• Anticipated releases,  Movies,  TV Shows

    WRAPPING UP 2020 IN FILM // a smol list of 2020 favourite films AND anticipated movies & tv shows of 2021

    Hello, and how are we doing today? I don’t know which one of you kept me in your prayers and manifested this but LOOK WHO IS ON TIME WITH END OF YEAR POSTS? What a crazy time to be alive tbh… No, but seriously. This is the last of this set of posts that I have planned and I’m quite chuffed with myself. Before I get on with the films, lemme just explain the title. Now, I don’t know if you heard but the world kind of shut down last year? I mean, it still is in a lot of places. But that meant that a lot of movies also didn’t get released. And also we couldn’t go to the cinemas (AS IT SHOULD BE!!). Plus, I also didn’t watch all that many movies last year anyways? I rewatched quite a few of my old favourites, which shouldn’t shock you by this point. So my favourites list is VERY VERY SMALL. Therefore I thought I’d just combine both my favourites and most anticipated shows. Got it? Good. Let’s get started. FAVOURITE MOVIES OF 2020 If you’re new to how I talk about my favourite movies, then I’ll just briefly explain.…

  • Monthly Recaps

    JANUARY RECAP // hello 2021 ft. content planning & much reading

    Today, you witness a miracle, my fine friends. You know why? BECAUSE THIS RECAP WAS POSTED ON TIME. I think we should all just take a second to soak it all in. And also so I can pat myself on the back. Let’s ignore that Valentines Day is in approximately two weeks. We have books to keep us company in this household. We’re definitely not alone in this household, no ma’am. I’ll stop now, let’s get into it. The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata {★★★☆☆}: You may be thinking that it’s very unfortunate that my first read of 2021 was a 3-star but in full honesty, I couldn’t care less. I 99.9% believe that it shan’t represent the rest of my reading year. I did really like this one, it’s not a bad 3-stars, more of an “I don’t have much to say”. I know this one is a fan favourite and I can tell why. From Lukov with Love is still my personal fave but this one and Dear Aaron are fighting for second place. This book is INCREDIBLY slow-burn, like so slow you might pull your hair out. Can be a good and a bad…

  • TBR

    THE MORE THAN 21 TOP BOOKS ON MY 2021 TBR // a very long list of backlist, 2019 and 2020 titles I’ve neglected (pray for me!!) ft. worst books of 2020

    Yes, you did just read the title correctly. This list is going to be extremely long and I am already scared. Welcome to the second-last post of my end of year posts. Though the list is very long, this post is going to be rather short because there are just TOO many books to talk about them all *nervous laughter* If you didn’t know, 2020 was a failure of a year in terms of reading books on my physical tbr, among a plethora of other reasons. I say that with no exaggeration on the behalf of the entire world. But I did want to do this post again so I can have a list to look back on. I’m putting no pressure on myself as I clearly failed at the last one but having this list out in the universe might urge me just a smidge. Trying not to jinx it here folks. I’m dividing this up into a few sections because… well honestly I don’t know why I just feel like it. No surprise there. Let’s get into it!! TOP 21 BOOKS TO READ IN 2021 My priority list hasn’t changed since last year apart from one other which…

  • Monthly Recaps

    DECEMBER RECAP // lots of reading and vacation for days aka living my best life

    Indeed I do find the background of my featured image very funny. I have a weird sense of humour. You know, I honestly need to stop trying to get these out on time and lying to you all. It’s deceitful and I don’t want to be that person. I just,,, oof I need to maybe start working on them earlier in the month BUT I NEVER DO. But at the same time, I’m incredibly shocked that I’m posting two days in a row. I thought that the recap aspect was fitting haha. Anyways, before it becomes February and I combine them. If I get around to it quickly then idk maybe you’ll see my January one quite soon. Who knows? Not even me. An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir {★★★★★}: my friends over on Instagram are applauding me right now because THIS BOOK TOOK ME 3 MONTHS TO REREAD!!! I just,,, Sabaa causes me a lot of pain and I honestly don’t need to be going to the hospital right now so I… avoid at all costs. Anyways, this one was just as fantastic. I loved finding all of these hints (I have read like 3/4 of. book…

  • Discussions,  Miscellaneous

    2020 READING AND BLOGGING RECAP // checking up on 2020 in stats and goals ft. reading challenge, progress in pie charts & new years resolutions

    Hello friends, here’s me trying to get all of my end-of-year posts up on time and not post them in April. Which I DEFINITELY have never done before… *crickets chirping* I should do double *crickets chirping* because I disappeared for 2 weeks again. I explain why later in this post but IM SORRY. I’m ~trying~ to get better at not abandoning you all for weeks on end. Anyways… let us take a minute to THANK THE HEAVENS it is 2021. Even though the year has maybe not been off to the best start already lmao. And just because it’s a new year, it doesn’t mean all of our problems will magically disappear. It’s really just the number that’s changed. But STILL, you all get it. Anyways, I absolutely loved doing my mid-year goals check-in last year so here we are reflecting on 2020 as a whole. Feast your eyes on a couple of pie charts and my 2021 goals. READING STATS AND OVERVIEW So,,, unfortunately, there wasn’t really any drastic change in my reading from the last update. My reading year didn’t improve a ton, I still ended up with a very short list of favourites. I haven’t reread all…

  • Book Reviews

    THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS BY CHLOE GONG // book talk: finally reviewing my fave book of 2020 ft. tears, stabbiness and yearning

    And Happy New Year everybody. Here’s to 2021 being at least a little bit better than the horror that was 2020. But before we move on, I can’t leave behind my favourite book of last year, so I’m here today to share my review of These Violent Delights by the wondrous Chloe Gong. A round of applause is definitely necessary. I have A LOT to say about this beaut, this stunner and the actual love of my life. I also have an author interview up if you’d like to give it a read (click the image): Oh yeah, I also read the Christmas special that was uploaded a week or so ago and I am a wreck. Love to see it. Anyways, without further ado, let us all scream together. Title: These Violent Delights Series: These Violent Delights book #1 Author: Chloe Gong Page count: 464 Date published: 17 November 2020 Genre: Young Adult historical fantasy 🥀🔪 Synopsis: 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. The year is…

  • Discussions,  Lists,  Recommendations

    MY FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2020 // a short top 5 list ft. some honourable mentions

    And… Happy New Year’s Eve my friends! As I said last year, indeed I do wait until the last day of the year to post this. Just in case. Even though I haven’t really added a new fave to this list in a while, only a recent read to the honourable mentions. Unfortunately, my TOP FAVES is not very long at all, I tried to make it longer but I just abandoned all of my 2020 tbr, basically no YA, maybe too much adult romance and a couple of series rereads. Love that for me. This year has been terrible, to say the least, but I think I had a couple of good reads. Would’ve loved to have many more though. Alas, not everything you wish for comes true. I hope you all have a better 2021. And hoping my list next year will be more diverse in terms of genre, but I don’t want to jinx it so shhhhhh Related posts: TOP 10 of 2019 Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag 2020 Without further ado, let’s dive right in. As mentioned, I have my top 5 list of favourites, and then a total of 9 honourable mentions (almost had one…

  • Anticipated releases

    MOST ANTICIPATED 2021 BOOK RELEASES // apologies in advance for the 60 books I added to your tbr that all sound amazing

    I am manifesting that 2021 is going to be a better year for all of us. It has to be. Ruby’s manifested so it shall come true. Hi friends, today we’re kicking off with the first of a thousand end-of-year posts, of which I have quite the few planned and don’t know where I’m going to find the time to do them but oh well. I didn’t realise before doing research for this post that there are SO MANY AMAZING BOOKS COMING OUT NEXT YEAR!! It’s insane. So many of my favourite authors have books coming out and there are some stunner debuts too. Let it be a good year my friends. Anyways, without further let’s increase our insufferable tbrs and you can observe Ruby making terrible attempts at pitching books… JANUARY Lore by Alexandra Bracken (5 January 2021): The cover gods (wow fitting) really blessed us with this one. I honestly have no idea what this is about apart from the fact that it involves Greek mythology but I would sell my soul for Alexandra Bracken and that’s all that matters. Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant (5 January 2021): Let’s hope this book isn’t too cute for it’s…

  • Distracting Yourself,  Movies,  Recommendations

    MOVIES TO WATCH THIS CHRISTMAS WHILE YOU’RE STUCK AT HOME // distracting yourself part 3: a short list of my favourite (kinda) Christmas-y movies

    Hello hello, my reindeer friends, merry Christmas to those who celebrate or happy holidays! Welcome to the unexpected third addition to this smol series of mine. It is not as long today, which could either be a good or bad thing. This was just a spur of the moment idea that I super loved. And because the world is still in a state, we all need to maintain social distancing so please for the love of the planet, WEAR A MASK, PEOPLE!! Click for the previous instalments: Part 1 aka romantic movie recommendations Part 2 aka binge-worthy book recommendations So if you’re a bit lonely this holiday season, I’ve got your back with some of my favourite Christmas movies. They’re not all technically Christmas movies, some of them just have wintery vibes or have a Christmas scene. But nonetheless, they’re some of my faves so let’s jump into it. *crickets chirping* First up we have The Hunger Games. Because the second movie has about 5 seconds of snow. Lmao if I didn’t want to embarrass myself, I would actually do that. Now let’s really get into it.   not exactly a Christmas movie but the VIBES 🎄 🦌 🎁 ⛄…

  • Lists,  Recommendations

    RUBY’S BOOK CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE // a smol list of books that would make great presents this holiday season

    Happy holidays! (to everyone who celebrates) This may be a little late and therefore useless if you’ve already done all your Christmas shopping, so I apologise. But if not then yay, I have a purpose in life. 🎄 🦌 🎁 ⛄ Anyways, I wanted to do some fun Christmas posts this year, but haven’t read basically any books that I think would be good enough. I do however have a couple of books on my shelf that I think would be really cool gifts for your family and friends. This isn’t your usual gift guide and I think these books are pretty under the radar so I hope somebody finds this useful. This list is lil more personal because they’re books I’d love to be gifted (even though I already own them lmao) but without further ado, let us get into it. For a food lover: Recipes From The World of Tolkien by Robert Tuesley Anderson I honestly didn’t know this existed until recently but it is SO COOL. And they are so many great recipes like Pork Pie, apple loaf and all kinds of foods from the LOTR world. It’s beautifully illustrated and would be a wonderful gift for…