Let’s talk about the elephant in the room of readers: Entangled Publishing. This publishing powerhouse has put out some of the most popular titles in Fantasy and Romantasy over the course of 2023 and 2024. Think Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer, The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde, and more. Aside from their enticing covers and sensationalism, what do these books have in common?

Questionable craft.

It begs the question: Are we sacrificing quality for quantity?

Craft? Who Cares!

When I talk about craft, I mean all of the following: characterization, pacing, rhythm of prose, framework, POV, plot, voice, and more. This becomes the skeleton that holds together the meat of the story. But what happens if the skeleton was brittle to begin with? Well, the rest of the body falls apart.

Now, there’s something to be said about a fun book. A book that a reader flies through because it ticks off the boxes of beloved tropes, has a satisfying storyline, and gives a nice little escape from reality. Pizza books, I heard this called as a child, because they’re great in the moment, but forgettable in the long run. We need these! I couldn’t imagine having a hard-hitter read every time I picked up a novel—that would be exhausting.

The concern comes in when Pizza books become consistent literary sensations. What happens when books that are hardly better than a first draft become sensationalized by Booktok and BookTube? The publisher pumps out more of that content because they’re making money off them.

And that saturates the industry with texts that read as though they were skimmed by editors and pushed into the hands of the public with significant errors and poor execution. Since I’ve read quite a few of these big names due to receiving them in my book box subscriptions, I’ll give you detailed examples below!

An Exclusive Edition of This?

Unfortunately, subpar novels are transformed into exclusive editions and fawned over until audiences stop and think—wait, that wasn’t very good?

Over the course of 2023 and 2024, all of the following are novels from Entangled Publishing that I received in my book box subscriptions:

• To Kill a Shadow by Katherine Quinn

• Omen of Ice by Jus Accardo

• Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Maehrer

• The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde

• Sanctuary of the Shadow by Aurora Ascher

And I imagine more are to come. Of these books, I personally did not rate any over three stars. (If you’re interested in the Goodreads ratings, I’ve linked each title above.) My disappointment in these selections was paramount, as I expect high level polish and execution in novels I’m paying a pretty penny for. Even more, there is not a single book listed above that I would recommend to anyone, and books are my career. I spend hours every day making recommendations based on the individual needs of readers. (In fact, I’ll give you alternative recommendations at the end of this article!)

Now, what were the concerns in these novels?

In To Kill a Shadow the author relies heavily on tropes instead of creating an original plot. The twist comes off as generic and overdone, and the Telling over Showing is rampant. A lack of filtering makes it difficult to connect to the character, and the ending doesn’t instill enough interest to read the second installment.

Omen of Ice is a young adult novel with mature additions of drinking, lewd language, and mentions of off-page sexual exploits. And yet, the characters behave as though they’re fourteen years old (or younger). The framework and plot do not fit together and come off as disjointed. (As a quick example, look to the title. The “Omen” is an organization intent on killing the MMC, and a member attacks him within the first few chapters. Based upon this, you would think the Omen is the antagonist. You would be wrong. Half way through, that plot point disappears entirely and we don’t see the Omen again for the rest of the novel.) There are plot-holes galore, mediocre world-building, an underdeveloped magic system, Telling instead of Showing and a literal villainous monologue at the end where the actual antagonist walks us step-by-step through their villainy. Yikes.

When it comes to Assistant to the Villain, I blame TikTok. An apparent sensation on the app, this creator garnered a book deal to reimagine her oral storytelling onto paper. And it’s a mess. The book reads as middle grade, but has been tagged as adult romantasy. Desperate attempts at humor come off as cringe-worthy, the world-build is nonexistent, the characters are shallow and unrelatable, and the plot relies heavily on tropes.

Want to see a full review instead? Check out my thoughts on The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde.

At this point, my trust in Entangled disappeared. I no longer read books by their company unless a separate source tells me they’ve found a worthy contender. This has yet to happen.

And while some of the fault lies with the author and their skillset, I put much of this weight on the professionals in the industry who are meant to guide the authors they sign. Editors clearly haven’t been editing, and the company has piled its resources into making money rather than quality product. I’d be interested to see how much Entangled spent on marketing and advertising in 2023, and what their total revenue was.

Maybe My Bar is Too High

I’ve admitted often that I’m a bit of a book snob when it comes to craft. But I will certainly read trope-y and unoriginal books for fun and enjoy them. What concerns me for the future of literature and publishing is this push towards sensationalism and overconsumption. It feels as though the value of a novel is no longer determined by the work itself, but how readers can post about it using topes and quippy pitches. Entangled has leaned into that drive, designing editions that make social-media-worthy visuals, rather than publishing books of quality content.

An easy fix to this is promoting works that value storytelling, character journeys, proofreading, and editing. In an age of platforms that influence readers to consume as much as possible, as fast as possible, let’s take a step back and select books that will be worth the time spent with them, not books that can be blasted on social platforms for likes and favorites.

Omen of Ice

Read The Temptation of Magic instead:

Both novels have Fae and Druidic influences and lore with a dual POV by the FMC and MMC. The FMC in each is a trained and skilled warrior, though in TTOM the lead displays her skills, as opposed to readers being told about them. A heavy romantic sublot exists in both, and mystery built around folklore and manipulative agencies fuel the plot. However, TTOM weaves story threads throughout and is highly character-driven story. The folklore is immersive and the relationships built are both believable and relatable.

To Kill a Shadow

Read Darker by Four instead:

Both novels focus on an FMC training to protect civilization from an ongoing supernatural threat. They each contain romantic subplots and showcase strong female leads. MMC POVs are included and further the plot without repetition of events. Godly lore (and interference) creates obstacles and intrigue for the main characters. However, Darker by Four uses immersive language that utilizes vivid imagery, the characters are relatable, the prose is polished, and the plotlines come together in a well-executed web of storytelling.

Assistant to the Villain

Read Where the Dark Stands Still instead:

Both novels begin with an FMC dissatisfied with her future and intent on changing her path. They are encountered by our magical, morally gray MMC in the wood and offered survival in exchange for assistant services. Both FMCs apprentice beneath the MMC and form romantic interests. In WTDSS, though, our FMC has a beautiful personal journey that focuses on identity and finding strength within herself. The relationship blooms organically, and the world has a stunning build. It has themes of unity and focuses on Found Family.

The Wren in the Holly Library

Read Garden of the Cursed instead:

Both novels follow a thieving FMC caught up in a magical war that entails social elites and the gang lords of more violent sectors. Each novel has a romantic interest with secrets that create a rift and provide extra tension. It is important to note that TWITHL is Adult, whilst GOTC is YA. However, the multiple subplots in GOTC are wonderfully woven into the main plot, the world-build has a fascinating premise that ties directly into the magic system, and the ending has well-derived twist that had me itching for book 2!

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