YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

Our leaders said it’s an honor to be chosen to go to The Below.

I said f*ck that.

So close…I was so f*cking close to aging out of the selection process to be offered up to the monsters from The Below.

We never knew when we could be taken. It wasn’t some annual date we could mark on a calendar and avoid like a plague. We were at the complete whims of the monsters and their demands—demands that have increased over the past few years.

Rumors say the monsters ate all of their sacrifices, that their appetites weren’t easily appeased anymore, but I wasn’t convinced that was all.

What I did know for sure was that anyone selected was never seen again.

Two days before my twenty-fifth birthday, my name was drawn—only forty-eight short hours from becoming exempt.

How could life be so cruel?

I refused to accept this fate. I’d run. I’d fight. I’d do everything but give in.

Yet, The Below is a hostile, foreign terrain hellbent on killing all humans. Our bodies aren’t designed to survive there.

My only chance of living long enough to escape—give in to the monster's desires. Only they could give me what I needed. In return, they’d use me for their own needs.

Needs that I shouldn’t want, but found myself craving.

When they claimed I was their salvation, I started to second guess myself. They revered me like their queen with soft touches and a protectiveness that made my knees weak…

I wondered if I wanted to leave anymore.

Was this why no one ever returned to The Above?

18% (view spoiler)[Well this is definitely weird and certainly different. Im expecting it to get funnier because MJ usually writes some hilarious and naughty sh*t. But umm shadow men having to jizz on her to keep her alive? I feel like if I look too deep at this I’ll have far too many questions and remarks so I’m just going to read on and just hope beyond all hope that these shadow men can at least get Sera her cat back. GIZMO!! (hide spoiler)]

32% (view spoiler)[Wow. They ummm really went there 😧😧😧 (hide spoiler)]

75% (view spoiler)[It was painfully obvious she would be Queen. I was hoping once that was figured out things would pick up and be more exciting. Less sex and more story but seems like that won't be the case. There's so much that can be explored and I wish it would. Plus I'm still peeved that her staying alive is dependent on their cum, like really??? I want monsters and carnage damnit lol (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[To put it bluntly, had this been less about their jizz and sexing up the heroine I would have liked this a lot more. There was so little actual story that I’m bummed the interesting exciting things weren’t explored more. Even her returning topside was rather anticlimactic aside from a minor fight with the president and his goons. And damnit she saw Gizmo again, but why isn’t he there with her, could I not even have that? 😭🤣😭🤣 (hide spoiler)]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "18% [spoilers removed]"

Yeah, pretty weird so far

Ch 1-8 (view spoiler)[ Oh you'd do anything for me except let me go home? Okay have my virginity lol. This is pretty odd so far. And why can't they send the women who don't match them back up? Does the air kill so quickly? (hide spoiler)]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "75% [spoilers removed]"

LOOOOL

Ch 9-16 (view spoiler)[ So she can only subsist on jizz? WTF is happening here? (hide spoiler)]

Ch 17-28 (view spoiler)[ I don't think Julie needed to die, that felt like unnecessary drama. Also, clearly Sera is the queen so touch the crystal already (hide spoiler)]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "75% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[So clear she was going to be the queen. I also hoped there'd be more story, but looks like it's just sex. And I agree the living off cum part is gross and I wanted more monsters (hide spoiler)]

Ch 29-End (view spoiler)[ It's like the author really only wanted to write sex and shoved all the plot parts at the end and had them dealt with as soon as possible. I wanted more monsters. And Sera was only gone for like 3 days but in that time there's an all out war? Okay, sure (hide spoiler)]

❀ Crystal ✿ - wrote: "Finished [spoilers removed]"

Yeah, it happened so quickly. Bummer about the cat too lol

Aly wrote: "Ch 1-8 [spoilers removed]"
Yeah, such a waste of life smh

Aly wrote: "Ch 9-16 [spoilers removed]"

This is where I pretty much questioned my life choices 😂🤣😂🤣 but also why was this necessary 🤷🏼‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️

Aly wrote: "Ch 29-End [spoilers removed]"

It really did have potential. Some of those plot lines explored and more monsters might have even made me (try) overlook other aspects of the story but nope lol