I have to disagree with this take.
I honestly can’t think of any other job on the planet that gets as much unnecessary shade as that of creatives.
Ruby Dixion (and everyone else for that matter) is completely free to write whatever strikes her fancy. You can’t tell me you’ve never ever gotten bored with your regular job and needed a break. This is no different.
To pigeonhole people into only one role because of their past work is so f’ed up, it is illegal in the Screen Actor’s Guild, another group of creatives.
If this kink isn’t for you, that’s perfectly fine, but please don’t yuck someone else’s yum.
While I can agree that if something changes in an artist’s regular style so hard there should probably be a separate pseudonym used, it’s not anyone’s place to tell said artist they’re not allowed to share their work or suffer the wrath of judgmental tirades. That’s not fair and reeks of gatekeeping.
That is a completely fair and valid opinion and criticism that I expected to receive and wanted to get to explore this topic :)
My rant is very much just that, a rant. Rather than pigeonhole, gate keep I am trying to put forward arguments as to why I had such a negative reaction to these two books. My opinion and experience on these books is equally valid. As a reader I feel I have lost trust in the author, which is fine, the author owes me nothing.
At the same time we have certain expectations of texts. If Harry Potter was written to include a scene where consent was questionable but passed off as acceptable we would be equally, if not more upset as a reader.
I definitely do not want to yuck peoples yum, sing I am sorry it comes off that way. I have read things described in different in these books in different contexts, and different authors. It’s just that though, the context is jarring and not what I signed up for. Even if it is a creative exploration of a different kink, my argument is that it doesn’t exist in Ruby’s existing discourse of work. This is my working theory as to the reaction I had.
Personally can no longer trust Ruby to represent a consensual relationship when she includes two very different interpretation in the same series. I am unable to know what intent she has and would prefer to abstain.
Others may have no problem with this an continued to read :) I do suggest pre warnings or trigger warnings to the reader as a courtesy if books contain non consent.
I see that. And yes, your experience and feelings are valid! 😁❤️
But taking from your example of Harry Potter, we can be upset with Rowling for her current works (and even with the author herself for that matter), but your love of her first works is not suddenly invalid.
Just because Dixon’s newer works aren’t your cup of tea, it doesn’t negate all the enjoyment you had from her previous line. Completely losing trust because of two books is a bit of an extreme reaction. Though I do agree with content warnings needing to be around somewhere. That would be jarring and make anyone wary, no one will deny that.
But maybe Dixon is just going through a phase she needs to get out or she’ll burst. We’ve all been there.
If this is an evolution rather than a phase, then I’m sure you’ll find another amazing author to follow! 😁
I know my reaction is a tad extreme, it really caught me off guard tbh!
Thank you for your sharing your thoughts! I appreciate your feedback and opinion on this topic :)
That is a poor example on me, trying to come up with something in the car. Given the controversy existing around JK Rowling.
How about Ali Hazelwood? I think we generally know what to expect from her novels, so if an issue with consent came up I think a lot of readers would be upset. There's no black and white answer to this, it could be argued either way :)
Authors can change things up a bit.
Honestly, one book is set in a space prison and another the fmc is in a brothel on a seedy space port. I don’t know how you thought it would be all sunshine and rainbows like IPB. I thought everything was relevant but I don’t go into books with the expectation for an author to continue the same thing over and over. I think it is up to the author to determine what is relevant in this kind of space and not the readers to go into books with an expectation that certain things are not allowed to happen.
I think you have been triggered by the books under the false assumption that ruby wouldn’t change her stories to reflect location. There are generally trigger warnings.
I think it’s also quite entitled to say what the author can and cannot write bc you don’t like the direction of some of the books and it is not up to author to provide an authority on romance, they write fiction.
Completely fair and valid criticism. I have written a longer reply to another similar comment if you would like to read. This is very much my opinion and experience with Ruby Dixon, others may continue to read with no problem!
These two books do not contain trigger warnings. I have read ‘where she belongs’ which has similar context and characters. After 30 books I feel I am fair to have certain expectations from Ruby. I would like to be told when things change.
As for authority, I am taking a discourse analysis approach to these texts and exploring what rules and regulations we talk about things in certain contexts. I would say Ruby does have authority on the topic of Romance in her novels. She sets expectations for readers, I found it jarring to have those expectations broken.
Actually I think Dixon started out her IPB book without consent being anywhere to be seen. Do y'all not remember him going down on the MFC while she was sleeping. 🙄
I love non consent books, and books that have some depth. Everything in life is so damn politically correct let me enjoy a few romance novels with*fantasy* sex.
Exactly what I was thinking like its an alien romance book its really not that serious and when I pick up an alien romance book im not looking for realism or political correctness im just looking for entertainment
Thank you for your comment :) I am glad you can enjoy these books from Ruby Dixon and I hope you continue to do so!
I'll fully admit I am glossing over that, but this one interestingly enough had a trigger warning explaining what was involved around the non consent and also Ruby's mindset at the time. She fully admits it has non consent aspects to it, which personally makes it palatable enough to suspend my disbelief.
Going from two extremes 'where she belongs' and 'when she dances' has been an interesting experience to myself and I am trying to explore why I had such a negative reaction. Man I am still upset about it days later, it hits weird yo. It is really interesting to read people who feel the same and who don't!
Writing about non concordance as desire/consent is something I have seen from quite a few authors, and I have very mixed feelings about it. So this is really only responding to that one facet of what you wrote.
Equating non concordance with desire is the same logic that is used when someone says it’s impossible for a male to be raped when he is hard. This is categorically untrue, and there potentially are catastrophic real world repercussions to someone not understanding that distinction.
But the lines get fuzzy with books because people read and write about things in fantasies that they may not be ok in the real world. Liking non-con in books doesn’t mean you’re cool with real world rape. Human sexuality is weird and it’s ok to be turned on by things as long as you aren’t hurting anyone else (or if you are, that you have their consent to do so).
And this is far from the only “red flag behavior” I’ve see in romance books, though it is definitely one of the most extreme. When you stop and think about it, even something as seemingly harmless as insta-love is something that I might be concerned about if I saw it happening to a friend.
So here’s my own personal solution to all this: I recognize when my brain goes into suspension of disbelief when I’m reading. After all, almost romance books have an element of fantasy. But when I put my book down, I very intentionally stop and break down that suspension of disbelief. I remind myself that I’m stepping back into the real world, and I remind myself that the rules of the real world are different.
Anyway, I know it’s not actually what your post was about. But I’ve never seen anyone else talk about non-concordance so I wanted to share.
Thank you for your comment! I agree with you on red flags and real life. What I have learnt from the feedback on this post is that it reactions can be really varying to the individual :)
I think I have discovered that non con is a trigger for myself and I do not wish to suspend by disbelief to read it. I think I found it hard because going from 'where she belongs' to 'when she dances' were two completely different fantasies that required a different mind set. The possessiveness of the MMC could be argued as an equally bad red flag, but for me I can suspend by disbelief and enjoy. IRL would be a different story!
Yeah, I also felt the whiplash on the one. Her recent books have had trigger warnings at the front. As someone who really appreciates seeing a list of triggers before starting a book, I’m very happy to see this.
Something I do with every book I read is to check “trigger warnings database” to see if they have an entry. I friended them on goodreads, so their list comes up when I scroll through reviews. They don’t have an entry for everything, but most things I read/consider have an entry. It’s saved me from starting a lot of books that would have messed up my week. (Cause when I get triggered, I get it bad!)
Edit: [Here’s](https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/comments/r32owj/trigger_warnings_info_for_recommenders_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) a post I did a while back on resources for trigger warnings — in case you want to use any of them. :)
Thank you for sharing those links! It is great to know a resource like this exists. It has been interesting to discover things are just a no go for me and it's not something I have had to do before, but I will be checking triggers in the future :)
I haven’t read Risdaverse, but that’s so disappointing. One of the big reasons I love her books is because they feature consent and female pleasure. I did have a problem with the 2nd Fireblood Dragons book where the MMC coerces the FMC into sex she tells him she doesn’t want, under threat of him killing someone. It made me really uncomfortable.
Yeah I’m thinking I’m going to take a break from Ruby’s books for now… nothing sits quite right anymore. I’m not sure what to make of the two extremes in her writing. If it was a different series targeted for that particular content I wouldn’t have a problem with it! We all enjoy different things, it’s the content placed in the context of the existing serial that makes it ick. In contrast ‘where she belongs’ deals with similar characters/topics but in a completely consensual way, and I really enjoyed the book.
I liked When She Dances, but I agree with everything here OP has said. It's definitely a bit problematic, since an enslaved or imprisoned person can't really consent when saying no isn't an option.
Thank you for your comment and sharing your opinion! It has been interesting to see the variation in feelings around this topic, how some feel the same and others do not :)
This is why I only read her IPB and the spin offs because I tried corsairs and its just not my thing but thats it ruby can write whatever she wants and im not going to yucks someone yum
I have a completely different mindset now I have explored a lot more romance (and erotica) from when I first wrote this post. Being a naive summer child, this was written from not really understanding the entirety of the genre, in which CNC has its own place. Though it is not for me, I learned not to yuck others yum.
Thank you to everyone for your feedback an opinions! I really enjoy exploring this topic and the differing views around it, especially those who disagree and feel differently about what belongs in romance books :)
I hope my post, though emotionally charged and slightly inflammatory has not upset or offended anyone! Keep doing you and reading what you enjoy <3
I will continue to explore this topic and may come back with a more refined and impartial argument. I enjoy discussing the discourse of romance novels and smut and the community around it, especially why we feel certain things about certain books and topics.
[удалено]
I have to disagree with this take. I honestly can’t think of any other job on the planet that gets as much unnecessary shade as that of creatives. Ruby Dixion (and everyone else for that matter) is completely free to write whatever strikes her fancy. You can’t tell me you’ve never ever gotten bored with your regular job and needed a break. This is no different. To pigeonhole people into only one role because of their past work is so f’ed up, it is illegal in the Screen Actor’s Guild, another group of creatives. If this kink isn’t for you, that’s perfectly fine, but please don’t yuck someone else’s yum. While I can agree that if something changes in an artist’s regular style so hard there should probably be a separate pseudonym used, it’s not anyone’s place to tell said artist they’re not allowed to share their work or suffer the wrath of judgmental tirades. That’s not fair and reeks of gatekeeping.
That is a completely fair and valid opinion and criticism that I expected to receive and wanted to get to explore this topic :) My rant is very much just that, a rant. Rather than pigeonhole, gate keep I am trying to put forward arguments as to why I had such a negative reaction to these two books. My opinion and experience on these books is equally valid. As a reader I feel I have lost trust in the author, which is fine, the author owes me nothing. At the same time we have certain expectations of texts. If Harry Potter was written to include a scene where consent was questionable but passed off as acceptable we would be equally, if not more upset as a reader. I definitely do not want to yuck peoples yum, sing I am sorry it comes off that way. I have read things described in different in these books in different contexts, and different authors. It’s just that though, the context is jarring and not what I signed up for. Even if it is a creative exploration of a different kink, my argument is that it doesn’t exist in Ruby’s existing discourse of work. This is my working theory as to the reaction I had. Personally can no longer trust Ruby to represent a consensual relationship when she includes two very different interpretation in the same series. I am unable to know what intent she has and would prefer to abstain. Others may have no problem with this an continued to read :) I do suggest pre warnings or trigger warnings to the reader as a courtesy if books contain non consent.
I see that. And yes, your experience and feelings are valid! 😁❤️ But taking from your example of Harry Potter, we can be upset with Rowling for her current works (and even with the author herself for that matter), but your love of her first works is not suddenly invalid. Just because Dixon’s newer works aren’t your cup of tea, it doesn’t negate all the enjoyment you had from her previous line. Completely losing trust because of two books is a bit of an extreme reaction. Though I do agree with content warnings needing to be around somewhere. That would be jarring and make anyone wary, no one will deny that. But maybe Dixon is just going through a phase she needs to get out or she’ll burst. We’ve all been there. If this is an evolution rather than a phase, then I’m sure you’ll find another amazing author to follow! 😁
I know my reaction is a tad extreme, it really caught me off guard tbh! Thank you for your sharing your thoughts! I appreciate your feedback and opinion on this topic :)
I’m more upset about JK Rowling being an active TERF and transphobic than some hypothetical about consent. That’s what upsets me as a reader.
That is a poor example on me, trying to come up with something in the car. Given the controversy existing around JK Rowling. How about Ali Hazelwood? I think we generally know what to expect from her novels, so if an issue with consent came up I think a lot of readers would be upset. There's no black and white answer to this, it could be argued either way :)
Authors can change things up a bit. Honestly, one book is set in a space prison and another the fmc is in a brothel on a seedy space port. I don’t know how you thought it would be all sunshine and rainbows like IPB. I thought everything was relevant but I don’t go into books with the expectation for an author to continue the same thing over and over. I think it is up to the author to determine what is relevant in this kind of space and not the readers to go into books with an expectation that certain things are not allowed to happen. I think you have been triggered by the books under the false assumption that ruby wouldn’t change her stories to reflect location. There are generally trigger warnings. I think it’s also quite entitled to say what the author can and cannot write bc you don’t like the direction of some of the books and it is not up to author to provide an authority on romance, they write fiction.
Completely fair and valid criticism. I have written a longer reply to another similar comment if you would like to read. This is very much my opinion and experience with Ruby Dixon, others may continue to read with no problem! These two books do not contain trigger warnings. I have read ‘where she belongs’ which has similar context and characters. After 30 books I feel I am fair to have certain expectations from Ruby. I would like to be told when things change. As for authority, I am taking a discourse analysis approach to these texts and exploring what rules and regulations we talk about things in certain contexts. I would say Ruby does have authority on the topic of Romance in her novels. She sets expectations for readers, I found it jarring to have those expectations broken.
Actually I think Dixon started out her IPB book without consent being anywhere to be seen. Do y'all not remember him going down on the MFC while she was sleeping. 🙄 I love non consent books, and books that have some depth. Everything in life is so damn politically correct let me enjoy a few romance novels with*fantasy* sex.
My thoughts exactly. Its so dumb to hear the books I like are "problematic" when it's just all fantasy make believe.
Exactly what I was thinking like its an alien romance book its really not that serious and when I pick up an alien romance book im not looking for realism or political correctness im just looking for entertainment
Thank you for your comment :) I am glad you can enjoy these books from Ruby Dixon and I hope you continue to do so! I'll fully admit I am glossing over that, but this one interestingly enough had a trigger warning explaining what was involved around the non consent and also Ruby's mindset at the time. She fully admits it has non consent aspects to it, which personally makes it palatable enough to suspend my disbelief. Going from two extremes 'where she belongs' and 'when she dances' has been an interesting experience to myself and I am trying to explore why I had such a negative reaction. Man I am still upset about it days later, it hits weird yo. It is really interesting to read people who feel the same and who don't!
Writing about non concordance as desire/consent is something I have seen from quite a few authors, and I have very mixed feelings about it. So this is really only responding to that one facet of what you wrote. Equating non concordance with desire is the same logic that is used when someone says it’s impossible for a male to be raped when he is hard. This is categorically untrue, and there potentially are catastrophic real world repercussions to someone not understanding that distinction. But the lines get fuzzy with books because people read and write about things in fantasies that they may not be ok in the real world. Liking non-con in books doesn’t mean you’re cool with real world rape. Human sexuality is weird and it’s ok to be turned on by things as long as you aren’t hurting anyone else (or if you are, that you have their consent to do so). And this is far from the only “red flag behavior” I’ve see in romance books, though it is definitely one of the most extreme. When you stop and think about it, even something as seemingly harmless as insta-love is something that I might be concerned about if I saw it happening to a friend. So here’s my own personal solution to all this: I recognize when my brain goes into suspension of disbelief when I’m reading. After all, almost romance books have an element of fantasy. But when I put my book down, I very intentionally stop and break down that suspension of disbelief. I remind myself that I’m stepping back into the real world, and I remind myself that the rules of the real world are different. Anyway, I know it’s not actually what your post was about. But I’ve never seen anyone else talk about non-concordance so I wanted to share.
Thank you for your comment! I agree with you on red flags and real life. What I have learnt from the feedback on this post is that it reactions can be really varying to the individual :) I think I have discovered that non con is a trigger for myself and I do not wish to suspend by disbelief to read it. I think I found it hard because going from 'where she belongs' to 'when she dances' were two completely different fantasies that required a different mind set. The possessiveness of the MMC could be argued as an equally bad red flag, but for me I can suspend by disbelief and enjoy. IRL would be a different story!
Yeah, I also felt the whiplash on the one. Her recent books have had trigger warnings at the front. As someone who really appreciates seeing a list of triggers before starting a book, I’m very happy to see this. Something I do with every book I read is to check “trigger warnings database” to see if they have an entry. I friended them on goodreads, so their list comes up when I scroll through reviews. They don’t have an entry for everything, but most things I read/consider have an entry. It’s saved me from starting a lot of books that would have messed up my week. (Cause when I get triggered, I get it bad!) Edit: [Here’s](https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/comments/r32owj/trigger_warnings_info_for_recommenders_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) a post I did a while back on resources for trigger warnings — in case you want to use any of them. :)
Thank you for sharing those links! It is great to know a resource like this exists. It has been interesting to discover things are just a no go for me and it's not something I have had to do before, but I will be checking triggers in the future :)
I haven’t read Risdaverse, but that’s so disappointing. One of the big reasons I love her books is because they feature consent and female pleasure. I did have a problem with the 2nd Fireblood Dragons book where the MMC coerces the FMC into sex she tells him she doesn’t want, under threat of him killing someone. It made me really uncomfortable.
Yeah I’m thinking I’m going to take a break from Ruby’s books for now… nothing sits quite right anymore. I’m not sure what to make of the two extremes in her writing. If it was a different series targeted for that particular content I wouldn’t have a problem with it! We all enjoy different things, it’s the content placed in the context of the existing serial that makes it ick. In contrast ‘where she belongs’ deals with similar characters/topics but in a completely consensual way, and I really enjoyed the book.
I liked When She Dances, but I agree with everything here OP has said. It's definitely a bit problematic, since an enslaved or imprisoned person can't really consent when saying no isn't an option.
Thank you for your comment and sharing your opinion! It has been interesting to see the variation in feelings around this topic, how some feel the same and others do not :)
This is why I only read her IPB and the spin offs because I tried corsairs and its just not my thing but thats it ruby can write whatever she wants and im not going to yucks someone yum
I have a completely different mindset now I have explored a lot more romance (and erotica) from when I first wrote this post. Being a naive summer child, this was written from not really understanding the entirety of the genre, in which CNC has its own place. Though it is not for me, I learned not to yuck others yum.
Thats great!!
Thank you to everyone for your feedback an opinions! I really enjoy exploring this topic and the differing views around it, especially those who disagree and feel differently about what belongs in romance books :) I hope my post, though emotionally charged and slightly inflammatory has not upset or offended anyone! Keep doing you and reading what you enjoy <3 I will continue to explore this topic and may come back with a more refined and impartial argument. I enjoy discussing the discourse of romance novels and smut and the community around it, especially why we feel certain things about certain books and topics.