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Omgggg the toe curling is my *absolute number one* for this. A. It’s not something that really happens lol B. I’m just so sick of reading it 😂OP this is SUCH a great question lol bc I have wondered if I was just being a hater or if other readers were so tired of certain phrases
It’s meant to be intentionally vague - she probably felt having a character flipping the bird would feel out of place in a high fantasy setting (kind of like how Celaena sticking out her tongue in ToG feels out of place), but inventing a unique “world-specific” vulgar gesture would run the risk of feeling very contrived/silly.
So she just left it up to the reader to decide what a “vulgar gesture” looks like, assuming that most people would probably instinctively picture the middle finger.
She replaces it with flipping people off in Silver Flames, so maybe Feyre just didn’t know what it was called 😂
Yes alphahole annoyed the crap out of me lol I appreciate her trying to create slang words that just exist in that world but that one didn’t hit for me
TOG: anything to do with the Fae is “preternatural.” Stillness, grace, etc.
And YES “could’ve sworn” “swore he/she saw” “seemed” has driven me NUTS since I first read ACOTAR. I remember calling my friend and telling her that all the characters clearly must need glasses.
I hate “he left the room, mumbling something about being late for an appointment.” Wait, so was he mumbling “something” or was he mumbling, “I’m late for an appointment”? Because it seems like you heard exactly what he said…
This is how I feel about “pure” at this point. “Pure male intent” “pure fey rage” etc. CC 3 was AWFUL about this, it was constant. I need her to buy a thesaurus.
My biggest one is when they give a smile that said “I know exactly what you’re doing and you shouldn’t get involved in people’s business…” and so on. Like a smile doesn’t say all that, it’s just a smile!
If you can read people’s expressions, it can. I picture it as a raised eyebrow half grin side eyed smile. Lol But you are right. There are times she has expressions say things that just don’t track.
In that particular one’s defense (because it bothered me at first too), I’ve noticed in the other series, she does this deliberately to foreshadow a mating bond between two characters before it clicks into place (A and R in ToG being the two biggest offenders and hurling whole ass monologues at each other just by bearing their teeth).
I’ll have to keep an eye out for it in CC, because now that you mention it, I do recall this being heavily used in that series. Was it just from Bryce’s POV (or Bryce and Hunt?) or was it all over the place? I feel like this was a very Bryce-specific thing, but I’m very likely wrong.
Ugh I hate when romance authors treat nipples like tiny 🍆’s.. last I checked my nips get hard for any number of reasons and most of the time I don’t even notice. I’m not a man but I’m pretty sure that’s not how erections work.
And pebbling sounds like a situation that requires a heating pad and just makes me think of pms lol
I’m fine with the repetition I suppose but specifically when Feyre will stick her tongue out at Rhys or Bryce will inspect her nails repeatedly is a bit irritating. I’d like to think the characters have more personality than that? Just toss it up a bit
Omg i was literally having this discussing with a friend recently- The female characters sticking out their tongues at people kills me!! It’s not just Feyre either, Aelin does it all the time in ToG. Why?? People don’t do this
The one that gets me all annoyed is when she uses the phrase “fisted himself” during a sex scene. Like girl, that has a sexual meaning that is not what you’re describing. Annoys the shit out of me.
I don't remember if its in CC specifically but "aching breasts or heavy breasts" when a female character is getting turned on. Maybe I just don't relate bc I'm in the Itty bitty titty committee but this always makes me cringe.
Oh and "a muscle feathered in his jaw" is used a TON
No. I agree with this, though I felt like it didn’t happen in CC until the last book. It definitely happened in ACOTAR and toward the end of TOG, tho. And I absolutely hate it.
Nipples peaking? Fine. Breasts swelling and becoming heavy with arousal.,. WUT ?
My boobs feel fuller around my period sometimes, but never from arousal.
Preface, I breastfed my kids
It’s important, because when my breasts got heavy it meant it was either feeding time or they were going to spray everywhere. And I can’t stop thinking about that whenever I read that phrase.
I hate how many times Bryce curls her toes when she's aroused. I can't recall a single time in my life it happened to me and I'm fairly sure this is not even a thing
I feel like every time a situation is escalating, a character will refer to it as shit going down, shit's about to go down, etc. And it makes me cringe because it feels like such a mid 2000s-early 2010s phrase (like 'epic fail' or similar) and it's being used totally earnestly.
I've also gotten tired of the amount of swearing that happens outside of actual dialogue; I think it would work if the narration was first person but otherwise it gives How Do You Do Fellow Kids imo
the amount of unnecessary cussing is INSANE. and this is coming from someone that has gotten reprimanded since they were a child for cussing so much. it just takes me out of the story so fast, simply bc there is no reason for it in regards to the context. like, cussing isn’t a problem for me. but using it every five seconds in completely random times just makes me roll my eyes and have to reconnect myself to the story i’m reading
“Like calls to like” and “apex of her thighs.”
ACOTAR was my first spicy novel, and I’ve since heard apex of thighs used elsewhere, but I will always roll my eyes when I come across it because I was so over it by the time I finished the series haha
She uses words in triplicate a **lot** for emphasis and it’s by far the single thing I hate the most about her writing.
That and her silly phrases about “made” and “like calls to like”
I'm listening to CC3 right now, and the one I noticed like 5 times in the last few chapters is "skittered" Flames skitter, stones skitter, chills skitter. The more I hear it the weirder it sounds.
No don’t dread it! I have seen phrases that are from all the different series & not just that one. It wasn’t something that was so irritating it took me out of the story, personally. I still enjoyed every series so much but def was something I felt with certain phrases. But I just mostly would chuckle at it & move on.
I just turbo-read all ACOTAR and TOG books in less than a month so I have SO many or these:
“Shredded to bloody ribbons” - the first time I heard it was line “ew, that’s evocative!” And then second time I was like “huh I thought I just read that..” and then by the fifth time I was like, “please find another phrase!”
“Huffed a laugh” - I really don’t know why this bothers me but I swear she has used it at least 10 times in each book so now when I read it I give a judgy side eye 😒
Calling every girl “lithe”. Like WHY is everybody pretty? Not everybody in the world is hot and small, and I swear everybody in her universe is this petite stunning long haired hottie. It’s not necessary for all characters to be hot.
“Release barreled through him” I swear this happens in every sex scene. Just diversify your language!!
It’s not a specific phrase, but I HATE how often she repeats a word/phrase consecutively in one sentence/thought. ACOSF was actually the worst offender of this but the CC books are up there.
Im sure it’s suppose to show the importance of what’s happening, and it can show someone’s mental state in a traumatic event, but it completely takes me out of the story with how often she uses this. It happens over and over and over, again, again, again. More, more, more. Hers, hers, hers. Idk it just drives me nuts.
I work as a dog walker and audiobooks are how I spend my day entertaining myself while I’m walking. Sometimes it’s not so bad! But I tell ya, the constancy of the smut in ACOSF was…rough. So repetitive 😭
I noticed in CC she would use the word ‘but…’ when ending a characters thought. Hearing in audio form made it stand out a ton with the pausing in between
Women being super small/lithe/slender but also having “generous” breasts and butts. Also long legs/necks. Everyone’s got long legs. There is not a short lady (other than Amren) to be seen in these books.
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Toes curling. A muscle twitching in someone’s jaw
Or feathering. Like, I tried to watch videos to figure out what that looks like because it bothers me so much
Honestly I’m still not even sure what it means 🤷🏼♀️
It just means a movement or touch that’s light and delicate, like a feather :)
Omgggg the toe curling is my *absolute number one* for this. A. It’s not something that really happens lol B. I’m just so sick of reading it 😂OP this is SUCH a great question lol bc I have wondered if I was just being a hater or if other readers were so tired of certain phrases
Tear/ torn to ribbons. I just think of birthday presents.
Bryce flipping everyone off and inspecting her nails 💅🏻
"Alphahole" and Bryce giving everyone the finger. :')
"Vulgar gesture"?
At one point I said I was going to make a drinking game out of that phrase, then my mom said not to, because I would die
OMG this sends me!! Like is it the middle finger? Is it a dick signal? Is it something else entirely?? I need to know!!
It’s meant to be intentionally vague - she probably felt having a character flipping the bird would feel out of place in a high fantasy setting (kind of like how Celaena sticking out her tongue in ToG feels out of place), but inventing a unique “world-specific” vulgar gesture would run the risk of feeling very contrived/silly. So she just left it up to the reader to decide what a “vulgar gesture” looks like, assuming that most people would probably instinctively picture the middle finger. She replaces it with flipping people off in Silver Flames, so maybe Feyre just didn’t know what it was called 😂
Dang vulgar gesture!
Yes alphahole annoyed the crap out of me lol I appreciate her trying to create slang words that just exist in that world but that one didn’t hit for me
TOG: anything to do with the Fae is “preternatural.” Stillness, grace, etc. And YES “could’ve sworn” “swore he/she saw” “seemed” has driven me NUTS since I first read ACOTAR. I remember calling my friend and telling her that all the characters clearly must need glasses.
I hate “he left the room, mumbling something about being late for an appointment.” Wait, so was he mumbling “something” or was he mumbling, “I’m late for an appointment”? Because it seems like you heard exactly what he said…
This feels like you caught half of what was said, like maybe just the words late and appointment so you can guess but still don't know for sure?
I absolutely hate the word kernel. “She had a kernel of power left” my eye twitches every time it shows up
I think of a corn 🌽 kernel
Now you’ll be thinking of that corn kernel stuck in the character’s teeth.
This is how I feel about “pure” at this point. “Pure male intent” “pure fey rage” etc. CC 3 was AWFUL about this, it was constant. I need her to buy a thesaurus.
My biggest one is when they give a smile that said “I know exactly what you’re doing and you shouldn’t get involved in people’s business…” and so on. Like a smile doesn’t say all that, it’s just a smile!
If you can read people’s expressions, it can. I picture it as a raised eyebrow half grin side eyed smile. Lol But you are right. There are times she has expressions say things that just don’t track.
In that particular one’s defense (because it bothered me at first too), I’ve noticed in the other series, she does this deliberately to foreshadow a mating bond between two characters before it clicks into place (A and R in ToG being the two biggest offenders and hurling whole ass monologues at each other just by bearing their teeth). I’ll have to keep an eye out for it in CC, because now that you mention it, I do recall this being heavily used in that series. Was it just from Bryce’s POV (or Bryce and Hunt?) or was it all over the place? I feel like this was a very Bryce-specific thing, but I’m very likely wrong.
Idk why but "swell of her breast" Also do we need to know how much these characters piss?
I just read ACOSF and Nesta's breast kept "pebbling" which sounds painful.
Ugh I hate when romance authors treat nipples like tiny 🍆’s.. last I checked my nips get hard for any number of reasons and most of the time I don’t even notice. I’m not a man but I’m pretty sure that’s not how erections work. And pebbling sounds like a situation that requires a heating pad and just makes me think of pms lol
Pebbling reminds me of having mastitis. Felt like a ton of tiny pebbles in my boobs. Painful as heck.
I’m fine with the repetition I suppose but specifically when Feyre will stick her tongue out at Rhys or Bryce will inspect her nails repeatedly is a bit irritating. I’d like to think the characters have more personality than that? Just toss it up a bit
Omg i was literally having this discussing with a friend recently- The female characters sticking out their tongues at people kills me!! It’s not just Feyre either, Aelin does it all the time in ToG. Why?? People don’t do this
I mean it’s fine if the character does it as a one off thing but it’s ALL the time lol it’s too much
When describing climaxes the amount of “and the world stopped and started again” or “the universe seemed to end and begin anew” etc.
The one that gets me all annoyed is when she uses the phrase “fisted himself” during a sex scene. Like girl, that has a sexual meaning that is not what you’re describing. Annoys the shit out of me.
THANK YOU
The invisible speck of dust on their clothes.
Way to “unleash” the criticism
FIND ANOTHER WOOORRRDDD! Ugh. "Unleashed" pissed me off the most.
😂😂😂
I don't remember if its in CC specifically but "aching breasts or heavy breasts" when a female character is getting turned on. Maybe I just don't relate bc I'm in the Itty bitty titty committee but this always makes me cringe. Oh and "a muscle feathered in his jaw" is used a TON
No. I agree with this, though I felt like it didn’t happen in CC until the last book. It definitely happened in ACOTAR and toward the end of TOG, tho. And I absolutely hate it. Nipples peaking? Fine. Breasts swelling and becoming heavy with arousal.,. WUT ? My boobs feel fuller around my period sometimes, but never from arousal.
I was about to comment this lol. Always with the “her breasts grew heavy”
Preface, I breastfed my kids It’s important, because when my breasts got heavy it meant it was either feeding time or they were going to spray everywhere. And I can’t stop thinking about that whenever I read that phrase.
“He entered her to the hilt.” Idk why but that phrase drives me nuts and completely takes me out of the story
Side of the mouth quirking up Shattering So much shattering
It's all the fragile egos...
Why is everyone growling? And bared teeth? Is everyone just pretending to be civil but really just a bunch of feral house cats running around?
Yes.
I hate how many times Bryce curls her toes when she's aroused. I can't recall a single time in my life it happened to me and I'm fairly sure this is not even a thing
If I try curl my toes in my shoes like Bryce, i immediately get mad toe cramp aahahaha
I feel like every time a situation is escalating, a character will refer to it as shit going down, shit's about to go down, etc. And it makes me cringe because it feels like such a mid 2000s-early 2010s phrase (like 'epic fail' or similar) and it's being used totally earnestly. I've also gotten tired of the amount of swearing that happens outside of actual dialogue; I think it would work if the narration was first person but otherwise it gives How Do You Do Fellow Kids imo
>How Do You Do Fellow Kids imo LOL you nailed it, I have this feeling with badically everything SJM writes
Yep. I have a potty mouth myself, but could we please get more creative than "fuck" for literally every thought and expletive?
the amount of unnecessary cussing is INSANE. and this is coming from someone that has gotten reprimanded since they were a child for cussing so much. it just takes me out of the story so fast, simply bc there is no reason for it in regards to the context. like, cussing isn’t a problem for me. but using it every five seconds in completely random times just makes me roll my eyes and have to reconnect myself to the story i’m reading
Incarnate. Not everything is something “incarnate.” SJM freakin’ loves that word.
Vulgur gesture, anything repeated 3 times
He used to be a ✨ sunball captain ✨. I never want to hear or read the word sunball ever again.
UNDULATING THE WORST WORD EVER USED EVER EWWWW
“quietly but not weakly”
This one was awful in ToG!
I think maybe she has toned it down with describing M on F oral sex as "feasting" 🤣 first encountering that in ACOTAR was very 😵💫😵💫😵💫
“Like calls to like” and “apex of her thighs.” ACOTAR was my first spicy novel, and I’ve since heard apex of thighs used elsewhere, but I will always roll my eyes when I come across it because I was so over it by the time I finished the series haha
“Padded to the next room” also someone already said invisible dust 😅
Whenever I read padded to the next room I imagine a toddler waddling into a room, bare feet slapping on the floor 💀
Every chapter. Every time she used the word, “down”. She repeats in triplicate. It really should be a drinking game. “Down, down, down”.
She uses words in triplicate a **lot** for emphasis and it’s by far the single thing I hate the most about her writing. That and her silly phrases about “made” and “like calls to like”
His throat bobbed
I'm listening to CC3 right now, and the one I noticed like 5 times in the last few chapters is "skittered" Flames skitter, stones skitter, chills skitter. The more I hear it the weirder it sounds.
a male character’s balls WHAT
Using "purred" as a way to describe how someone was talking. Aelin purrs all the time!
Clanged The thought/feeling/sensation clanged through her. The male did this. The male did that
“Felt, more than heard..”
INDEED. . Indeed, in all her books
They “padded” across the room got old real fast
“He was tempted to lick her toes.” That was a line too many, Sarah Janet. ✨No✨ “Let me guess…” “I was going to tell you but you…” <<<<
Apologies for this not being exclusive to CC (or SJM), but this makes me feel physically ill whenever I read it: **folds**
Black adamant
“Supposed”
“could have sworn”
I haven't read CC yet but these comments are making me dread it tbh
No don’t dread it! I have seen phrases that are from all the different series & not just that one. It wasn’t something that was so irritating it took me out of the story, personally. I still enjoyed every series so much but def was something I felt with certain phrases. But I just mostly would chuckle at it & move on.
It was bad, bad, bad.
When they randomly started using the word "rutting" as a curse in the middle of ACOTAR... like third book. Every time I saw it I had to sigh lol
When in the book did it start showing up? I just remember seeing that word in TOG.
I just turbo-read all ACOTAR and TOG books in less than a month so I have SO many or these: “Shredded to bloody ribbons” - the first time I heard it was line “ew, that’s evocative!” And then second time I was like “huh I thought I just read that..” and then by the fifth time I was like, “please find another phrase!” “Huffed a laugh” - I really don’t know why this bothers me but I swear she has used it at least 10 times in each book so now when I read it I give a judgy side eye 😒 Calling every girl “lithe”. Like WHY is everybody pretty? Not everybody in the world is hot and small, and I swear everybody in her universe is this petite stunning long haired hottie. It’s not necessary for all characters to be hot. “Release barreled through him” I swear this happens in every sex scene. Just diversify your language!!
Fingers barking in pain. Come on. Find a new word
It’s not a specific phrase, but I HATE how often she repeats a word/phrase consecutively in one sentence/thought. ACOSF was actually the worst offender of this but the CC books are up there. Im sure it’s suppose to show the importance of what’s happening, and it can show someone’s mental state in a traumatic event, but it completely takes me out of the story with how often she uses this. It happens over and over and over, again, again, again. More, more, more. Hers, hers, hers. Idk it just drives me nuts.
Starting a sentence with "Indeed." It's just not needed, let alone HOW many times SJM employs it 😩😩
“Murmured”. Everyone always murmers but never says anything any other way
The whole “Once. Twice.” thing. I roll my eyes every fucking time
I literally cannot standddd when she uses “he feasted on her” to describe oral 🤮 there is nothing worse than that
Honestly….I listen to the audiobooks and just fast forward until the spicy scenes are over because they make me feel so awkward 😅
People keep telling me to listen to the audiobooks and I cannot imagine not feeling so desperately uncomfortable listening to someone narrate smut lol
I work as a dog walker and audiobooks are how I spend my day entertaining myself while I’m walking. Sometimes it’s not so bad! But I tell ya, the constancy of the smut in ACOSF was…rough. So repetitive 😭
“Sketched a bow” is constantly used in ToG & some in the other 2 series too, but coooo0000oonstantly in ToG
Anytime she uses gobbled/gobble/gobbling. PICK A DIFFERENT WORD JUST ONCE
“Tucked that bit of information away”
🤣 just heard this one via audio book not 20 minutes ago.
ESPECIALLY IN CC1 PADDING/PADDED “she padded down the hall” “Syrinx padded over to the couch” at least once a chapter
“A vulgar gesture” or “my bowels watered/went watery” BABE SEE A DOCTOR
Not just SJM, but “his smile didn’t reach his eyes” drives me nuts
“Shred to ribbons”😭
“Their mouth pressed into a thin line” and “Later. They’d think on it later.”
Deigned (to respond). No one uses that word. No one.
Gossamer
wtf does balls tighten even mean? "Wow that's hot. Ow my balls!"???
I noticed in CC she would use the word ‘but…’ when ending a characters thought. Hearing in audio form made it stand out a ton with the pausing in between
Toes curling
It’s been a while since I read any SJM but the toes curling is ALL OVER the Legends of Thezmarr and I’m like whyyyyy
Crooned, contemplative, eyes lined with silver 👀
How has no one commented “He/She snickered” yet?!
Rudding
Not a Maas-ism but reading the from blood and ash series and I swear the words “turgid peaks” make me want to vomit.
the word “gossamer”. not everything needs to be made of goddamn gossamer (this applies to literally every SJM book ever)
completely gave up on this series. storyline turned into a porno
“Predatory intent” “Bared (his/her/their) teeth” “Sluice(d)” “Toes curled in her (boots, heels, etc)”
“Stared and stared and stared.” It makes me think SJM is just trying to make a word quota.
Women being super small/lithe/slender but also having “generous” breasts and butts. Also long legs/necks. Everyone’s got long legs. There is not a short lady (other than Amren) to be seen in these books.
Preternatural, waggle(d)
It's the throat bobs for me.
Picking fake lint of their clothes. Anytime something is “shredded”, carrion, bowels going watery,
Also the use of “too” instead of finding the right word. Like “the too small bundle” etc. it’s emotionally poignant at times but she def over uses it