The lion, the witch, and the audacity of this bitch: stores put Onyx Storm out prior to release date

Imagine being a huge fan of a book series that has its third volume coming out in literally just five days. Imagine having planned to camp out in the Target parking lot before it opens like we did back the good old days, since the store wouldn’t even allow online pre-orders due to the limited amount of special editions. Then, imagine going on TikTok before it’s banned from the USA, and getting ALL of the new book spoiled for you out of literally nowhere.

Yep. That’s actually happening at the moment.

Fans of Rebecca Yarros’ The Empyrian series are going through this shitty experience as some stores have decided rules simply do not apply to them and that only making money matters, and have put out their copies of the much anticipated third volume of the series, Onyx Storm, out on shelves up to a whole week early. Not only that - folks are not just buying those copies, but they’re posting all the spoilers on platforms like TikTok. Imagine making sure everything is pre-ordered so you can snuggle up with your copy after taking the day off from work (I know I wasn’t the only one), just to have it all ruined for you by people on TikTok taking advantage of the app’s upcoming ban a whole week before it’s even out?!

First of all - why would you spoil things for everyone like that? What kind of miserably evil waste of oxygen do you have to be to want to upset so many people who have literally done nothing to you? Why spoil the joy of others? For what purpose? What’s actually wrong with people?!

Secondly, what the actual fuck, stores?! Places like specific Sam’s Clubs and Target locations have put out copies of Onyx Storm and have allowed folks to purchase them - even in bulk.

I wish I was kidding.

Scalpers are absolutely taking advantage of this situation, and we who have played by the rules are punished by having to be extra cautious of what we scroll through now.

Thirdly, I honestly hope Rebecca Yarros sues these locations and these individuals who are purchasing these early and spoiling things, and those hoarding copies trying to upsell them. I know the world has never been a genuinely good place, but how shitty of a person do you have to be to make it your personal mission to want to ruin the happiness of complete strangers in a world where everything is already so messed up?

An update: I was just informed that when folks try to buy the book early it won’t scan at the register, but some have found a way around it by swapping the covers with another book. How disgusting is that?! I’m sorry your mother didn’t love you as a child, but you don’t have to be a giant dick to everyone else because of it.

This is why we as a species can’t have anything nice. Fucking do better.