my 1000+ word love letter // These Violent Delights Book Review

It’s so crazy how I managed to read this book in a mere 6 hours and I already know what I will be talking about for the rest of my life.

Title: These Violent Delights

Author: Chloe Gong

Blurb (GR): The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

Likes

• This was so fun to read! – This plot was really interesting and kept you on your toes. Our main characters are Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov, heirs to the Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers respectively. They’re both rivals and have a long standing blood feud. A madness causing innocent people to literally rip their throats out starts infecting the city. Juliette and Roma must overcome their past as ex lovers, and their blood feud in order to save their city. This is a superb retelling of Romeo and Juliet. One book I will never forget, and coming from a person who forgets most book plots about 3 months after I read them, this is a pretty bold statement. The action, pacing was perfect and it never felt to slow.

• Deal with very important issues such as colonialism and “white man savior complex” – The time period is 1926 and currently different white powers are trying to take control over Shanghai. We get too see just how these foreign powers are taking advantage of a divided city and twisting everything for their benefit. The thing I like the most though, was how this was portrayed in such a harsh and inhumane manner because that’s exactly what this is. When we read textbooks in school we only get the basic gist of what happened, and in my opinion it’s very downplayed. Like yes colonizers did spread diseases, steal valuable resources but the (American) public education system doesn’t go deeper than that. In this novel we get too really see how this turmoil uprooted entire livelihoods and families, and set into motion an a prejudiced way of thinking that affects us today. Also with the topic of “white man savior complex,” Juliette’s entire race was called uncivilized and it was so messed up how The French, English were trying too take over Shanghai not for power, but also because they genuinely felt like this was right. I feel like These Violent Delights went into colonialism more than my highschool textbooks did and I’m so glad YA books like this are starting to be more hyped up because they offer so much more insight on historical events then what we learn in school.

• Romance – As this is a Romeo and Juliet retelling of course there is romance. This book reminded why I love the idea of star-crossed lovers so much. There was so much tension, angst, misunderstanding, heartbreak, and then more heartbreak and a tiny bit of fluff. Roma’s and Juliette’s dynamic was really cute and I was rooting for them all the way through. It didn’t overthrow the plot but instead created a nice balance.

Dislikes

• Ending! – I WILL NOT SAY ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT MISS CHLOE GONG I KNOW YOU WERE SMIRKING WHEN YOU TYPED OUT THAT ENDING AND THAT SEQUEL BETTER BE COMING OUT SOON!

• Juliette Cai – I just want to start off by saying that I love her so much and she’s one of my comfort characters. There is no Juliette slander allowed in this house!!1!1 But seriously Juliette was such a complex character and reading in her point of view was really interesting. As a reader we get too see her conflict with her duty/love to her gang and then with her own identity and not really fitting anywhere. Juliette is such a hardass not giving anyone a reason to try her and it’s just so satisfying to read about. She gives off such Azula vibes from ATLA but like more mentally stable (just a little though).

• Roma Montagov – Sweet boy. I would give up my left arm just to see him smile. I loved Roma’s character and despite being one of the main protagonists in the book I feel like he’s underrated? He’s very honest with his emotions and also not afraid to show them. He cares a lot of his sister and friends. This was a nice change of pace from the other emotionally constipated and overly angsty male mc’s I have read about in the past. But I also like how despite how “soft” he could be, he isn’t exactly powerless. He also had internal conflict with himself, his feelings with Juliette, his father, and his gang. Also, he’s freaking hilarious. And the fact that he does things in the novel that aren’t meant to be funny, but still is funny makes it even funnier. He is a true chaotic good.
• Side characters: Kathleen, Marshall, and Benedikt were my absolute favorite. Especially Kathleen because her backstory was so unique and really inspiring to read about. Her relationship was Juliette and how trusting they were with each other. Marshall was hilarious and much needed to break up several tension filled bits in the book. He is totally the type to get arrested for tying to steal a stop sign, and in his mugshot he would do the duck face. I rest my case. Benedikt didn’t make much of an impression on me as much of the other characters but I did like him and his interactions with the others.
  

• If I wasn’t so deathly afraid of needles and also a Muslim, I would get at least 25 different lines tatted on my body. I read the prologue eat least 3 times a day. Words cannot describe how beautiful Chloe Gong’s writing is; I have never read a book with such lyrical prose. It paints Shanghai as this beautiful, dangerous, and alluring city. The way the characters interactions and thoughts were described… please I could write a whole analysis on the writing ALONE.

I think it’s really obvious that this was a five star read for me! I feel so lucky to be able to end the year with such a good book!

It’s so nice to finally be active on WordPress after so long! I finally finished college applications and currently am on winter break so I have a lot of free time (finally) Have you guys read this book before? What did you think? Were you a simp for Juliette as much as I was? Have you thought about reading this book?

the sequel I’ve been waiting for!! // The Camelot Betrayal Book Review, Playlist and Moodboard

Hello everyone and welcome to my stop on The Camelot Betrayal Book tour! I loved the first book of the series, and this sequel did not disappoint. Also thank you to TBR and Beyond Book tours for including me in the tour. Read on too see my thoughts, a moodboard, and a playlist for this book. Check out the rest of the tour.

Title: The Camelot Betrayal (Book #2 of the Camelot Rising series)
Author: Kiersten White
Purchase: Barnes and Nobles / Amazon
Synopsis (GR): The second book in a new fantasy trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White, exploring the nature of self, the inevitable cost of progress, and, of course, magic and romance and betrayal so epic Queen Guinevere remains the most famous queen who never lived.

EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE IN CAMELOT: King Arthur is expanding his kingdom’s influence with Queen Guinevere at his side. Yet every night, dreams of darkness and unknowable power plague her.

Guinevere might have accepted her role, but she still cannot find a place for herself in all of it. The closer she gets to Brangien, pining for her lost love Isolde, Lancelot, fighting to prove her worth as Queen’s knight, and Arthur, everything to everyone and thus never quite enough for Guinevere–the more she realizes how empty she is. She has no sense of who she truly was before she was Guinevere. The more she tries to claim herself as queen, the more she wonders if Mordred was right: she doesn’t belong. She never will.

When a rescue goes awry and results in the death of something precious, a devastated Guinevere returns to Camelot to find the greatest threat yet has arrived. Not in the form of the Dark Queen or an invading army, but in the form of the real Guinevere’s younger sister. Is her deception at an end? And who is she really deceiving–Camelot, or herself?

Pro’s

• Action packed! – This plot was actually picked up pace for faster than it did in the last book. Which was a good thing given the ending of the last book was actually epic! I really enjoyed reading about Guinevere and her coming into terms with her role in Camelot and just being a badass little queen. I also loved the inclusion of the little excerpts in between chapters talking about dreams, and stories in such because it added a lot more detail and fun into the plot.
• Plot twists! – Even though it is based on Arthurian legend, Miss master-at-storytelling Kiersten White made this completely on her own! She added a lot of plot twists that will leave you on the edge of your seat, and probably destroy your perception of pain, but that is what makes it so good. Or maybe I just like hurting myself idk
• World building/Magical system was A++ – So in the last book we get to know about knot magic, and fire magic and Guinevere is one of the few people in Camelot who can do magic. But in this sequel we see other people do magic and it’s so beautiful yet haunting at the same time. It’s pretty hard to explain without spoiling anything but we see other forms of magic that are sooo interesting. If you like very cool magical systems that are not so complicated and very easy to understand, then you will like this book. The way magic and sorcery is used is probably my favorite part of this book. I literally had a dream of doing magic with Guinevere, I loved it that much okay.
• Teasing romance! – Just like in the first book, romance doesn’t take the main stage of the book but it it there is teasing hints here and there. In the first book it also focused a lot on Arthur and Guinevere but in this one Guinevere definitely has a lot more chemistry with Mordred. And I loved it! Their moments together were sparse but so well-written and so cute. Mordred definitely cares for Guinevere and Guinevere also has feelings for him as well even she refuses to acknowledge it.

Cons

• I really enjoyed the plot and I didn’t find anything wrong with it.

• Guinevere – Let me start by saying I!! Loved!! Her!! Development!! I honestly wasn’t that big of fan of her in the first book because of her obsession with Arthur, but we get too see her grow away from that. Feeling lost and unsure is a very familiar feeling and seeing that reflected in her really spoke to me. And despite this feeling of uncertainty she was always trying to be her best self. She does act out rashly sometimes but given her situation it’s pretty understandable. I also sympathized with her love of nature and am glad that we go to see her sensitive side. She was a good fully dimensional character and a great main character!
• Arthur – Okay he wasn’t my favorite and his character is pretty one-dimensional and he pretty much stayed the same in the second book as well. I did admire how noble he was though.
• Lancelot – My second favorite character.! Really liked her development and how she interacted with the other characters. She’s so noble and such a great friend. We know in the original tale that Guinevere also ends up in a forbidden romance situation with Lancelot, and I do know Lancelot cares about Guinevere a lot in this book so I’m really excited to know who ends up with who.

• I love Kiersten White’s writing in general (And I Darken was my favorite book in 2017) and she didn’t disappoint. Everything flowed smoothly and it was great. There a few times where I was slightly confused because of how the action scenes were written but it didn’t really take away from the experience.

moodboard + playlist

So for my moodboard I just chose out some of the main characters name and their meanings. I also hate the formatting of wordpress very much, and I swear it looks 10x better on my tumblr.

About The Author

Kiersten White is the New York Times bestselling and Bram Stoker award-winning author of the And I Darken trilogy, the Paranormalcy trilogy, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, Slayer ,The Guinevere Deception, and many other novels. Kiersten lives with her family in sunny San Diego, California, where she perpetually lurks in the shadows.

Website / Twitter / Instagram / Goodreads / Facebook

the new normal // September Wrap-up

I love September because it represents so much potential. You can always turn over a new leaf, set new goals, start a new school year etc… For some reason, I totally consider September the “January” of my life. Even if school was pretty challenging this month I did some pretty exciting stuff, and read some pretty good books that I can’t wait to tell you guys about!

books

• This month turned out to be a pretty good month in terms of books! I read a total of 9 books. I managed to read not one, but THREE five star book, and considering the fact that I am a very picky reader, THIS IS FANTASTIC NEWS!
• The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (4 books) | 5 FREAKING STARS – As I’m currently writing this, I’m trying to hold back my tears because I am listening to a The Raven Cycle playlist and man, do I love this series. This was the one series that I never seemed to finish for no reason, and now that I have it’s like there’s two different versions of me. Amena before The Raven Cycle and Amena after The Raven Cycle. Okay, maybe I’m a being a bit dramatic but I am so attached too the characters it’s not healthy. Everything just went so well together! If you haven’t read this series PLEASE read it!
• The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi | 5 stars – I was blown away from the book and I will never stop talking about freaking awesome it is. The worldbuilding, the friendships, the plot, the characters, Hypnos, everything was wonderful. I actually did a review on how great it is and I also did a character edit on Laila on my tumblr!
• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black | 5 stars – Maybe the reason I love this book so much is because Jude literally HAS THE SAME BIRTHDAY AS ME (November 13, Scorpio gang RISE UP) and we both need constant validation in our lives, but wow this book pulled me in! This was a re-read because I have the worst memory when it comes too books and I don’t remember loving it as much as I do now which is crazy because I’m in the process of building a shrine for my manz Cardan rn.
• The Wicked King by Holly Black| 4 STARS – I finished this one day and started Queen of Nothing a day later because I could not put it down! I’m just in awe because GOSH THAT BOOK WAS EVERYTHING!
• The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black |4 stars – Once again I started this right after I finished The Wicked King, and this did not disappoint. Honestly, this series was so freaking good.
• Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed | 3 stars – I really loved the premise of this book, but not really how it was executed so it was kind of a let down. Also Khayyams character was a bit annoying for me, and the author tried to make the male interest so desirable, and good looking too the point where it was kind of cringey. But I loved the writing and the chapters written in Laila’s P.O.V, the writing was gorgeous!
  

tbr for October

• Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles – I heard so many good things about this book, and I know it has been compared to Caraval, and The Night Circus. If you have read it please let me know how it went! This is probably my most anticipated books for this month.
• Jade City by Fonda Lee – This was pretty hyped up like two years ago think, and people are still raving about it on Twitter (which is basically where I get all my book recommendations from nowadays) and it is centered on Asian badasses which is my favorite thing ever.

Only two books because I actually don’t know what to read and also because I’m not trying to put a bunch of pressure to finish books because of school. Until I get a sensible schedule down and have sort of a weekly routine then I won’t really have time to read.

blogging

• In terms of blogging, I didn’t really get to post as much as I wanted too mostly because school is taking up so much of my time as well as other extracurriculars, but I did manage to post!
• My favorite post this month was about how romance in ya can be a bit harmful.
• I also posted about three star ratings, and did a book review on The Gilded Wolves.

In the beginning of the month I was pretty good at bloghopping, and reading stuff from my Reader, but by then end I barely interacted with people which sucks! But I silently read a couple of posts and here are some of my favorite!

• Caro @ Bookcheshirecat did the Pumpkin Spice Latte book tag. This tag is so cute and made me crave the super overpriced drink, and I agreed with a lot of the answers she put.
• The girls behind Act Your Page posted about reasons behind why they won’t like a book. And I noticed that we all shared similar thoughts!
• Chana @ Paper Procrastinators wrote a really important post about people who recommend books by white authors
• Riddhi @ Whispering Stories talked about series in books!
• Erin @ Reading on a Star posted this review about Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. And I can’t wait to read the book, but it’s currently unavailable in my ebook library so I have to wait!
• Katie @ Never Not Reading wrote a really interesting post about contemporary books that might become classics in our school curriculum.

life

• School has started for me! – Can you believe I said on my last monthly wrap up that I was excited for school?? Just what was I on because school is so time consuming, and so stressful. I have assignments due almost everyday and I’m working on them all the time. I don’t even have to to procrastinate! But slowly and surely I have been adjusting too school life. I know once I get the hang of things I’ll be able to handle school.
  
• I joined a whole bunch of cool organizations – So one of them is called Diversify Our Narratives, which fights against anti-racist texts in the US school curriculum. I’m an organizer which means I get to do cool things like design graphics for our Instagram page, and email/meet up with school board administrators too add more books by BIPOC. It would mean a lot of you guys signed the petition. The other one is called 1000Girls 1000Futures which is where I get too be mentored by female STEM professors and talk to other girls from around the world who are passionate about STEM. Everyone is so sweet and kind its like a sisterhood ❤️❤️
• honestly out of all the sections this is the hardest to write because what the hell I even say??? This whole month has been Spain but the s is silent. I’m sorry I’ve been on tiktok too much LMAOAO.

next month

let’s do a bit of a recap of last months goals

• Finish The Raven Cycle series – YES I DID THIS AND IM ACTUALLY KINDA SAD THAT I FINISHED THE SERIES IT WAS THAT GOOD
• Interact with more people – Kinda accomplished?? I did blog hop and went around my reader and commented on a few blogs, but then I stopped once school started LOL.
• Write more book reviews – Yeaaaaah nope. I only published one, but writing book reviews take forever and I just didn’t have the time.
• Finish up blog re-design!— Well I did start it… there’s still a couple of things too do but it’s almost done!
  
  this month
• Make a sensible schedule and get more organized for school
• Finish this months TBR
• Post consistently
• Post at least two book reviews!
  

So that’s about it for September! I’m really excite for October because spooky szn 😈😈 and also I think I have a couple of days from school in the future THANK GOD! How was your September? How many books have you guys read? What was memorable about this month for you? If you started school are you able to balance school and blogging (pls send advice)

when i die i must be buried with this book or i will be a very angry ghost!!1! (The Gilded Wolves Book Review)

Title: The Gilded Wolves
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Blurb (GR): No one believes in them. But soon no one will forget them.

It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.

Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive. 

plot

pro’s

• world-building was PHENOMENAL – Sometimes I’m a bit wary of fantasy books with complicated magic systems because chances are, I probably would get very lost. But everything about the magic system was explained so clearly and I was blown away by how freaking creative and well planned the whole world is. If you’re into steampunk, sci-fi, and magic then this is for you!!
• twisty & fact paced! – Seriously there is nothing that will bore you in this book. There’s secret heirs, big party bashes, one giant heists, a skeleton aRMY!! There was a pretty big plot twist in the end that left me sobbing because of how great it was as well as another reason but if you read the book you’ll see. 😉
• everything fit so well together – I just loved how Chokshi planned out everything too the littlest detail. You would expect that in a fantasy with such intricate magic systems something would go amiss, but, nope! I loved everything down to the littlest details. One of my favorite little detail was that House Kore (Persephone’s other name) had four rivers named after the river in the Underworld (aka Hades kingdom). It seems a little obvious but I was just really amazed at Chokshi’s planning
• found family trope (aka my absolute fave) – I loved the main characters (which I get onto later), but I loved their bond. I’m a sucker for found family, group of outcasts coming together etc.. and Chokshi has written out the groups dynamics so beautifully. The main cast was bounded together not just because of their jobs, but their care for one another as well.
• loved the little sprinkle of math, science, and history – Once again MISS CHOKSHI HAS DAZZLED ME WITH HER SMARTNESS. The inclusion of phi (which I never heard of before, but now that I did I can flex on all my classmates), history behind symbols, and religous systems like WOOH I took in so much information and managed to retain it as well because it was so intresting. And this is coming from a girl who barely manages to read textbook without falling asleep.
• people of color rep – I saved the best for last because this is kind of going to be an all out rant. Anyways, I LOVE THE REPRESENTATION IN THIS BOOK. We have Severin who is half french and Algerian (which is located in North Africa and a very Muslim populated area which led to me thinking that maybe he has some Muslim ancestors??? ok i know that’s a big reach). Laila is Indian, Enrique is half Spanish and Half Filipino, Zofia is Jewish and I’m pretty sure she has OCD (it never has been explictilty confrimed but she shows reallly obvious signs). And Hypnos who is half black and half french.
• but what I loved most was that Chokshi didn’t just include POC and just leave it there, she added their expereinces as well. Despite Enrique and Hypnos both be biracial, they had different perspectives on their mixed heritage. It just goes to show that you can’t generalize what a person of color goes through.

cons

• surprisingly I didn’t find anything wrong plot-wise!! I literally loved everything.

characters

Let me just sum up how I feel towards all the characters in just three (3) pictures.

I LOVE THEM OKAY I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!

Literally the whole cast is diverse and all had different personalities and little quirks that really cemented them as a person. My favorite is Hypnos because he just wants friends okay. And also he’s absolutely fabulous.

Once again, I like the character dynamics and how everyone interacted with each other. I admired how Laila was so motherly towards everyone, and Zofia was like the little sister of the group. But most importantly they were respected and their talents were acknowledged. Severin and Tristan brotherly relationship was sweet and even reminded me a little bit of me and my own sister. Except you know the super abusive parents and traumatizing childhood.

writing style

I always enjoyed Chokshi’s writing, but I really applaud her this time! This was told in different p.o.v and each character was different from the rest. I loved all the funny banter she included! But sometimes it was a bit too flowery?? Like she would go into detail A LOT and sometimes it made things a bit confusing. It was very minimal though and it didn’t affect my understanding of the novel at all.

rating

Five stars! I really, really enjoyed everything about this book, and I highly recommend reading it!

That’s it for my review of The Gilded Wolves and now I am currently waiting for the sequel (10 MORE DAYS HOLY COW). The ending will leave you SHOOK. Anyways, have you read this book? Who is your favorite character (Hypnos is the only correct character)? Did you like it or dislike it?

Is Romance in YA Harmful?

Romance has come to be such a prevalent part of YA book culture, and it is so rare to see a book without any.

I also love romantic couples in young adult books. If done right, it can be one of my favorite parts of the book. The meet-cute, the getting together process is very adorable but the thing is, it’s everywhere. And at times it can give such a wrong and harmful idea too the audience YA is generally pandered too–teenagers.

So in this post I’m going to talk about: why this excessive amount of romance in YA books are more harmful then just “cute.”

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Why Romance in YA can do more harm

• This over-the-top portrayal of romance sets up unrealistic expectations for love in the real world – In terms of romance, there is a simple step-by-step recipe that most YA books follow.

1) Meet cute
2) Getting to know each other/flirting stage
3) realizing both parties like each other
4) Some big argument or fight happens
5) They make up and live happily ever after

This is what I personally noticed in almost all of the young adult contemporary and even some fantasy books. It’s very clear cut and simple and usually gives the bogus message that “love is easy”, there is barely any conflict at all. Books, movies, music all talk about how “someone saved them”, and include swoon-worthy and passionate scenes which in the real world doesn’t happen. And everyone (me included) eats it up. I know most people are sensible enough to know that real love doesn’t work that way, but let’s be honest these exaggerated portrayals have influenced your hopes for romance a little bit. Have you ever caught yourself thinking “I need a romance like x and x” after reading a book?

However the truth is, romance is not like that at all. It’s not always filled with these heart-racing, passionate, and dramatic moments. People use these feelings too define love, and when these feelings fade away they think they have fallen out of love and move onto the next person. Both parties have set their expectations for each other, and if one of them don’t seem to meet it, they break up. And that’s of course normal in a relationship, but the problem is the expectations themselves. If they are only based on what people see on books (or mass media in general) then relationships are bound to fail because that’s not how real love works at all.

• Romance is so prominent in YA books it pushes the ideology that romantic love is something teenagers need – Why are teenagers so obsessed with finding boyfriends/girlfriends? Maybe because we see these happy couples everywhere on the internet.
  
  Seeing these fictional people find their “other half” and see how confident and secure they are, can lead people to unconsciously think “I should get an s/o so I could be like that too” and to that I say:

The idea of finding this fairy tale romance is so ingrained because of the media teenagers consume, which leads to teenagers are so obsessed with finding the perfect romantic partner. But this is so unnecessary. We’re going through this period in our lives where we are trying to find out who we are, our brains are literally re-wiring , we have added pressure of school figuring out our correct path in life, and now we have to worry about romance???

Am I condeming teenage romance, and saying that all teenagers shouldn’t date? No of course not! Just keep in mind that unlike what most YA books suggest, you don’t need romance too be considered valid, and it honestly shouldn’t be a top priority. We have our whole lives ahead of us.

• Valuing romantic love over other types of love – A lot of attention is put on romantic love, but what about friendships and family and even your pets? Maybe if YA (or media in general) put a lot of emphasis on family or friends, society would focus on fostering better human connections, and appreciating family rather then being so crazy about love.

This also ties in with aro/ace representation as well. There is little to no representation of ace main characters in YA books. Which once again, pushes the message that romance is an integral part of our lives. You can live a life without romantic love.

What’s the root of the problem?

It’s us! It all comes down to what sells, and romance definitely sells. Unless friendships and family suddenly starts trending out of nowhere, authors are going too include romance because that’s whats popular now.

And I’m not saying don’t buy romance books or any books that have romance. But just really be mindful of what you read, and how you take that in.

So this concludes my post. Keep in mind that this isn’t like a research paper so I didn’t include any concrete links to any research conducted on the effect of social media. This was based on observation, personal experience, and thinking. But this doesn’t make my point any less valid. What do you guys think about the amount of romance in YA literature? Do you think that it contributes to society a lot? Do you agree with my points? Do you disagree? Please let me know!

Let’s Talk Bookish: Is 3 Stars a “Good” Rating?

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, that is hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion, where each week we have a discussion prompt to write about (very helpful for when you’re in a slump hahah!). This is my first time joining and this weeks prompt is “Is 3 Stars a ‘Good’ Rating?”.

For some background info here is my rating system:

• 5 stars – This book is going to be my next obsession for the next few YEARS. Everything was phenomenal, and there was barely anything I had a problem with. I couldn’t put this book down!
• 4 stars – This book was great! I really enjoyed it, and it was thrill reading it. There might have been a few things I didn’t like, but it was very minimal.
• 3 stars – It was good (which I will get into later on)
• 2 stars – This book was really disappointing , would not recommend. I probably had a million WTF moments while reading it.
• 1 star – It’s going in the donation pile. Not worth anyone’s time or money.

To be honest at times I consider the 3 star rating as sort of the “middle child” of the ratings. It’s not as extravagant as 4 or 5 stars, and not nearly as scandalous as 1 or 2 stars. It’s just there. I see a lot of people list 3 stars as “meh” in their rating system, and I sort of disagree.

To me, three starts represent a good book. It means I enjoyed the book, and I would recommend the books if they are looking for something too read. However, it’s not exactly a memorable book. And this is probably a me thing, but I forget books just as much as I read books. And I read a lot. So if I give a book three stars, chances are I’ll probably forget about what happened within a year or so.

Also there are so many factors that decide my rating in a book. The three main factors are: plot, characters, and writing style. But out of those three I’d say the most important is characters. Having a three star rating means that none of these three factors really impressed me. The writing was basic, the characters were not that vibrant, but enjoyable, and the plot was ok. But it was satisfactory.

Three stars is also just so dependable to me. Whenever I’m not sure too give a rating to a novel I usually give it just three stars. Sometimes books are not deserving of a four stars, but they’re definitely nowhere as bad as a two star. That’s why three stars are just so handy.

I noticed that I give a lot of over-hyped books three stars and for that I blame my high expectations. When hyped books aren’t as great as people say, but still good it’s deserving of a three stars.

Basically to wrap things up, if I were an author and I saw a rating on my book that said three stars, I would be good. It’s not the best, but at least the rating didn’t get any lower than that.

This post was so easy to write, and I hoped it made sense! What does a three star rating mean to you? Is it good or bad? If you were an author, and someone rated your book three stars would you be disappointed? What are some titles that got three stars for you? Let me know, and if you participated in this meme please link your post so I can check it out!

coming back to blogging after a year, post quarantine life // August Monthly Wrap-Up

I know almost everybody’s wrap up starts with “omg I can’t believe how fast this month flew by!!1!1” but one day I was binging Avatar the Last Airbender, and now I’m writing an August wrap up, so yeah “omg I can’t believe how fast this month flew by!!1!”

• I went ziplining! – So me and a couple of friends went to an obstacle course and I had a freaking blast! It was pretty difficult near the end and my arms are still sore as I’m writing this, but it was worth it. I got to zipline, rock climb, do a free fall 50ft in the air… I really like adventuring and having fun but with COVID obviously things are a little different (also don’t worry I had a small group and we maintained social distancing with our masks).
• I created a twitter! – Because I’m dumb I got locked out of my old account I was debating on whether or not too make a new one. I didn’t really use Twitter that much but then I started making book aesthetics and posting them and they were doing well too. But of course I got locked out. Sooo I made a new one, and if you’d like you can follow. I mostly rant about books, share fanart, but I love interacting with others!
• I also learned photoshop – So I downloaded photoshop and started taking some classes on how to use it, and it’s actually way less complicated then I thought lol. I love creating graphics on it and I really think it’s turning out great for my blog. I’m kind of brainstorming a big blog makeover, but I’m not really sure what direction I want to go in. And also there is only so many thing you could do on the WordPress free plan (#imbrokeasf).
• School starts soon and I’m kinda excited – Okay so by the time I’m posting this school will start in like 11 days and I’m not feeling bummed out about it. Mostly because I would be taking it online 😛 hehehe. Even though the spread of COVID has calmed down significantly compared to March and April, it still seems risky too go back too school so I’m doing remote learning. My school is pretty far from my house and I have to take several trains on the way and I know firsthand that it gets REALLY packed on the subways.

• I returned back to blogging *after one year* – I did return from a hiatus and I feel like such a boomer. It took me a while for me too get used too the new editor and I’m not very happy with it. Buut I do love the new features they have like the Podcast Player, and the Buttons! They are so cute hehehe.
• I plan on having more interesting posts to come for September – Things too look forward to are posts about making side money, some interesting book reviews, and maybe a tutorial on the extreme basics of Photoshop?? I’m not really sure yet on the last one, but I am excited for September!
  

• M.T Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left talks about the popularity of ya novels, and brought up a few interesting points surrounding the trends of YA.
• Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books did a lovely post on why book bloggers need to be appreciated more! (and total non biased opinion: she’s totally right hehe)
• E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook gives us a huge list of discussion prompts which I bookmarked right away.
• Sofi @ A Book. A Thought made my tbr even longer by giving us more spooky books too read for October

• This month I thought I finished a lot of books, but surprisingly I only finished three?? Turns out I just spent most of my time watching anime instead oops. But this month wasn’t entirely that bad, and I didn’t read a book below 4 stars so that’s great!
• Every Other Weekend by Abigail Johnson ★★★★☆ – THIS BOOK WAS SO CUTE OMG! If you’re looking for a badass yet fragile female mc, and a caring and sweet male mc then look no further. Adam and Jolene were the perfect couple, they had such sweet moments and their story is super cute. This book was my favorite of the month, and I highly recommend checking it out!
• Anna K by Jenny Lee ★★★★☆ – Honestly this did have the potential too be a five star book. It had a great cast of characters (I love Steven!), but the romance was a little underdeveloped. You can check out my review here.
• The Final Six by Alexandra Monir ★★★★☆ – This was a great sci-fi concept, and the characters were great! But sometimes it was a little bit too detailed, and some descriptions will leave you like huh?
  

SEPTEMBER TBR

September consists of a lot of re-reads, and murderous plot lines! Even though I have about seven books I want too read, I know school will take a bit get time too get adjusted too so I want too finish at least four.

• The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater (4 books) – This is the one series I have too finish because ohmygod I have tried too read this 3!! Times!! I always love the first book but never get too the second book for some reason because it’s never available in my library. But this time I got lucky and managed too snag the first two books and I can’t wait.
• An Ember in the Ashes by Saaba Tahir – This is a re-read because even though I loved this story I never managed to finish the trilogy.
• The Poppy War by R.F Kuang – Another re-read but I forgot basically everything except for the fact that there was this eccentric teacher who used poppies too get high. Or something like that because wow it has been a while since I read it and the hype on Twitter is driving me insane.
• If We Were Villains by M.L Rio – I’m currently on this dark academia aesthetic obsession mode, and this book definitely fits into that. Also murderous theater kids.

Here are some of my goals for September!

• Finish The Raven Cycle series – This is something I’m hellbent over doing.
• Interact with more people – This is actually going well for me already! I’ve been going over to my feed and liking + commenting on whatever I find interesting.
• Write more book reviews – I have only written one review so far so this September I’m aiming for at least four!
• Finish up blog re-design! – I am in the process of redesigning my blog and I have some things in plan, buut I’m not entirely sure what exact theme I want.

So that’s it for my August! It feels great too do this after so long lol. What about you guys? How was your August? If you are going too school this fall are you excited? What’s on your TBR? What do you think about my TBR?

Why Making Reviews Are So Scary + What Makes an Interesting Review!

Let’s face it guys, as a book blogger the posts that don’t do as great are your book reviews.

It’s honestly nothing to be ashamed of and no reason to deny it either because it’s a super common thing, and everyone faces it! 

But I admit, it is pretty depressing too look over at how well your other posts are doing, and then you see how low the stats are on your book review. A book review that you poured out your heart and soul on, something you couldn’t wait to show to everyone.

So today I will be talking about:

• Why do our reviews flop compared to our discussion posts?
• What makes ME comment on someone else’s review + how often do I do it
• New formats + ways to spice up your own review

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Reviews vs discussion posts

To be honest, I prefer discussion posts way better than book reviews and based on my own personal experience the general public feels the same. I get a lot more views on posts about things like disliked tropes, and sPiCy topics then I do on reviews. The reason why I think this is because discussion posts actively engage and entice the reader’s attention. It compels them too comment their own thoughts + opinions. And I love comments!

However, for a book review it’s just like… you liked that?? Cool MOVING ON! What else is a blog reader supposed to comment about. Especially if they didn’t even read the book. Which leads me too my next point

Lack of difference in reading taste 

Look in your WordPress reader feed, and you will notice that you follow people who you have common interests in. It goes the same for your followers, they follow you because they have interests in your posts and most likely enjoy the things you do. 

People may have already read that certain book and therefore, not really interested in your thoughts and opinions on a book they already formulated their OWN thoughts and opinions on. So why should they waste their time on something old. Especially when it comes to hyped up books, there is a good chance that I would already know what someones rating would be: 4 or 5 stars! So I’m not going to be reading that review.

Repetitive reviews

Some reviews can get so boring after a while. There is only “Omg I loved this book  so much… I loved the characters…I loved…I LOVED” you can take (BTW I am very guilty of that) That’s why it’s really important to actually write reviews that are not repetitive and go more into depth then just “I like… I love” It can be difficult to do because what else are you supposed to write in a review? So here are some alternatives

• Stop saying I LOVE! Talk about what made that particular thing interesting but stop yourself from saying “I this, I that” and just leaving it there. For me, writing a “I” before a verb, or emotion makes the sentence much weaker which is something I’m trying to combat.
• When talking about things you dislike, don’t talK, JUST RANT! I love reading rants because a) they tend to be super funny and b) IT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE SOME BORING EMOTIONLESS ROBOT! And this is totally a personal preference, if you don’t think this fits with your style, then don’t do it. 

Less review, more retell

Once again, I am also very guilty about this but I love to retell everything going on the book. WHICH IS NOT IMPORTANT!! The blurb is there for a reason, I just want to hear more thoughts, then some boring retell. Not too mention, this makes the review more longer then it should be.

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Interacting with book reviews

I also am guilty of not really commenting on book review posts, but when I do it’s usually because of these two main points:

• Great blogging voice – I will get onto this really soon, but it’s nice too see a book review where the person is actually talking too you. Showcasing some personality is always a great plus! 
• The book in general – If it’s a book that I really like it and the blogger shares the same thoughts, I think I would interact. And on the flip-side if it’s a book I and the blogger don’t like, I will share my thoughts as well.    

These are some characteristics and features I like in a good review

• Blogging Voice – I don’t like to read reviews that sound pretty emotionless, but rather fun reviews that include a good dose of CAPS LOCKS, but still have room for some depth of the review.
•  Format – Reading bits and paragraphs of a review with (funny) gifs in between is way better than reading 59088 words in one sitting. Break!! Up!! Your!! Reviews!!! Add some gifs, a divider, etc… Or even add a mood board or pretty aesthetic. I also like writing in a bullet form because it makes it easier for some people too read through, and also I recently started too include a little “In Short” section. This is basically where I do a short summary of my review, because I go very in-depth about what I liked/dislikes (you can see this here). 
• Rating System – I use the regular old star system, but I know other bloggers who use things like flowers, bunnies, books, etc.. But it’s important that it’s consistent and well-explained. What might be a 3 star book to you, might be a 4 star too someone else.  
• Human connection – Sometimes in my reviews I like too talk about how I personally could relate too the book. If there is a sibling relationship in the novel, I would talk about how it was similar/different with my own siblings. If there is a problem that I related too then I mention it in my review. Basically I look for ways I can connect myself to the novel which tells my readers a little bit about me, and make the review a little more flavor.  
• Graphics – This goes a little along with format, but graphics are a great way too make reviews pleasing too look at! This in turn, will draw in more readers. No one can resists some good eye candy! Now in terms of what graphics too make… that it totally up too you. You can create headers, quote’s, character aesthetics etc.. I use Photoshop for mine but there are great alternatives like Canva, Pixlr, and BeFunky.  

Don’t be too disheartened 

If you are really bummed out by the lack of interaction on your posts just know that as your blog grows, so will the amount of comments on EVERY post. Book reviews are so important too both authors and readers, so please continue writing more regardless of interaction or not. 

This concludes the end of today’s post. I hope this helped out people who need this! As always, make sure too leave your thoughts! What do you think of this post? Was this helpful? What do you think makes a good book review? Do you have a book review you’re particularly proud of?

in my next life I better be born as the teenage daughter of a wealthy businessman who also likes horses. (anna k. book review)

Hello everyone, and welcome to the first book review I have posted in *checks calendar* one whole freaking year!

Yeah obviously time has gotten away from me, but I have risen from my awful book slump to bring you a book review of Anna K by Jenny Lee. And spoiler alert: I freaking loved it.

Also, since I go pretty indepth review, it might be too much for some people so I present a new feature called In Short,

Title: Anna K
Author: Jenny Lee
Blurb (GR): Every happy teenage girl is the same, while every unhappy teenage girl is miserable in her own special way.

Meet Anna K. At seventeen, she is at the top of Manhattan and Greenwich society (even if she prefers the company of her horses and Newfoundland dogs); she has the perfect (if perfectly boring) boyfriend, Alexander W.; and she has always made her Korean-American father proud (even if he can be a little controlling). Meanwhile, Anna’s brother, Steven, and his girlfriend, Lolly, are trying to weather a sexting scandal; Lolly’s little sister, Kimmie, is struggling to recalibrate to normal life after an injury derails her ice dancing career; and Steven’s best friend, Dustin, is madly (and one-sidedly) in love with Kimmie.

As her friends struggle with the pitfalls of ordinary teenage life, Anna always seems to be able to sail gracefully above it all. That is…until the night she meets Alexia “Count” Vronsky at Grand Central. A notorious playboy who has bounced around boarding schools and who lives for his own pleasure, Alexia is everything Anna is not. But he has never been in love until he meets Anna, and maybe she hasn’t, either. As Alexia and Anna are pulled irresistibly together, she has to decide how much of her life she is willing to let go for the chance to be with him. And when a shocking revelation threatens to shatter their relationship, she is forced to question if she has ever known herself at all.

Dazzlingly opulent and emotionally riveting, Anna K.: A Love Story is a brilliant reimagining of Leo Tolstoy’s timeless love story, Anna Karenina―but above all, it is a novel about the dizzying, glorious, heart-stopping experience of first love and first heartbreak.

• So this book has been widely labeled as the young adult “Crazy Rich Asians and Gossip Girl” crossover everyone and their mother has been waiting for. To be honest, I think the “Crazy Rich Asians” portion was a bit of a stretch considering that only two of the main characters were half Korean, and it didn’t really have *that* magic I fell in love with in CRA, but the Gossip Girl portion was spot on. Actually it was like Gossip Girl.

• This book is about the lives of a whole bunch of characters, but the main six are Anna, Steven, Dustin, Kimmie, Alexia, and Lolly. They’re all (except Dustin) sons and daughters of affluent, and wealthy families and reside in NY. This book follows these characters as they deal with scandals, young love, shitty friends, and even shittier parents. This is also a retelling of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, so I do recommend doing a quick skim on Sparknotes before reading this. I haven’t read the original book, and I don’t see myself reading it in the future because I had enough of 19th century books, and the mere thought of them makes me want to bang my head on the nearest wall (thanks ap lit summer assignment!)

basically me struggling too do my homework.

• The story is very entertaining. If you are looking for something that is filled with drama, and has a bunch of reckless teenagers navigating the world around them, then this is for you! I was immersed in the lives of these people, and it was very amusing and exciting too watch them grow.
  
  
• This book also has the main theme that “not all that glitters is gold.” Despite this being about the lives of the uber wealthy, I still found myself being able too relate too some of the events and themes going on. It was also very interesting too see that underneath all the wealth, and glitzy aspects, these characters are just as messed up as we normal people are.
  
  
• Also deals with racism and classism. Anna and Steven are both half Korean, and white, while Dustin is black, Jewish, and adopted. I really liked how it dealt with casual/subtle racism. A lot of people make such offhand, racist comments and they don’t even realize it’s wrong because it’s just so ingrained in society.
  
• I loved, loved, the setting and premise of this book. I am obsessed with the whole rich kids aesthetic! The prep schools, uniforms, the wild over the top parties, the private jets etc… And the fact that it took place in New York City just made it better. It was a lot easier too picture what was going on, and being in the city made the whole aesthetic even more glamorous. (I swear being a New Yorker isn’t my only personality traits)

CONS

• Problematic relationships – There is a whole lot of cheating going on. Like a whole lot of. And very messy relationships.
• Also in terms of romance, I honestly thought it was too insta love for Anna and Vronsky. Especially for Vronsky because he is characterized as the playboy type, so he should be used too super pretty girls. But the minute he saw Anna, he was all “I think I’m in love with her” But I did think it was super cute! Just needed a bit more development, but still cute!

For me characters make or break a book. If I can’t relate or like the characters at all, I probably don’t even like the book. Which is why Anna K was such a delight to read! I loved the diverse array of characters and how they were all fleshed out and fun. With a cast as big as the one in Anna K, you would think some characters would turn out to be bland, but this was far from the case.

Anna K – Anna is just a wholesome bean who likes horse-riding, reading books, and her dogs. I really enjoyed Anna’s soft and honest character and it was a nice break from the rest of her crazy friends. Also, I loved how she supported and uplifted the rest of the girls around her like Kemmie, and Lolly. And she still likes too party and put on makeup, which I thought was great because she’s not one-dimensional.

However, I did get tired of the constant battle in her head over Alexander and Vronsky. I wanted too yell at her too hurry up and make a decision.

Steven – I honestly detested Steven at first, but he proved too be one of my favorite characters in the story! His character development was crazy good, and his personality grew on me. Reading in his perspective was so my favorite parts because it was so funny! I found it so sweet that he cares so much for his sister Anna, and was willing too do anything for her. It made me a tiny bit sad that I didn’t have a cool older brother and instead stuck with two annoying sisters (jk love ya sis).

me @ steven and anna 24/7

Dustin – Personally his story was my favorite. Dustin is down to earth, sweet, smart, and overall A Very Nice Kid. At first I wasn’t down with his whole Kemmie Obsession thing, but reading in his p.o.v was relaxing and I understood him a lot better. Also this kid gave up his college fund, and three grand just for his brother, and I thought it was so sweet.

Kemmie – Kemmie was great, I really enjoyed her character development. Her struggle with depression did seem a bit unrealistic (as in she got over it pretty quickly). She seemed really sweet, and if I met her IRL I’m pretty sure I would’ve gotten along with her more than anyone else on the list.

Lolly – At times I found myself relating too Lolly a lot, especially her big sister moments. She did seem a bit superficial, almost shallow at time though, but at the end she made up for it. She’s actually a great person overall, but even a better friend.

Vronsky – Last but not least, Alexia Vronsky. To be honest, I didn’t learn much from him except that he is madly in love with Anna, he’s a playboy, he likes sex, he’s madly in love with Anna, and *checks notes* he’s madly in love with Anna. I still liked him when he acted all soft around Anna though that was cute, but that’s about it.

Jenny Lee is a screenwriter and you can tell from reading this book. But I had no problems with the writing style. It was told in third p.o.v so it made the story flow really well. Also, the dialogue was great. There was easy and flowing conversations between the character, and it really made each personality shine through.

However, the teen slang was a bit too much at times especially when reading in Steven p.o.v. I have never seen a person use “lit” as much as Steven does.

This book was a great book! Yes it does have a few downsides that will definitely push some people away, but I think you should still give it a try. Also a little off topic, but I am seething at how low quality WordPress made the header for this post look like. Anyways, now I want to hear your thoughts. Would you pick up this book? Have you picked up this book? What were your thoughts? And what do you think of my review?

Good Books I Devoured During Quarantine // a recommendation post that no one asked for but i will give anyway

I’m just going too keep it short and simple, like most people, I had nothing too do during quarantine except read. I’m at the point where I’m going down this rabbit hole of book blogs just too find my next good read, and it just hit me that other people are feeling the same way. So I had the genius, groundbreaking idea of creating my own list for people who are looking for a good book too read.

Most of these are YA and feature romance (I’m a hopeless romantic sue me) and are plenty diverse in terms of characters, plot, and genre. I will be giving a mini-mini review, and providing links too Goodreads where you can see other reviews as well

1) A Good Girls Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson

Goodreads | 4.5 stars

• If you are big fan of mystery books written by authors like Kara Thomas (author of The Cheerleaders, Little Monsters) then believe me when I say YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK!
• It’s basically about sixteen year old Pip who investigates a case about a dead teenager with Ravi Singh who’s brother was allegedly the killer. There are a lot of unexpected plot twists and by the end you will be the definition of shooketh o.O
• I love the layout of this book. It’s told in Pip’s point of view, but also features pictures, texts, and also letters, transcripts etc… it just adds so much appeal too the book.
• Some key characters were brown, and yes one of them was labeled as a murderer and had his whole family shunned from the whole town, but as a brown person myself, I was just giddy hearing a brown name lol.
• Pip is such a cool main character, I loved her so freaking much. She is so intelligent and compassionate and not afraid too go to extreme lengths too get what she wants which is something I admired about her.
• probably my most favorite book out of this whole list lol

2) Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

Goodreads | 4 stars

• Fast-paced, supernatural, cute romance, and badass book that takes place in Korea!!
• This book centers on Miyoung who is a gumiho or nine tailed fox, and her life becomes dramatically intertwined with regular human Jihoon after she loses her fox bead (her soul basically).
• From the very beginning this was action packed, and the author did a great job at writing fight scenes.
• This book also introduced me too Korean mythology which is so!! damn!! cool!! I know we all went through a Greek mythology phase with PJO, and Korean mythology is just as awesome
• Ending was a little rushed, but I was satisfied with it.
• Romance was A++, Jihoon and Miyoung are so freaking cute.
• Characters definitely made this book come alive. Miyoung and Jihoon were great and fleshed out, but I also loved the supporting characters as well
• It takes place in Seoul, Korea which kind of contributes to the plot and also Korea sounds like a really fun place too visit

3) Parachutes by Kelly Yang

Goodreads | 4 stars

• TW: This book deals with sexual assault and also has a teacher-student relationship which was very one sided.
• I know books that deal with harassment are not everyone’s cup of tea, but I strongly advise that everyone should read it (unless of course it’s too triggering) because it deals with picky subjects in a raw, and honest way. It tackles privilege, racism , sexual harassment, toxic parenting, and corruption in society.
• It’s basically about Claire who comes from a very wealthy family in China being moved out to America against her own will and living with a host family in America. Dani is her host sister, and is poor and supports her mother by working in a cleaning service.
• I related a lot to Dani’s struggles of being a daughter of an immigrant family, and at times my heart broke for her.
• Claire was a likable character although I did question her decisions sometimes. Towards the end however, she proved too be a really strong character.
• The romance was a bit ehhh, but I personally didn’t focus on that. The plot was definitely better.

4) Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Goodreads | 4.5 stars

• THIS BOOK IS SO UNFORGETTABLE YOU WILL NOT REGRET READING THIS BOOK!
• Also that cover is so eye-candy, I would love too have that in my room
• Anyways, this book follows Hesina who becomes Queen of her kingdom after her father dies.
• But Hesina believes that her father was actually murdered, and is now doing whatever she can too find out the culprit.
• So it’s a combination of murder mystery with a fantasy plot line?? Basically the two best genres combined?? YES MA’AM!
• This has so many plot twists OMG! At one point I literally had to pause and just calibrate my thoughts, cause there is so many things I guarantee you will not see coming.
• The characters are so great, and diverse in terms of personality. We have crazy twins, estranged brother, and mysterious handsome prisoner who could also break your arms.
• And THE ENDING HOW HKAKHDSJKSH
• The writing was a bit flowery, and heavy which kind of made it hard to read at first, but once I got adjusted too it the book just got better.
• The romance is there, but not a main thing, and it was meh. To be honest there was not that much chemistry, but I still found the main pairing sweet.
• ANd the world building was phenomenal. I loved the little fantasy world He built with magic soothsayers, and court systems. It was all just very *chefs kiss*

5) Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Goodreads| 4 stars

• This book was hilarious and so fun to read! It captivated me from the first page (and if you read the first page you’ll see why)
• It follows Sawyer Taft who lived with her mother all her life, and never knew anything about her other family. One day her grandma shows up out of nowhere and says that she will give Sawyer 500K if she lives in her estate for six months and participates in the Debutante Ball.
• Sawyer says yes, and is now on a mission too find her real father, and let me just say things get real crazy.
• One of my favorite parts of the book is the plot. It can be slow at times (especially towards the beginning), but then it started picking up pace and becomes reaaaaally interesting.
• Sawyer is kind of a bland character, and too be honest her friends are way more enjoyable then her.
• Lots of twists and turns, and the ending is super crazy
• Really original plot, it really amazes me how the author managed too tie in everything together.

6) Loveboat Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

Goodreads| 3.5 —> 4 stars

• Okay so obviously this book is my least favorite in the list and for several reasons,,,
• But I enjoyed it nonetheless!!
• It’s about Ever who is passionate about dancing. However her parents look down on dancing and force Ever too pursue being a doctor. They send her off to a program (called Taipei) in Taipei too study Mandarin with children from some of the wealthiest families in the world. S
•  This was pretty addicting read. It follows Ever rebelling and getting away from her super strict parents and exploring Taipei which sounds so beautiful and fun.
• Romance was okay, there is a love triangle. She didn’t end up with who I wanted her too end up with, but I know some people disagree with my choice and have valid reasons.
• Also towards the end there was this big girl on girl hate which made my liking for this book go down a lot. I don’t like it girls are portrayed as people who only care about validation from men, and Sophie (a side character) was definitely that. I disliked her a lot.
• But I did enjoy the rest of the plot as well which is why I still recommend reading it!!

7) Honorable Mention: The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf

Goodreads| 5 stars!

• First off the cover art is so freaking beautiful!!
• This book broke me. I kid you not, I ran up to my mom and hugged her and if you read the story you’ll see why.
• It takes place in 1969 Malaysia, where race riots finally reach a tipping point and erupt into basically an all out war. Melati is Muslim and sixteen years old and is struggling with OCD.
• However because this takes place in a South Asian country where things like mental illness weren’t really talked about, Melati thinks she’s possessed by a “Djinn” which is a supernatural entity.
• A race riot erupts and Melati finds herself separated from her only family member, her mother, and now is trying to find her way back amidst all the chaos happening.
• This book is very dark and has slight trigger warnings (violence, death, anxiety triggers)
• However I loved the plot. The pacing was perfect, and watching Melanie so determined too find her mother despite the fact she could literally DIE, moved me so much.
• Also it covered the reason behind race riots which I think is very applicable with what’s going on right now. I never learned about the race riots in 1969 but it was disgusting and tragic over what happened too the innocent people died.

I was originally going too add ten books, but I thought that it might be a bit too extreme and also I have more than a 1k word count…Anyways these are just a few of the good books I have read over quarantine but what about you? What have you been reading that you really enjoyed (pls help me I need more book recs!)? What was your disappointing read? Please let me know!