Ruthless Desires Series Changes
In February 2023, some changes were made to the first three books in the Ruthless Desires Series (Blissful Masquerade, Perfect Convergence, and Undying Resilience). None of the changes are plot-relevant, but they do change the reader experience. An explanation + full list of the changes is below.
When I started writing this series, I thought it’d be fun to leave out most physical descriptions of the characters. I know how frustrating it is to imagine a character a certain way and then encounter a description that contradicts how you see them. So I decided to try leaving them out within Ruthless Desires so my readers wouldn’t experience that frustration.
(To give credit where credit is due, I got the idea from Ally Carter. It’s something she did with her love interest in Heist Society).
The problem is, I missed the mark. While none of the books contained full-blown descriptions, there were lots of moments that implied lighter skin tones or straight hair types (characters’ cheeks reddening, hairstyles that only work for straight hair, etc.). I failed to make sure that the Ruthless Desires characters could be imagined with darker skin tones or curly hair.
For my readers who found this othering and frustrating, or who struggled to imagine characters the way you wanted to because of these instances, I’m very, very sorry. I should’ve considered how including those things would affect your ability to interface with the story the way I intended.
I’ve since removed the writing that implied skin tones and hair types with the help of a sensitivity reader, who’ll be reading the rest of the series as well. There are also a couple other things I included (or didn’t include) in the books that she pointed out and I changed.
While going through the books and looking for any implications of skin tone and hair types, I realized I used some ableist and homophobic language. Those instances have also been taken out, and they’re also listed below.
And then there are a couple little things that I changed, usually for consistency reasons. Those are also below.
Series-Wide Changes
Descriptions of the Main Four - Anything that implied skin color or hair type has been taken out. There were also a couple instances of Wren being described as thin in the very early versions that I took out earlier in 2022.
Ableist Language - Use of the words “dumb,” “blind,” and “crazy” have been removed from the books (if you don’t understand why, read this, this, and this)
The Use of the Term Harem - In August 2022, I learned that the use of the word “harem” in Western culture is offensive to the Muslim community, so I’ve since removed the term “reverse harem” from the subtitles of my books and replaced it with the term “why choose.” Unfortunately, the phrase is still in the subtitle for the paperback versions of BM and PC because Amazon doesn’t let you change that after publication.
Nicknames - As I continued the series, nicknames between the guys developed—specifically, Rhett and Oliver calling Elliot “Ell,” Rhett and Elliot calling Oliver “O,” and Elliot also calling Oliver “Ol” on occasion. Those have been added into the first books for consistency.
Paperback Covers - Positioning of text, styling, etc. for consistency across the series.
Fixing Typos, Word Choice, and Formatting - The occasional word got changed for clarity, and the occasional paragraph either got separated or joined, also for clarity. A couple dialogue tags got added as well (for, you guessed it, clarity).
A Change Moving Forward for the Whole Series
You’ll see below that a few side characters were given physical descriptions. I’d like to address why. In the US at least, we’ve ended up with an automatic assumption of white-until-described-otherwise when encountering new characters in books. And, of course, we have a plethora of books and series that are full of only white people.
In an attempt to combat those things and make it easier to imagine the Ruthless Desires characters as people of color, the rest of the books will have a couple side characters with physical descriptions. Some will be white, and some will be Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Please remember—just because a character isn’t described doesn’t mean you have to imagine them as white. The whole point is to imagine them however you’d like.
As stated above, there are some characters who get descriptions in the already-published books, and they’re listed below. Already-established characters (like Ava, Ludo, etc.) will stay description-less since everyone already has it solidified in their heads what they look like.
Blissful Masquerade Changes
Characters Who’ve Been Given Descriptions:
The woman Ava meets at the ball. “I turn and see a beautiful woman with light brown skin and wavy black hair walking toward us with an equally enthusiastic look on her face.” (Chapter 2)
The man who harasses Wren at the ball. “His mask partially obscures his face, but I can still make out his light skin and salt and pepper hair.” (Chapter 2)
Other Changes:
Changed the description of Oliver’s sister from “young girl” to “young woman” because I did the math and realized Maria is older than Wren, so it doesn’t make sense to describe her as a girl. (Chapter 2)
Changed the way Elliot’s comforter is described from “dark” to “forest green.” “She looks perfect against the forest green comforter, even with Rhett’s jacket covering her.” (Chapter 4)
Changed Oliver wearing a black hoodie to a coat when he and Rhett go to Adam’s. “But when I head downstairs, he’s already waiting by the door, tucking his gun into the waistband of his jeans before shrugging on his coat.” (Chapter 11) (If you don’t understand why I made this change, read this and please understand that while it might not be a big deal to you, the description doesn’t make sense for people who imagine Oliver as Black. Especially in a story that’s based in the US and contains police corruption.)
Added in the last names of the four main characters.
Perfect Convergence Changes
Characters Who Had Descriptions Taken OUT:
Ava - In chapter 2, there was a moment where Ava’s cheeks were described as pink/red. That’s been taken out because she’s supposed to be one of the non-described characters.
Other Changes:
Added in Wren thinking about where she lives. “Problem is, I don’t want to move. I love this neighborhood. It’s so full of life. We have a thriving arts and culture community here, and I love spending my weekends getting lost in the different types of music, food, and ways of life.” (Chapter 2)
Penetration being referred to as “actual sex” has been taken out. “I can’t have anything inside me. It’ll hurt too much.” (Chapter 5) (The reason why is because lots of things count as “actual sex,” not just penetration.)
Added Wren putting on lotion after showering. “Once I’m home, I go through my post-work routine of showering, lotioning up, scrolling through my phone until I have the energy to get up, and then scrounging around the kitchen for a snack.” (Chapter 6)
A mention of the guys having their “hoods up” has been taken out. “We exit the building, sticking to the shadows.” (Chapter 7) (Again, if you don’t understand why, please read the article linked in the bullet point about Oliver wearing a hoodie in BM’s section.)
Undying Resilience Changes
Characters Who’ve Been Given Descriptions:
Finn. “Tattoos expand over almost every inch of his light skin. His dark hair falls into his face, which is the only un-tattooed part of him I can see.” (Chapter 5)
Your Questions Answered
How do I get the new versions of the ebooks?
If you purchased the ebooks, all you have to do is follow these instructions. You do not need to re-purchase the ebooks. (If you have the books in KU, you just need to return them and then re-borrow them, and you’ll get the changes.)
What if I purchased the paperbacks before the changes?
Unfortunately, the only way to get the updated paperbacks is to re-purchase them. Again, these changes don’t affect the plot, and all the changes are listed on this page. It’s not necessary to read the updated versions to continue on with the series.