Not Okay. Seriously Not Okay.

WARNING: This post contains major *SPOILERS* for A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton & Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs. Read at your own risk.

In response to a distubring trend (i.e. two books I've read in the last two weeks), a midnight plea:

Dear Ms. Hamilton & Ms. Briggs,

I am a huge fan of your work. I am a bit behind on each of your series - not because I am not eager for every word you write, but because I use your books as security blankets, hoarding them until I need a book that I know will be a homerun. I know I can rely on you to rock my socks. I have grown to trust that your books will never disappoint and while I realize you are under no obligation to me, I'm afraid that bond of trust exists whether you have intentionally fostered it or not.

I'm not going to accuse you of betraying that trust - because I know you are writing the best and most powerful books you can. I know you consider each choice and must have come to the decisions you did after much deliberation. But after reading A Lick of Frost and Iron Kissed, I'm afraid I just can't trust you anymore.

You spent a series making me love your heroines, building my faith in their supernatural badassness, and then you made me watch them be raped. That is so not okay with me. I'm sorry, but what the hell is the purpose of being a supernatural badass if you can't call up your "Hand of Blood" to protect yourself? Where was the mother-f**king goddess who is using you as a pawn and granting you all sorts of bizarre power then, huh? What use is your shapeshifting if you can't become a coyote and run for the hills at the first sign of trouble?

NOT OKAY.

Ms. Hamilton, I realize that Meredith may or may not have been raped by her uncle after he bludgeoned her unconscious. Maybe he just stripped her naked and dumped her in his bed for the fun of it. I'm sure we'll find out in the next book, but forgive me if I'm not eager to read about the rape kit results. I'm actually a little sick at the thought.

And yes, Ms. Briggs, Mercedes was under the influence of that weird fae brew that made her think she was in love with her attacker - but she was still aware enough of what was going on to club him to death with a tire iron, so I'm thinking she might have some serious post-traumatic issues in the book to come. It won't be believable for her to just bounce right back and you consistently write believable characters (even if they are supernatural creatures). I don't want to see tough, resilient Mercy being forced to deal with being a rape victim. It isn't something that can be glossed over and the thought of immersing myself in the pages of Bone Crossed has me nervous and uncomfortable, rather than eager.

Just because she doesn't remember it (Merry) or sort of participated due to fae drugging (Mercy) doesn't make the fact of it okay. You're wonderful writers. The writing was extremely effective, deftly handled. You made me feel nauseous and horrified and disgusted - but those are not things I want to be feeling when I'm reading for escapism. And your books have always, reliably, been escapist.

I know it doesn't often happen like this in life, but I want the hero to rush in just in time. Or I want the heroine to save herself before her rapist can assault her. I don't want to watch as horrible things happen to good people. I want to believe in justice in art even if we don't always get it in life - and justice is more than just getting the bad guy after he's been bad. Justice is stopping him before he can permanently emotionally scar someone you've made me care about. Good triumphing - hopefully without psychological damage.

I love your work, Ms. Hamilton & Ms. Briggs, but it may be a while before I can work up the gumption to read on in these series. I no longer trust the next book to be cathartic. Some things just aren't okay with me. You left me feeling heavy, disturbed, and a little queasy, which makes it hard to be hungry for the next word.

Sincerely,
~V.A.