To the dudes who come across this

I’m not a Reddit poster but this is something that I feel needs to be shared. I’d consider myself a typical dude. 27, married, exercises, obsessed with sports, plays video games or reads when I have time. Not that it matters, but js. I asked my cousin for book recommendations because we have similar interests. She, of course, recommended acotar and said it was her favorite and she’s a READER so I knew it was good. I was like okay sure, put it on the list. Did 0 research and just started reading it. I ended up ordering the entire series when I was not even halfway through the first one because I liked it so much. All of a sudden acotar started coming up naturally in conversations with friends, coworkers, or acquaintances and I was outspoken with how much I liked it and recommended it to people and I was completely shit on every single time. I guess just because I’m a dude and I liked it so much? I’m not really a self-conscious person but I was taken aback by how much slack I got from people who have read it or heard about it. I can see how it’s designed for a female audience, but saying guys like me wouldn’t enjoy it just seems like gatekeeping to me. It didn’t stop me from reading it thankfully and it ended up being the best series I’ve ever read. ACoMaF (think I did it right) was the best book I’ve ever read and even if it is passed one day, it will always be in a tier of its own. Just saying all of this for any dude out there that has mixed feelings about reading the series, trust me it’s totally worth it.