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MALIBU RISING BY TAYLOR JENKINS REID // spoiler-free book review: finally reviewing a fave read of 2021 ft. the perfect beach vibes, surfing siblings & fantastic family relationships
It’s only taken me a million years to get to this review but ‘better late than never’ is just my blogging motto at this point. Oh well, I guess get used to it *sighs* Anyways, very excited to chat about this book today, especially in light of our surpise new TJR 2022 release CARRIE SOTO IS BACK coming later this year which I’m ~of course~ ecstactic about. I shall stop rambling now and let us just commence with this ~rave~ review! Title: Malibu RisingAuthor: Taylor Jenkins ReidPage count: 384Date published: 1 June 2021Genre: Adult historical fiction 🌊 Synopsis: A lifetime holding it together.One party will bring it crashing down. Malibu: August, 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over-especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva. By midnight the party will be completely out of control.By morning, the Riva mansion will have…
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2021 READING AND BLOGGING RECAP // last year in review ft. 2022 tbr, reading challenges, pie charts & new years goals
Hi hello to my first post of the year! I didn’t realise it was the first until now and in general, it’s very late. I tried to get this recap post up a lot earlier, but I’m going to cut myself some slack because last year I highlighted how I once posted this in April so… I think I deserve a pat on the back, eh? Anyways, I’m here semi on time and perhaps less enthusiastic than usual. But I’m a stats freak now and at least I’m getting out some content, right? I hope you’re okay with Ruby being slightly off-beat today. 2021 absolutely sucked and I hated it and am glad its over, but hey, the reading was good! Mostly keeping this post the same as last time, though adding a couple of sections to it. I didn’t do a mid-year check-in because,,, life. Since I didn’t get the chance to build any anticipation, here’s your chance to take your guesses on whether or not there will be a high amount of ebooks and romance in this post *hides* But anyways, let’s dive right in! READING STATS AND OVERVIEW You know, I’m actually really chuffed with reading overall…
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MY FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2021 // a whopping bizarre top 8 ft. some honourable mentions
Life is currently a mess and I really wanted to get a lot more end of year posts out this month, but alas, 2021 will just have to close on the messy path it was already on. I have no idea what I’m writing but we’re rolling with it *nervous laughter* Apologies as I did have a fun idea for a Christmas recommendations list, but I just had no motivation to get it done. You’ll have to wait until next year folks. As usual, lowkey doing this post is stressful because I leave it till the very last day of the year JUST IN CASE a new favourite needs to squeeze on here. There hasn’t been one but it’s okay, at least I’m wrapping up all the books. Related posts: Top Books of 2020 2021 Mid Year Freak Out Tag Today I have 15 books in total to talk about, 7 are honourable mentions and 8 are the top favourites. I’m chuffed with this selection, though I’ll try and keep this post short and sweet so we can zoom through them. Very excited to talk about them, so let’s get into it! HONOURABLE MENTIONS: in no particular order (maybe least…
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YOU’LL BE THE DEATH OF ME BY KAREN M. MCMANUS // blog tour book review: I devoured this YA mystery ft. fun premise and loveable characters
Hi hello lovely friends! And welcome to my (one day late IM SO SORRY) You’ll Be The Death of Me tour stop which I’m just so so so excited to be part of. This year has been crazy lately but this book was exactly what I needed and I devoured it. Big thanks to The Write Reads for having me on this tour, I’m so happy to be here! Title: You’ll Be The Death of MeAuthor: Karen M. McManusPage count: 326Date published: 2 December 2021Genre: Young Adult mystery thriller ♢ Synopsis: From the author of One of Us Is Lying comes a brand new addictive thriller. Ivy, Mateo and Cal used to be close – best friends back in middle school. Now all they have in common is a bad day. So for old time’s sake they skip school together – one last time. But when the trio spot Brian ‘Boney’ Mahoney ditching class too, they follow him – right into a murder scene. They all have a connection to the victim. And they’re ALL hiding something. When their day of freedom turns deadly, it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out . . . It’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with…
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NOVEMBER RECAP // I turned 20, listened to red tv, watched 2 new fave movies & read 4 books
Manifesting that Ruby makes time for posts other than recaps and miscellaneous reviews. Honestly slapping myself across the face for it. It’s terrible. I have time but I don’t have it in me to do any of the 100 end of year posts I am usually doing this time of the year,,, Praying that a productivity wave hits me at some point in the near future. Big yikes. I’ll stop talking now though so we can get on with what happened in November. — Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz {★★★★☆}: Welp it’s been a second since I read this one as I finished it on the very first day of last month. But it’d been on my tbr for a while and I’m so glad I finally got around to it. As expected, this book was an absolute delight and brilliant YA contemporary romance. I AM OVERWHELMED WITH CUTENESS THIS BOOK IS ADORABLE *INSERT KEYBOARD SMASH* Can you tell I thought this was cute? Because I really did. This book deals heavily with chronic illness and teens dealing with chronic illness. Our main character has rheumatoid arthritis and love interest has Gaucher disease. And they meet and fall…
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OUR VIOLENT ENDS BY CHLOE GONG // book talk: this book broke me a thousand times over and slowly put me back together rip me
The day is here and you are not ready. Go grab your tissues BECAUSE I SOBBED MY EYES OUT SO HARD ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY. Will I be sharing those pictures? Keep reading and we’ll see. If you are new to this blog, then you wouldn’t know that *clears throat* I cannot stop raving about my favourite book of 2020 aka These Violent Delights by my idol Chloe Gong. Who is a literary genius and I want to be her. Nobody is doing it like her honestly!!! In case you missed them, I’ve interviewed her and I have a review of book one up <3<3<3 Click the images Title: Our Violent EndsSeries: These Violent Delights book #2Author: Chloe GongPage count: 400Date published: 16 November 2021Genre: Young Adult historical urban fantasy 🥀🔪 Synopsis: The year is 1927, and Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution. After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to…
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AUGUST RECAP // I read my most anticipated release of the year and sobbed ft. more books, new Lorde album & mental health update
Oops hello long time no talk… So hey, how are we doing? Life has been crazy crazy crazy and I’ve been struggling a lot lately, which I’ll get into later. Anyways, let’s get on with the books! – – Seven Days In June by Tia Williams {★★★★☆}: this book… wow honestly such a wild ride and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE! I’m not quite sure how else to describe this but if you’re going to take any of my recommendations, it’s this one. This book just does SO much and is such a brilliant new romance I could cry. If you’re a fan Beach Read and Get A Life Chloe, Brown then you’ll LOVE this book. I’ve already done a whole blog post review because I’m just that person now (nope really not but stroke my ego a lil bit, won’t you) but please go read this and then come scream at me *wink wink* Big thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for sending my way! – Kill Joy by Holly Jackson {★★★★★}: yelp don’t even comment on that 5 star, I don’t know who I am either. I honestly have no explanation apart from the fact that this novella was highly…
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ACT YOUR AGE, EVE BROWN BY TALIA HIBBERT // spoiler-free book review: this book has banter, smiles and swoons for days!!
Hi hello friends! It’s official, I’m a psychic. I predicted that this would my favourite book of the series and it is. Please, boost my ego in the comments *wink wink* I know, I’m terrible. Feel free to roast me actually. I’ll stop talking and get on with this review because this book was SO WONDERFUL! Title: Act Your Age, Eve BrownSeries: The Brown Sisters book #3Author: Talia HibbertPage count: 400Date published: 3 March 2021Genre: Adult contemporary romance ♪ Synopsis: Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong—so she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins a wedding, her parents draw the line. It’s time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she’s not entirely sure how… Jacob Wayne is always in control. The uptight B&B owner expects nothing less than perfection from his employees, so when a purple-haired tornado of a woman applies for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously…
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SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE BY TIA WILLIAMS // spoiler-free book review: a spectacular second-chance romance & writer-life
Hi hello wonderful friends! I hope you’re all doing fine and dandy. Before we get into this post, I just have to apologise for leaving all of your recent comments unanswered. I’ve seen them all come in but I just haven’t gotten around to replying to any of them for literally the last like 6 posts,,, WILL CHANGE THAT ASAP. Anyways, today I’m here to shove this fantastic book in your faces that is truly as good as everyone’s been saying, so let’s get into it! Title: Seven Days in JuneAuthor: Tia WilliamsPage count: 328Date published: 1 June 2021Genre: Adult contemporary romance ✎ Synopsis: Seven days to fall in love, fifteen years to forget, and seven days to get it all back again… Eva Mercy is a single mother and bestselling erotica writer who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning novelist, who, to everyone’s surprise, shows up unexpectedly in New York. When Shane and Eva meet at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but also the eyebrows of the Black literati. What no one knows is that fifteen years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy,…
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JULY RECAP // oops vacation made me a reading machine ft. book mail & a readathon tbr
Hey hey friends and how are you all doing? Unfortuneatly streaks never last when it comes to recaps, as you’ve all probably noticed I’m a tad late to this one. Not as late as quite a few other times though. I can only do so much folks. Anyways, apparently I read A TON last month and I’m also now a superhero. Let’s get into it! – Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey {★★★☆☆}: not going to linger on this one too long because I honestly don’t have all that many thoughts anymore. According to my GR review, I finished this on the very first day of July, so that explains a lot. I had high hopes for this one but it unfortunetaly was just rather average. I didn’t hate it, but expected more. It was also weirdly sexual for a book about only just over 18-year olds. Idk that didn’t sit with me very well. Teens have sex, yes, but I don’t need to read about them sexually thirsting over each other. Read for a fun NA contemporary, I guess. – Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid {★★★★★}: TJR HAS DONE IT AGAIN AND I LOVED THIS BOOK!! Listened to…
