Fuss, Cuss & Discuss: Open Endings vs. Cliffhangers

Hey there, my lovelies!

It’s been ages I last did one of those but since I can only keep my blog running by posting twice a week some things will have to be – let’s say – kind of sporadic. *lol* This discussion post has been on my mind for ages though so I finally decided to write it down on paper (or rather on screen) before I’m going to choke on it. XD Which is pretty likely because everything that doesn’t run out of my mind and right into my fingers is bound to make me go crazy on the long run. 😉

Anyway! Enough of my musings! Let’s just jump right into the fun.

So the topic this time around is „Open Endings vs. Cliffhangers“! I don’t know about you, but I for my part, have a more than just ambivalent stance when it comes to open endings and cliffhangers, which is to say I kind of love to hate them. 😛 So when it comes down to the bitter truth both options are horrible and leave me reeling but only one of them will make me bite my nails and tear at my hair. Can you already guess which one of them I’m talking about?

Yes, it’s open endings! Whilst cliffhangers are extremely inconvenient (and this is me putting it mildly) there’s still something they have going for themselves: If you’re able to get your hands on the next book of the series (and don’t have to wait an entire year for it) you’re instantly put out of your misery. *lol* You can read on and find out how it’s going to continue and this automatically makes them a little bit easier to bear. I mean you know there’s going to be a second (or third, etc.) book and that even though it might take years (I’m looking at YOU Patrick Rothfuss!!!) until it gets out you’ll still find out how it will all unfold in the end. So there is some sort of comfort to be found in reading a cliffhanger because sooner or later you’ll know what happens next. 🙂

Open endings? Well, they leave you reeling and you’ll never find out what happens next which is the main reason why they always send me around the bend. *lol* I swear, I love to hate „cliffhangers“ but „open endings“ they kill me, EVERY SINGLE TIME! There’s nothing that will get to me as much as not knowing how a book ends. I mean yes, technically an open ending is an ending of sorts but it’s one that leaves things up to you. And being the orderly person that I am this is pure torture for me. XD I like to know what happens to characters and I always need some sort of closure.

Give me a „they hugged and everything was alright“ and not a „they watched each other from a careful distance and neither dared to take a step“. *LOL* I know that’s a bad example and exaggerated, but with the first option you know they are going to be fine while the latter one leaves it open if they’ll be fine or not. Being the eternal optimist that I am I always like to think that a glass is half full instead of half empty so my mind would rather go for everything ending nicely but there are some books that imply a bad open ending and those are the ones that really, really drive me nuts. I’m thinking about a certain book I read recently that’s still haunting me and probably will continue to do so for a while. >_<

This said, I can still appreciate open endings even though they are pretty likely to destroy me. *lol* Talk about conflicting emotions… I think I could go on and on about this but for your sake I’ll refrain from going into a full blown rant and stop right here instead! To hear your opinions is way more interesting anyway. 😛

So what about you and your stance on „open endings vs. cliffhangers“? Do you love to hate them, too or do you prefer one option over the other? And if you do: Why? Is it torture to wait for the next installment after a cliffhanger or can you deal with it just fine? (If yes, please teach me your ways!!! *lol*)

Talk to me and let me know!

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox

Fuss, Cuss & Discuss: Age gaps in books & why some people’s reactions confuse & amuse me

Hey there my lovelies!

It’s about time to implement my New Year’s resolutions and to start with my discussion posts! My last one was in September 2019 so shame on me for taking so long! *lol* Anyway, let’s not dwell on the past but rather focus on the future of my „Fuss, Cuss & Discuss“ post. 😉

I’ve been a member on goodreads for about 2 1/2 years now and there’s a topic that always returns and comes up again: Age gaps between book characters! Now the first thing you’ve to know about me is that my hubby and I have an age difference of about 9 years. Neither of us sees this as problematic and in all honesty when you reach a certain age and both of your lives head in the same direction, it actually isn’t an issue anymore.

So let’s explain my stance on age gaps and when they should be considered problematic (well at least in my opinion):

• 12 year old girl and 16 year old boy: NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! That would be so, so, so soooo damn wrong I can’t even!!! They are both at completely different stages of their lives. Their age gap might only be 4 years but at that age this makes all the difference!!!
• 20 year old girl and 26 year old girl/boy (let’s get a little bit of diversity into this 😉 ): Yes, go for it! They are both adults and they (supposedly) know what they want from life. (I have to mention that in Austria you’re an adult when you’re 18. At that age you’re allowed to drive, to drink and to marry. I’m aware that it’s different in other countries, hence the short digression. XD)
• 40 year old man and 60 year old woman/man: Well, they are old enough to know that their partner could be their own kid, but if they love each other and want the same thing, who am I to judge?

Well, that’s my opinion about age gaps in a nutshell. Still, in the bookish world there are more interesting things that can happen and it never ceases to amaze me how people think of them. One of the most interesting things are age gaps in YA and fantasy books. Why are they so interesting? Well, because in all honesty the way people react to those age gaps is amusing and sometimes, yes, I admit it, outright hilarious! *lol*

Want an example?

Okay, let’s go with „Throne of Glass“ here because this actually made me smirk when I read it. Warning: This is going to be spoilery so if you didn’t read the „Throne of Glass“ series or „Twilight“ yet, you better don’t continue to read! Fair warning, you still got time to leave this page! 😉

Are you ready?

So , in „Throne of Glass“ we have our MC Celaena Sardothien and at one point in the series we reach a moment where it’s mentioned that her former mentor and King of the Assassins Arobynn Hamel loved her and that she was intrigued by him too. At that moment in the series Celaena is about 17 or 18 and Arobynn is 38? Imagine the reactions of the people who read this! „Ewww“ and „This age gap is nauseous!“ were rather mild reactions. And okay, I admit it, that’s an age gap that wouldn’t be okay for me too, but then you always have to see things from the right perspective because and now comes the part where I couldn’t help but laugh:

People found it completely intolerable that Celaena and Arobynn had feelings for each other, but they were totally okay with the Celaena/Rowan ship! Which gets one big fat *LOL* from me! You wonder why? Well, because dear Prince Rowan Whitethorn might look like a 17 year old teenager but is actually 350+ years old! Funny just because he looks like a 17 year old teen it’s okay for them to be together? Let’s be real here: He’s about 312 years older than Arobynn and about 332 years older than Celaena! So if you ask me that’s a really unacceptable age gap. The about 20 years between Arobynn and Celeana are peanuts in comparison. *lol* Not that I don’t ship them, I’m all for the Celaena/Rowan ship but why do people think to ship them is totally okay and to ship her with Arobynn is wrong? From the age perspective it makes absolutely no sense.

The same thing could be used for „Twilight“ as well. I mean Bella is what? 17? And Edward is 100 years old? If you break it down to the basics Edward is a 100 year old creeper that watches a 17 year old girl while she sleeps! *lol* Yet everyone is riled up about the age gap between Bella and Jacob. Because, OH MY, Jacob is 15 and 2 years younger than Bella! The mere idea is so horrible, I can’t even! (notice the sarcasm in here! 😛 )

You can blame me for shipping Bella with Jacob but quite honestly if it comes to the age difference, those two are harmless in comparison to the Bella/Edward ship! XD Just saying!

And with that I’ve reached the end of my „Fuss, Cuss & Discuss“ post. There are like about a gazillion of other examples I could have used as well, but I’ll just leave it at that. I think after reading those two you already get the idea. 😉

So what do you say? Huge age gaps between the MCs of a book: YAY or NAY? Does it depend on the book genre? Would you be okay with a 15 years age gap between a faerie and a human? Would you see it differently if it would be a 15 year difference between the MCs of a contemporary book? Why is it okay in fantasy books? What’s your stance on age gaps in general?

Let’s fuss, cuss and discuss! 😛

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox

Fuss, Cuss & Discuss: My top 5 requirements to grant 5 paws – Or the reason why I’m so easily pleased

Hey there my lovelies,

I recently sat in the train and thought about the main reasons that make a book an awesome book for me. (I guess I might have had a J.K. Rowling kinda moment there *lol* Only that she started to write the HP series when she commuted and I only came up with a blog post. XD Which is the reason why she’s such a good author and I’m not. *lol*)

Well, anyway *clears throat* after thinking about it for a while I came to the conclusion that there are five requirements that automatically make me want to give a book 5 paws and I thought I might share them with you. Plus since I wanted to go for a few discussion posts every once in a while I decided this might be the right moment to invent them. 😛
(Look at me, all business and professional. *lol* It only took me almost a year to get there…)

Of course, I wouldn’t be me if I wouldn’t make a blog post that rhymes so in future you’ll find my discussion posts under the name: “Fuss, Cuss & Discuss” which seemed to be pretty appropriate the moment I thought it up. XD

So without further ado here come “My top 5 requirements to grant 5 paws” Not necessarily in that order, mind you:

1.) Complex and 3D characters:

When it comes to books I love nothing more than complex characters! I live and breathe for them and if they aren’t only multi-layered but also morally grey I’m already looking like the cat who ate the canary. 😛 There’s nothing better than awesome characters and in my opinion a book lives and thrives on a great and diverse cast!

Best character driven books I know: The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater, The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

2.) World Building:

Okay, I admit I might be pretty biased here but if I read a fantasy book or a book that plays in another world I want to have a map!!! XD There are authors who write the most beautiful and vivid worlds but if I don’t have a map on which I can follow I always feel kind of lost. So yes to be creative and to flesh out the world is wonderful and will instantly cause me to give the book one more paw. But if you add a map to it? Well, this gets extra kudos from me! *lol*

Great world building WITH a map: The Codex Alera Series by Jim Butcher, ACOTAR Series and Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas

3.) Emotions:

I can only speak for myself here but when I read a book I want to feel something. I want to laugh, I want to cry, I want to be either angry or happy, maybe even both, but most of all I want to feel with the characters. If a book manages to evoke emotions from me it’s already a good book. No matter if those feelings are bad or good, as long as I feel them with all my heart the book already did its job. *lol* I once told my family: “A book that takes you to another place and forces you to think is amazing. But a book that makes you feel, a book that causes you to laugh or cry, well THAT is a truly great book.” 😉 And I still stand by it!

Books that quite literally kill you with emotion: Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter books – The Infernal Devices, The Dark Artifices; The Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi

4.) Plot twists & storyline:

I hate plot twist, but I also love them so you might say I love to hate them? *lol* I’m not easily surprised but when a book actually manages to make me question my sanity I can’t help but love it for this audacity. XD I guess when you read as many books as I do there comes a point when nothing can surprise you anymore, or at least you think nothing can. Well, and then there comes an author who says: Muahaha! I dare you! And the next thing you know is that you’re emotionally destroyed because their storyline and plot twists ripped out your heart. So yep, I’m a sucker for shocking plot twists and well thought out story lines. 😛

A book series with plot twist that will get you on your knees: The Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown, The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

5.) Quotable:

As you can already tell from my super long reviews I love, love, love and love quotes! If a book has amazing quotes I’ll instantly like it. I collect them, I treasure them, I know some of them by heart and if anyone quotes books or movies to me I’m a goner. ❤ Some quotes are just beautiful and true. =))

Books with amazing quotes: Six of Crows Series by Leigh Bardugo, anything by Cassandra Clare, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

So this were „My top 5 requirements to grant 5 paws“! What about you? What makes a book a great read for you and do you agree on some of my requirements? If yes, which ones!? Let’s fuss, cuss and discuss! 😛

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox