u/goyourownwayy

I can handle dark romance. I love bully romances, antiheroes, fucked up men, noncon, morally reprehensible characters, suffering….all of it. My problem with Corrupt isnt that it’s too dark. It’s that Rika feels like a plot device for the men in her own fucking book.

The Horsemen get everything, the trauma, the motivations, the revenge, the friendships all of it. They get to do horrible things and the book is so interested in why they’re horrible. Rika just gets to suffer because of it. And suffering isn’t the problem! Put your heroine through hell. I love that shit but her suffering should actually do something for HER character. Give her rage. Give her an arc. Give her some fucking agency. Make these men grovel. Instead they terrorize her and humiliate her and threaten her and somehow shes still asking how THEY’RE doing. Like are you kidding me?
Even the attempted rape scene with Damon doesn’t bother me because it’s “too dark.” I’ve read darker. It’s the way its written. It doesn’t feel like dark romance non-con fantasy. It feels way too realistic. Damon seems to genuinely hate this woman. He attacks her and the book gives me no reason to think he would’ve stopped himself. And apparently I’m eventually supposed to read his romance??? Fine. Give me a monster. I love a monster. 👹 But if you’re going there then fucking go there. Reckon with what he did. Don’t leave “would he actually have raped her?” hanging in the air and then expect me to move on because technically she stopped him. Thats not compelling ambiguity. Thats just a gigantic unanswered character question.

The whole book feels backwards. The men hurt Rika and somehow Rika’s pain becomes material for THEIR character development?! Dark romance can make me root for terrible people. Thats half the fun. But you have to convince me the heroine matters just as much and Corrupt just… doesn’t

TLDR🤘🏼🤍

Corrupt isn’t too dark for me. I just think its badly written. Rika feels like a plot device in her own book while all of her suffering is used to develop the men around her. The Horsemen get trauma, motivations and character arcs while she gets terrorized and somehow still worries about them. Even Damon’s attempted rape isn’t an issue because I can’t handle dark content. I’ve read worse. The issue is the book never answers whether he actually would’ve gone through with it and apparently I’m eventually supposed to root for this man as a romantic lead. Give me fucked up men all day but give your FMC some fucking agency too 💅

I can handle dark romance. I love bully romances, antiheroes, fucked up men, noncon, morally reprehensible characters, suffering….all of it. My problem with Corrupt isnt that it’s too dark. It’s that Rika feels like a plot device for the men in her own fucking book.

The Horsemen get everything, the trauma, the motivations, the revenge, the friendships all of it. They get to do horrible things and the book is so interested in why they’re horrible. Rika just gets to suffer because of it. And suffering isn’t the problem! Put your heroine through hell. I love that shit but her suffering should actually do something for HER character. Give her rage. Give her an arc. Give her some fucking agency. Make these men grovel. Instead they terrorize her and humiliate her and threaten her and somehow shes still asking how THEY’RE doing. Like are you kidding me?
Even the attempted rape scene with Damon doesn’t bother me because it’s “too dark.” I’ve read darker. It’s the way its written. It doesn’t feel like dark romance non-con fantasy. It feels way too realistic. Damon seems to genuinely hate this woman. He attacks her and the book gives me no reason to think he would’ve stopped himself. And apparently I’m eventually supposed to read his romance??? Fine. Give me a monster. I love a monster. 👹 But if you’re going there then fucking go there. Reckon with what he did. Don’t leave “would he actually have raped her?” hanging in the air and then expect me to move on because technically she stopped him. Thats not compelling ambiguity. Thats just a gigantic unanswered character question.

The whole book feels backwards. The men hurt Rika and somehow Rika’s pain becomes material for THEIR character development?! Dark romance can make me root for terrible people. Thats half the fun. But you have to convince me the heroine matters just as much and Corrupt just… doesn’t

TLDR🤘🏼🤍

Corrupt isn’t too dark for me. I just think its badly written. Rika feels like a plot device in her own book while all of her suffering is used to develop the men around her. The Horsemen get trauma, motivations and character arcs while she gets terrorized and somehow still worries about them. Even Damon’s attempted rape isn’t an issue because I can’t handle dark content. I’ve read worse. The issue is the book never answers whether he actually would’ve gone through with it and apparently I’m eventually supposed to root for this man as a romantic lead. Give me fucked up men all day but give your FMC some fucking agency too 💅

I just finished Rites of the Starling, and I know I’m probably in the minority, but I genuinely think a good ending doesn’t erase a frustrating book.

I basically hate read this by the second half. At first I was just frustrated, but eventually it turned into, “I’ve come this far, I need to know how this ends.” And honestly? The ending did pay off. It was emotional, everything finally clicked, and I finally understood why people love this series.

But that doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t enjoy reading most of the book!

My biggest issue isn’t even just the pacing. It’s how the author handles mystery.

There’s a difference between keeping secrets from the reader and just leaving the reader confused. A good mystery makes you ask questions because you’re intrigued. This book had me asking questions because I genuinely didn’t know what I was supposed to understand yet.

Caspia is the biggest example. By the end she’s one of the most important characters in the series, but instead of letting us really get to know her, her story feels rushed while also being wrapped in so much secrecy that it’s hard to connect with her. I don’t think we needed more Caspia chapters, we needed better Caspia chapters. Slow down the moments that matter instead of trying to show every step of her journey.
Then you have Odessa, whose storyline had the opposite problem. It felt like she spent forever traveling, getting attacked by monsters, finding one tiny piece of information, then repeating the cycle. So one storyline feels rushed while the other feels dragged out, and somehow neither one has the emotional depth I wanted.

That’s what frustrates me so much. The ending proves the author had a really good endgame planned. I was tearing up by the end because the reveals were genuinely emotional. But I was emotional because of the plot, not because I thought the writing suddenly became amazing.

I dont think a great ending magically makes the previous 500 pages enjoyable. I finished the book relieved that everything finally made sense, not because I loved the experience of getting there.

Curious if anyone else felt this way because I feel like I’m going crazy reading all these 5-star reviews.

—————

TLDR: The ending had a good payoff, but it didn’t make me enjoy the other 90% of the book. I spent the second half hate-reading because I needed answers. For me, there’s a difference between writing a mystery and writing confusion, and Rites of the Starling leaned too far into the latter. I wanted fewer but deeper Caspia chapters, less repetitive travel with Odessa, and more emotional depth throughout—not just at the very end.

If you’re one of the people who has spent years trying to find another book that gives you the same feeling as Land of the Beautiful Dead… I think I finally found one.
{Crown Me Dead} and {Crown Me Yours by Liv Zander}

I’ve asked for recommendations for years because nothing ever came close. This is the first series thats actually scratched that itch for me. It’s not the same book and nothing is ever going to replace Land of the Beautiful Dead

BUT it has that same Death-and-the-Maiden vibe that I’ve been chasing forever.

Also if you bounced off Liv Zanders earlier books because of the heavy non-con, don’t let that stop you from trying these. This duet feels very different. It’s still dark, but it’s much more romantic and consensual, and honestly I think it’s her best work!!

SIBO free 💛 after 2.5 years, but still have some symptoms. Some FODMAPS still irritate me a little. My stomach isn’t back to 100% yet. Worried my gut microsome is altered forever.

I’m 4 months SIBO free so yes maybe I’m crazy to think I’d completely return to normal. I only started eating normal 2 months. Motegrity is amazing and I don’t ever want to go off it but I’m sure I will have to eventually

Just finished Violet Evergarden and I need this trope in book form immediately. Man takes in a girl who has no one, shapes her, protects her, and the bond eventually becomes romantic once she’s an adult. I love it. I don’t care if it’s a little morally fucked…..that’s actually the point.

References:

•	Violet Evergarden (anime) — Gilbert and Violet, the platonic ideal of this trope done with care  
•	Throne of Glass — Arobynn and Celaena (the dark/toxic version… yes I know he was evil, doesn’t matter, the dynamic is what I’m after)

What I want:

•	Heroine is an adult by the time it turns romantic   
•	Real bond before the romance — not just possession  
•	Morally grey love interest welcome, evil love interest also welcome, I don’t care  
•	Bonus: heroine is dangerous in her own right, angsty separation arc, fantasy setting  
•	HEA or unconventional HEA

Hit me with recs 😈

Hi all. Quick preface: I’m about to start work at a peptide clinic as the patient coordinator, so I’ve been deep in the research lately. I’m skeptical by nature and I want to stay that way — I’d rather know the limits of what we offer than hype it. I’m also a long-time LPR sufferer myself, currently in a flare after about a year of being mostly managed on NAC and some lifestyle changes and BPC-157 keeps coming up in this space, so I wanted to actually talk about it with people who’ve tried it instead of just reading marketing.

Quick rundown on what BPC-157 actually is and how it works (or how it’s theorized to work):
BPC-157 (“Body Protection Compound”) is a synthetic peptide derived from a protein found in human gastric juice. The proposed mechanisms are:
• Pro-angiogenic — encourages new blood vessel formation, which supports tissue healing
• Upregulates VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor)
• Modulates the nitric oxide pathway, which may help with LES tone and gut motility
• Anti-inflammatory effects on damaged GI mucosa

For LPR/GERD specifically, the hope is that it heals esophageal tissue damaged by acid/pepsin exposure AND potentially improves LES function. There’s animal data (mostly rats) showing it protects against esophageal damage and may improve LES pressure. The human data is essentially anecdotal — no large clinical trials.

The cancer risk piece, because I think it gets glossed over:
The same pro-angiogenic, pro-proliferative mechanisms that make it potentially good for healing are mechanisms tumors exploit. There are no long-term human studies. We don’t have 5-year, 10-year follow-up data on cancer incidence in people who’ve used it. For someone at lower baseline risk it’s probably low-risk, but “probably low based on absence of data” is not the same as “studied and shown to be safe.” If you have a personal or family history of cancer, this is a real conversation to have.

The legality / availability piece, because this confuses people:
Yes, you can still get it legally prescribed in the US right now, even though the FDA moved it to Category 2 in 2023. It’s a gray area: 503A compounding pharmacies technically can’t compound Category 2 substances, but enforcement has been selective and the landscape just shifted in April 2026 (FDA removed 12 peptides from Category 2 pending PCAC review, BPC-157 is on the July 2026 review docket). Some pharmacies are still filling it under physician prescription, some aren’t. It’s not “banned” — it’s “in regulatory limbo.” Anyone telling you it’s flat-out illegal or flat-out fine is oversimplifying.
(And to be clear: research-chemical-grade BPC-157 from peptide websites is not the same as pharmacy-compounded under prescription. Different quality control, different sterility, different legal exposure if something goes wrong.)

What I actually want to hear from you:
• If you’ve used it for LPR/GERD specifically — oral capsules vs subcutaneous injection? What dose, what duration?
• Did it actually help, and did the help stick after you stopped, or did symptoms return?
• Any side effects you didn’t expect?
• Did you do anything else alongside it (diet, bed elevation, PPIs, etc.) — trying to figure out attribution
• If you tried it and it didn’t work, I want to hear that too. The negative experiences don’t get posted as much.

I’m not looking for “cure” stories or sales pitches. Just real lived experience from people who tried it. Thanks in advance.

Hi all. Quick preface: I’m about to start work at a peptide clinic as the patient coordinator, so I’ve been deep in the research lately. I’m skeptical by nature and I want to stay that way — I’d rather know the limits of what we offer than hype it. I’m also a long-time LPR sufferer myself, currently in a flare after about a year of being mostly managed on NAC and some lifestyle changes and BPC-157 keeps coming up in this space, so I wanted to actually talk about it with people who’ve tried it instead of just reading marketing.

Quick rundown on what BPC-157 actually is and how it works (or how it’s theorized to work):
BPC-157 (“Body Protection Compound”) is a synthetic peptide derived from a protein found in human gastric juice. The proposed mechanisms are:
• Pro-angiogenic — encourages new blood vessel formation, which supports tissue healing
• Upregulates VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor)
• Modulates the nitric oxide pathway, which may help with LES tone and gut motility
• Anti-inflammatory effects on damaged GI mucosa

For LPR/GERD specifically, the hope is that it heals esophageal tissue damaged by acid/pepsin exposure AND potentially improves LES function. There’s animal data (mostly rats) showing it protects against esophageal damage and may improve LES pressure. The human data is essentially anecdotal — no large clinical trials.

The cancer risk piece, because I think it gets glossed over:
The same pro-angiogenic, pro-proliferative mechanisms that make it potentially good for healing are mechanisms tumors exploit. There are no long-term human studies. We don’t have 5-year, 10-year follow-up data on cancer incidence in people who’ve used it. For someone at lower baseline risk it’s probably low-risk, but “probably low based on absence of data” is not the same as “studied and shown to be safe.” If you have a personal or family history of cancer, this is a real conversation to have.

The legality / availability piece, because this confuses people:
Yes, you can still get it legally prescribed in the US right now, even though the FDA moved it to Category 2 in 2023. It’s a gray area: 503A compounding pharmacies technically can’t compound Category 2 substances, but enforcement has been selective and the landscape just shifted in April 2026 (FDA removed 12 peptides from Category 2 pending PCAC review, BPC-157 is on the July 2026 review docket). Some pharmacies are still filling it under physician prescription, some aren’t. It’s not “banned” — it’s “in regulatory limbo.” Anyone telling you it’s flat-out illegal or flat-out fine is oversimplifying.
(And to be clear: research-chemical-grade BPC-157 from peptide websites is not the same as pharmacy-compounded under prescription. Different quality control, different sterility, different legal exposure if something goes wrong.)

What I actually want to hear from you:
• If you’ve used it for LPR/GERD specifically — oral capsules vs subcutaneous injection? What dose, what duration?
• Did it actually help, and did the help stick after you stopped, or did symptoms return?
• Any side effects you didn’t expect?
• Did you do anything else alongside it (diet, bed elevation, PPIs, etc.) — trying to figure out attribution
• If you tried it and it didn’t work, I want to hear that too. The negative experiences don’t get posted as much.

I’m not looking for “cure” stories or sales pitches. Just real lived experience from people who tried it. Thanks in advance.