Cinderella is Dead — Review

★★★ TW: Mentions of suicide, misogyny, homophobia, physical and sexual assault, death, domestic abuse, graphic animal death, corpse description, sexism, violence, forced marriage, murder, human trafficking, toxic masculinity, ableism and classism. Set 200 years after Cinderella married Prince Charming, all that's left of that fairytale only exists in the book every household is required to …

Trigger Warnings in Books and Reviews

I've heard the argument that different people, based on the experiences, can be triggered by different things. And that's true, it's valid. It's impossible to know what's triggering to whom. Real-life—reality doesn't give trigger warnings. But does that mean we shouldn't have trigger warnings? Absolutely not. We should have always, always have trigger warnings. When we …

The “Friend-zone” Concept

Friend-zone is a non-existent concept that's largely a heteronormative, self-pitying, and sexist version of unrequited love. Often the "good guys" say that they're stuck in the friend-zone even when they were nice and kind to the woman they're attracted to and she ends up choosing the "wrong" guy/the "bad" guy. Get this clear—women don't owe men love or sex just because they're nice to them. 

Fake Relationship Trope in Books

Gone bland with how much this trope is overused, books that fake/contract relationships have become extremely predictable. The standard reasons leading to fake relationships are to show the ex that the main character has moved on or make crush or ex jealous, or show parents of the 'player' Love Interest that they're capable of being …

The Phoenix — Review

★★★★ The Phoenix by Bilal Siddiqi is a fast-paced, action-packed spy-thriller that follows an ex-intelligence officer Aryaman Khanna who spends seven years behind bars after an unsanctioned operation by his team, Phoenix 5 division goes south. Upon the completion of his sentence, he looks forward to reuniting and mending broken fences with his wife and …

Romanticizing Abuse

Here's what happens when people romanticize abuse in books and others read it: People start to think the way the love interest treats them is okay, that it's romantic, it's their way of showing love. Most of us grew up reading about or watching abuse that's been romanticized and we thought it was okay. It …