Monthly Recaps

AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER & NOVEMBER RECAP // oops i am late again aka turning 22, my degree kept me very busy ft. finishing my dissertation, some great reads & lots of book mail

Even though I quote Britney Spears “Oops I did it again”, I don’t think even she describes my predicament over the last few months. Have we ever seen this many months in a singular Ruby recap? You all know the answer to that.

Um anyways, we’ll get into it later but in short, uni kicked my ass and I have therefore had no life.

The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye {★★★☆☆}: gah the premise was so promising but unfortunately I was not hooked and this one was just underwhelming. A fun read that I sped through but not a new favourite. Ty to Headline for the eARC via Netgalley – GR review here!

The Priest and The Shepherd by Chloe Gong {★★★★★}: kicked my butt into gear and devoured this lil prequel novella before jumping into the big guns and ugh!!! Phoebe and Silas are such babies and I love them so much!!!!

Foul Heart Huntsman by Chloe Gong {★★★★★}: I shan’t say much here because I did a lot of that in my review but, yes this is the best book I’ve ever read and I do not exaggerate. Okay maybe a but but she was remarkable and I’m still shooketh to my core. Biggest thanks to Coloured Pages Tours and Simon & Schuster for having me on the blog tour ilysm xoxoxoxo

Better Hate Than Never by Chloe Liese {★★★★½}: kinda the same as before because I haven’t been able to post my review yet, however what I shall say is that there were a lot of expectations *cough* 10 Things I Hate About You comparison AND Anne/Gilbert vibes* and she very much delivered. Tysm to Berkley for the eARC – GR review here xxxx

Persepolis: The Story of A Childhood by Marjane Satrapi {★★★★☆}: read this for a class on film adaptation and I have not been able to read the second volume yet, but it truly is as excellent as you’ve heard. Witty, beautiful illustrations and packs a hard punch unveiling a part of Persian history that we didn’t know about CHEFS KISS

Percy Jackson: The Chalice of The Gods by Rick Riordan {★★★★☆}: pinching myself that this is a book and that I have read it. And then slapping myself that this is the first Riordan book I’ve read in years. Yes, I am a dumbass. Will probably do a whole review so stay tuned for that – tysm to Penguin Random House SA for the review copy! More thoughts here

Better Than Before by Lynn Painter {★★★★☆}: if Lynn drops ANY WesLiz content, I suddenly appear #sorrynotsorry

Not going to speak about each of these individually because my GR reviews aren’t even that long. But yes, I needed all the Until Sunset content I could find and I was,,, curious about NSFW mini-comics to say the least. That is all I have to say.

  1. Deep by Kay Claire {★★★★☆}
  2. Picnic by Kay Claire {★★★½☆}
  3. Star Gazing by Kay Claire {★★★½☆}
  4. Bath Time by Kay Claire {★★★½☆}
  5. Lace by Kay Claire {★★★★☆}:

Ahahahahha this is me nervously laughing because there are toooo many books and I won’t be sharing them all here, except the ones I was gifted for review.

I’ll send you over to my Instagram for all the other books I bought from the BB Warehouse Sale and second hand *hides*

Big thank you to Wordsworth Books:

  • Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare
  • Five Survive by Holly Jackson
  • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
  • Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

I was fortunate enough to attend the Jonathan Ball Booktok event and they sent me home with some goodies:

  • In My Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead
  • Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
  • 13 Ways of Looking At A Far Girl by Mona Awod
  • Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

Penguin Random House SA has been KILLING it lately, so big thanks to them:

  • Bridge by Lauren Beukes
  • A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing
  • Percy Jackson and The Chalice of The Gods by Rick Riordan
  • One of Us Is Back by Karen M McManus
  • You Could Be So Pretty by Holly Bourne
  • In Nightfall by Suzanne Young
  • The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton
  • Their Vicious Games by Joelle Washington
  • Percy Jackson & The Lighting Thief by Rick Riordan show tie-in

The kindest people at Catalyst Press sent me a copy of:

  • Kariba by Daniel & James Clarke

The lovely people at Pan Macmillan SA sent over:

  • Masters of Death by Olivie Blake
  • Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee
  • Begin Again by Emma Lord

Lastly, the lovely people at NB Publishers gifted me a copy of this one that I got signed at the launch:

  • Leo Jantjies & The Esports World Championship by Sally Partridge

Click to go to post : )

To keep it short and sweet, lemme just give you my list of recent gems that I think you should watch:

  • Red, White and Royal Blue
  • Wendy (!!)
  • Bride and Prejudice
  • Along For The Ride
  • Past Lives
  • Bride Wars
  • Love At First Sight
  • Persepolis
  • Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
  • The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (!!)
  • Missing
  • EXmas
  • Elemental (!!)

These ones have stood out to me over the last few months and you should go watch them. Thank me later *wink wink*

I mentioned I submitted my dissertation right? Because yeah. Just me pulling all of my hair out till I went bald on submission day. Never want to see Peter Pan again tbh. Okay no that’s an exaggeration but I did want to bang my head against the wall. Fun times.

I actually think that’s the only update I have. I’ve literally just been on campus the last 6 months working on my own research and teaching my students. Which drained the shiz out of me.

In other words, I HAVE FINISHED MY HONOURS DEGREE!!!!! Not necessarily yelling because now I need to look for a job but,,, no more essays *sighs*

Went to the cinema quite a bit, and saw almost all of the newly released films that I talked about earlier.

OH! I went to see the Don Quixote ballet and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

And last but definitely not least, I turned 22 (Ruby’s Version) and it’s kinda cool and Ms Taylor was right as always!!!!


WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO LATELY? WHAT BOOKS HAVE YOU BEEN READING? HAVE YOU SEEN ANY NEW MOVIES? WHAT BOOKS HAVE YOU HAULED? HOW ARE YOU DOING? I’D LOVE TO KNOW!

Hi, I'm Ruby: chaotic mood reader, aspiring writer and lover of movies. If you want to know more, feel free to peruse xx

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