I've just been mostly disappointed in my selections here in the past several months, not to mention that they went from two books to just one. I'm looking at the choices this month, and it seems like the same books get offered in each genre every month, albeit with different names and slightly different plots. They just seem so…generic. I mean, I always end up picking one, usually either historical fiction or mystery, since it's included as part of my monthly fee I pay. I would choose fantasy, but it seems to now always just be at a minimum "romantasy"-adjacent or whatever the term is now.
The plot of this month's "fantasy" selection:
Magellan Brighton may be a musical prodigy with limitless talent, but her soul yearns for something more than playing in concert halls or at weddings. As the world is on the brink of a catastrophic polar shift, she mysteriously vanishes while playing an ancient organ and awakens in 1829. The answers to why lie in a lost diary belonging to Gwynedd, Merlin’s forgotten twin sister.
Rhys Sherwood, the dashing and brooding Earl of Liron, is still haunted by the memory of his father, a scientist and historian who was killed in an experiment gone wrong. When Rhys stumbles upon a strange woman at the center of his estate’s labyrinth, her arrival couldn’t have come at a worse time, interrupting an important house party he’d planned to select his future wife.
I just can't. Then I start reading many of these books which somehow all end up being DNF'd. Has the summer beach read for soccer moms taken over everything? I guess their analytics are what drive the selections.
by sonofgildorluthien
12 Comments
I pick the number to add to my library.
I don’t think I’ve read one yet, though.
I download it every month, but never read them. They’re always so generic. I guess they’re deliberately chosen to appeal to the largest number of people, so end up being a little milquetoast.
Sometimes, if they seem interesting. Been fairly hit or miss. A couple of decent Airport Thriller style books, some good sci-fi I wouldn’t normally have bought, some absolute dross.
I’ll pick one that seems semi decent but it’s mostly slop
I liked the mystery one a few months back. I always pick one but I haven’t read all of them yet. I’m just adding them to my library for when I run out of other books.
I’ve read a few that were good. And it’s always been just one book, most months. They only occasionally offer two.
I pick one every month that most fits my taste. I’ve only read a few of them. One was actually very good. The rest were meh.
Go to the library and get an account set up on the Libby app. Your time is worth more than force feeding yourself romantic bullshit just because it’s part of a package deal.
I do because I figure I’ve paid for the option with my account. I usually only do the mysteries/crime fiction. They are fine. Not great, not horrible usually. Just “junk” reading.
I do worry we’ll see more AI written slop in the options.
I did till it seems all the books are pretty much some variation on the romance genre and not much else.
life is too short to read aggressively mediocre books
I do, but some months the books seem awful and I don’t download anything. I always look at the samples to see if they’re something I’d be interested in reading. I wish the offerings aligned more with my interests and standards.