don't get how everything resolved so fast after Khalid found out (How blind in love do you have to be to ignore that the girl you love loves someone else and is here to kill you??) it was resolved too fast but I liked a little bit of Khalid's jealousy and the final plot line coming together to Tariq taking her. I feel bad for him but that doesn't mean I liked him, I try not to pay too much attention to love interests I am not supposed to ship the MC with
And about the plot development, even tho I knew this was going to be a fantasy romance book I didn't expect THAT much romance, most of the book just focuses on Khalid and Shazi fighting and getting back together, and remember I said I wanted magic, well didn't get ANY of that (Also a question, Shazi's father, what does he do to burn the city down???? That plot point was a little underdeveloped IMO) and how the hell does the magic works, I hope we were at least told what it exactly was)
Despina and Jalal were probably my fav thing about the book cause they really really give me David x Genya vibes and that's my favorite side character ship so I definitely wanna see more of them and hope for some development in book 2
And yes, we have complained so much but tbh I still really liked it and I am looking forward to the sequel (and the novellas) A solid 3.5/5 for me
Mod
Maybe the second book will be better at it.
How blind in love do you have to be to ignore that the girl you love loves someone else and is here to kill you?
Lol, I’m sorry I find it funny that Khalid doesn’t suspect Shazi at all. Like come on, you killed so many people and you confessed that she is gonna die. She has already confirmed that making you fall for her wasn’t the plan.
So …what did you expect ?? Volunteer and sacrifice ?
Like did you not see her glaring daggers at you ??
Well, I guess love does make you blind. No other explanation 🤷♀️.
I try not to pay too much attention to love interests I am not supposed to ship the MC with
Not like some idiot who knows who is the main lead but still tries to ship the mc with the second lead.
But on the plus side, This novel didn’t have that problem. Idk..maybe it’s because they don’t focus on him that much ?
And about the plot development, even tho I knew this was going to be a fantasy romance book I didn't expect THAT much romance
Yeah, I know right ? You‘ll expect some magic and conspiracy but all you get is two people fighting like teenagers.
…which I don’t mind.
Ok, their scenes were actually cute and I liked their chemistry. Also, liked the romance.
I still hoped for a good plot development.
And yes, we have complained so much but tbh I still really liked it and I am looking forward to the sequel (and the novellas) A solid 3.5/5 for me
Hmm…yeah, I think I’ll give it a shot.
But no anytime soon, maybe someday ?
If you do read the sequel, tell me how it was , ok ?
….and that’s all.
Thanks a lot for discussing this with me ! I had a fun pouring out all my thoughts.
I should probably write a review. I need to log this book in a challenge I’m participating.
Let’s buddy read again next time !!
Mod
And finally thank you so much for discussing and reading with me, it's SO fun I wanna buddy read some other time with you as well.
Have a good day/ night
_Elena
Mod
Oh yeah, one more thing I forgot to mention.
Maybe I’ll check out that webtoon too. Idk, maybe that’ll be better ?
Also, I want to see some good art
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Hey, I tried a little bit of it last night and I think it's really cool. What about you?
The Overbooked Society
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I'm actually starting to read Neverseen, the 4th book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. Last night I finished the 3rd book and i was absolutely distraught. But i was so happy!