why wouldn’t she?
What her being alive would bring to the story?
According to M, that was M’s decision. Or maybe that was just what the Agency told them after the fact, how would they remember?
The options are “dead” or “captured”. I’m voting captured for now, because:
a) I didn’t see a body and I immediately assume anyone in fiction whose corpse I don’t see is “dead”, not dead; and
b) rescue operation in the romance path.
Also, it’s the only path that has you possibly dealing with an in-law.
Fmum: “Now, what are your intentions towards my little Taida, hmmm?”
MC: goes looking for Trappers instead
4 Likes
Aaannnnd now I can’t help picturing F is secretly a supervillain. Thanks for that.
1 Like
Possibly. Or maybe M made the choice based on whatever the Agency told them. “Your only options are to die and kill everyone around you or let us fuck with your head and use magic to absorb your superpowers.” Not a hard decision, if those are your options.
Your take on F’s mom is about how I feel on the matter. Why not show her corpse if she’s dead?
I love the possibility of a rescue operation for F’s mom. And that they go off and do it alone, maybe. Everything is going to hell and they’re like, “Sorry, we’re going to get F’s mom!”
My F-mancer would probably snark. And that wouldn’t go over well, lol.
4 Likes
Better it from M than UB, it would be more impactful too. I didn’t snoop in my N play through for that exact reason.
It personally takes me a while to fully absorb a book especially if it’s not in my home language. But reading through this post has irked me quite a bit.
Nothing can ruin an author more than a lack of consistency. N is the most romantic one out of the 4 and is the most in tune with their feelings, they’re always encouraging people around them to talk out their feelings and listen to others. So when I think back to their book 3 route, there was a tremendous lack of communication.
I would like to note, that I respect and love sera work, but my love for her work shouldn’t blind me from having sound criticism. If I’m sticking it out for 4 more books, I want to see improvement. She has a lot of talent, drive and creativity, I want to see her grow beyond that.
2 Likes
I think main reson for N actions will be traumatic childhood, the number of apologies we hear from them for things they didn’t do, unwillingness to share negative feelings, constant fear of losing you and clinginess, saying things like quoted from books insteed own words, how they are smiling even if they don’t feel like to. It screems shit strict noble family. Before diner with Verda/Tina they are genuiny suprised when MC say to them that they don’t want to force them to cross their comfort zone. There will be a lot of work with them too to make it work, totally aside X tier side of them
9 Likes
I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll continue saying it.
Seven books is way too fucking many.
I had my concerns upon hearing for the first time about the planned length of the series, but i had a certain amount of faith that it’ll be handled well. At the very least i thought that the worldbuilding, side characters, antagonists, and adventures we’ll get to go on would compensate for the inevitable stagnant romance routes where the relationships between the mc and their RO will be finally established and no longer have much interpersonal drama and conflict (I’m not a huge fan of the established relationship trope/stage, i much prefer the journey there).
What I didn’t think was that even in cases where the relationships are established (N and F), the narrative would be reluctant to give us a realistic and satisfying progression of those relationships perhaps out of fear that it’ll run out of content way too fast before the end of the series.
After book 3 this is the kinda conclusion I’m being brought to? There is simply not enough content (as in, what Mishka planned for us to learn about the ROs and what she’s planning for us to do and experience in each romance route) in these romance paths to last seven books. So in order to stretch the content, the characters are forced to sometimes act ooc and refuse to properly communicate with the mc and share their past with us. If things were written more realistically, we would’ve learned everything about ROs and went through their planned arcs way too fast.
(Which is also lowkey weird bc book 3 is huge and there are plenty of scenes in each route, but we still don’t get to do or learn much?)
Unfortunately, supernatural plots, worldbuilding, antagonists and action also fail to compensate for the poorly constructed romance progression in some routes. It’s just not good and interesting enough in book 3. Imo, of course!!
Here’s to hoping that book 4 will handle these aspects better.
18 Likes
I think the real problem isn’t that there are too many books, but that each RO requires a series of a different length, so they don’t fully work together. I think A probably will require 7 books for their full arc, but F doesn’t and N probably doesn’t either so there is a lot of wheel spinning to make them all sync up.
1 Like
@SnowPhoniex
Agreed. My M-mancer didn’t snoop (she thinks people are entitled to their privacy), nor did my N-mancer, for similar reasons. My F-mancer didn’t snoop because that would’ve required effort and she’s lazy. My A-mancer totally snooped and honestly didn’t care if A liked it or not.
I’ve just worried with M that we won’t get to find out their backstory from them. I mean, it’s another one of those things that’s too obvious not to have it happen, but I’m not sure if that sort of attention will be given to M.
Agree with all of that, but it was recently pointed out to me that we shouldn’t expect her writing to improve, things to make sense, or for growth.
We can complain to each other all we want about inconsistencies or annoyances, but we can’t expect her to consider them or even care if we have issues or not. And when she’s this successful, and has such a rabid following that sees her as completely flawless, it actually makes sense that she’ll do as she pleases and ignore anyone who points out perceived problems with the story or characters. And, really, there’s not a damned thing any of us can do about it, except discuss it with each other on this board.
One thing that really irritated me was that, to my recollection, we didn’t get that option with any of the others, making it seem that the MC doesn’t give a damn about M, A, or F’s comfort level. N is the only one who gets told that their feelings on the matter actually matter.
@astronaughty
Unlike you, I love the relationship stage, mainly because I’m a huge fan of couples tackling problems together, with a united front, instead of spending half their time trying to get from the “I’m attracted” phase to the “we’re together” phase because one or both parties is forced by the plot to be a moron or a difficult pain in the ass who is unwilling to even try to be with the MC. Granted, we get that with F and N, but I’m not a fan of their characters, so I’m stuck with the two that are eternally stuck in the build-up phase and will continue to be stuck there for almost the entirety of the series, bouncing back and forth, depending on the situation, with any progress immediately being undone to drag it out more.
And progress is immediately negated at the beginning of each book for two of the ROs.
See, that’s the thing… I don’t think it would happen too fast, leaving nothing new to learn. You can get to the relationship stage and still not know everything there is to know about your partner. Hell, you can be with someone for years and still learn something new about them.
What I thought would happen–before reading the tumblr asks where she said M would take till b5 and A would take till b6 to get to a “deep romance” stage (which doesn’t even mean a relationship by her definition)–was that the romances would progress and they’d be in relationships within a few books, at most (if the MC was into it), then UB’s past would come back to haunt them and various supernaturals would cause problems that threatened to tear them apart or took the MC from them. Instead, it’s just two ROs fight their feelings for the MC, one of them lies constantly (despite being the best communicator in the bunch), and the last one is pretty much angst-free except for being sad over their mother.
I was actually quite happy with M’s route, when I thought the progression actually happened. But they’ll be back to stupid again, so it was kind of pointless.
My guess is stuff will happen when it was decided, long ago, to happen. It almost feels like everything is in a holding pattern until b5 goes down, with any progress with A or M being superficial, N getting more and more sus, and F just being the “happy” route.
So the romance is over once people are together? I’ve found quite the opposite. The real interesting part happens when they’re together. F and N don’t have to spin their wheels–they can keep moving forward. But there has to be something to make them more interesting, which can easily come from outside sources.
It feels like the actual plot never caused any stress for any of them, though, except for the auction at the end and the initial mention of the bounty. The MC never felt like they were in danger, especially holed up in the warehouse. If they had been out there, getting hurt… or the capture had lasted longer… there could’ve been some real fear going on for both the LI and the MC. Instead, it was like, “meh, you’re fine.”
On a different note, I’ve decided I want Murphy back, not as an enemy, but as the one who has to help figure out exactly what was done to the MC with their little experiment. That’d be fun for the MCs who captured him…
4 Likes
There are already signs in book 3 that A not being able to make up their mind and communicate with the mc by being hot-and-cold in the manner that they do is hurtful and feels (to some readers) toxic and even abusive. The mixed signals they give to the mc might be natural to their character considering their background and personality, but the cycle of getting some sort of affection to then abruptly being turned away again starts to feel forced and annoying to some. Imo, even A’s arc would’ve benefited from being shorter, more concise.
There are also concerns that M’s progress in b3 will be ignored in the next book, sending them into the same vicious cycle as A.
The length of the series might not be the initial problem, but i think that it makes other problems more apparent. Some issues with the pacing in romantic paths could’ve been avoided if there were fewer books. That’s what i feel at least 
7 Likes
I feel you, you and similar minded readers deserve better than this 
See, i appreciate that the series provides both for people who like long bumpy rides to romance (M, A) and people who enjoy established relationships (F, N) but it kinda struggles with handling either of those?
Most people enjoy it nonetheless, of course, but I’m not most people and love complaining, so here i am doing just that:)
True, and it all must be supported by the overall plot, external conflicts, well-written antagonists with interesting motivations, just general interesting shit happening in the story that affects the established romances, challenges the status quo of these relationships, makes the mc and their RO work together to better their bond, and brings new stuff to the table to expand on the characters and their relationships.
Except, all that plot-related crap was the worst part about book 3. Which is why I’m having my concerns about the romance paths. I mean, it’s not time to panic yet - book 3 might just be an exception, and we’ll get a better plot and what have you in book 4 and onward.
5 Likes
Don’t you play games with my heart, don’t say this please dear god
Not completely ignored, but M will revert back to being a dumbass, so the scene with A where M seemed to realize feelings has to be ignored, along with M taking a shot to the “Never have I ever fallen for a colleague” bit.
1 Like
I’m sorry 
That’s what i felt in A’s route when b3 demo dropped and whatever progress happened during the carnival was swept under the rug. Now that M is my preferred RO, i pray that the same thing won’t happen again 
1 Like
Normally I can still enjoy a book if the plot is lacking but the characters are lovely, but I will say that in this case I’m a little less inclined to follow my usual line of thought because it’s been three books and personally I don’t believe a lot has happened other than “bad guy kidnaps u, bad guy kidnaps someone who talked to u, bad guy kidnaps someone you know to get to you question mark” (which some people will think of as a lot, but eh to me it feels repetitive and not too thrilling.)
Wayhaven’s main thing is not the plot and that’s obvious and okay, but I don’t want to get another kidnapping plot in the following books and that’s it.
I think some people said they would like it if nothing too dangerous happened to MC for a change in the next book, but I’m dreading said idea because I need some kind of stimulus to fully enjoy a story… not to mention at least I can feed on drama if nothing else.
12 Likes
Well, I’m right there with you, lol.
The funny part is that I was seriously excited about the plot. I had been dying for the MC to be in real danger and end up kidnapped. But the execution was flat. There was no real sense of danger or extended uncertainty from the LIs about the whole ordeal.
Having the MC be able to get through Sin’s barriers was really cool, but when combined with the danger to the MC, it just seemed meh. I think that, if another supernatural had been sent from the Trappers, maybe one that was powerful enough to be a threat to both UB and the MC, with Sin there as backup, it might have worked better. Sin could’ve seen the MC fighting like hell to protect UB and supes that were in danger, as well as fighting for themselves, and started gaining respect that way.
Then, have the MC get taken no matter what–which means, for those who took R, she would’ve been knocked out and/or captured, too–and leave UB trying to find them, with the Trappers moving location again to make it difficult. It would give the MC and Rebecca a chance to plot together or maybe she would get mind-whacked like Bobby could have. Let days pass before UB finds them, with the LI completely freaking out over it. And then Sin showing up to provide the location, breaking their fake bond with the auctioneer, and offering to help. In the meantime, you have the MC really pissed off (or frightened, if you want to go that route), and fighting the Trappers every chance they got. Still getting the auction scene with the LI, but when the tension has built high for all of them, with the MC realizing they’re on their own and the LI being even more emotional about finding them.
There are a lot of ways the tension could’ve been brought to a nerve-wracking level with that plot, but it never got past a almost simmer when the bounty was shown and devolved into a “this makes no sense” thing.
9 Likes
Like, okay, i really love myself a slow burn. I love a really long, painful slowburn, so A’s route was my favourite in the first two books.
But then the demo for b3 dropped and… A reverting to “cold mode” off screen between the two books was an extremely unsatisfactory progression of his route. I don’t mind an up-and-down, teeter-totter romance per se, anything can work, but it simply didn’t in b3’s demo for me. It didn’t make much sense, and i found it extremely hard to roleplay a detective who would be okay woth A’s behaviour.
Like, nothing really happened between the end of b2 and beginning of b3 for A to revert to cold mode, at least nothing that our mc would be aware of. So it just felt unearned. It didn’t feel natural.
My hope is that, if M must to grow colder and dumber in the next book, there would be a more natural progression (or, rather, digression) to their feelings and behaviour rather than “they just kinda changed their mind off screen”.
7 Likes
That’s part of why I can’t shut up about it - the potential was there, so many interesting bits and pieces, it could’ve been a really awesome plot, and i just keep thinking of ways it could’ve gone, but the execution is so underwhelming.
An op supernatural that no one but you can fight, except you don’t really get to actually fight them. The fact that they’re forced to commit atrocities by the BBEG’s hand and you can reach out to them, but they don’t try and break their bond and do literally nothing until you capture the BBEG. Seems like a waste.
The idea of someone you’re close to being kidnapped, and you having to save them. I liked that the mc can experience this crushing guilt knowing that so many people are suffering only because the BBEG wants to get to you. Except we as a reader don’t really care about any of the kidnapees. I personally couldn’t care less about elidor/vieno/tapeesa. Sorry, babes.
If unit bravo doesn’t get to join us at the auction until the very end when it’s time to completely crush the party, then why not make it so our LI or our bff is the one captured?
Infiltrating the auction sounds dope, but the BBEG is so fucking stupid I can’t take him seriously enough to view him as a legit threat. Sending an invite to the detective (an active duty police officer!! Who’s openly working with the agency’s…agents!) after harassing them and kidnapping their friend in the hopes that they will not only be chill with his human trafficking business but might even decide to participate in the auction. where does he think we’ll get enough money for it anyway? What made him think we would join him? Why was he so ill prepared against the agency’s forces? Why didn’t we see Sin protecting the auctioneer from the mc? That would’ve been such a cool scene, a scene where he would finally break the bond if we worked hard enough to convince him it was possible. Aaaa. I could go on. But I’m tired
4 Likes
What’s BBEG shortened from?
I don’t want to shoot the poor clown when they’re already down, but the fact that the auctioneer was presented (I think by Rebecca) as this powerful, ruthless and overall dangerous individual only for them to get captured easily/acting like nothing more than your stereotypical monologue villain sure was an experience.
Wayhaven has a lot of good ideas, but most of the time they fall really flat and it’s a shame. For example, there are a lot of breadcrumbs which could fix a lot of the issues I have with xyz, but I’m not quite sure if they’ll get a chance to play out in the end. I’m hoping, but I’ll keep my expectations low going forward
7 Likes