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SEPTEMBER RECAP // i went to a book festival, read 2 books & now need a long nap
Ngl that title is kinda iconic and I will be patting myself on the back for the foreseeable future,,, Trying to be marginally on time with this so let’s just dive right in before I run away or something? — Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven {★★★★☆}: She’s not out for a while so I’m not saying too much right now. But I absolutely devoured this book with reincarnation starcrossed lovers forced to kill each other in every lifetime. Oh yes. You need to add this to your TBR right this second methinks!!!! Tysm to Penguin Children’s UK for the eARC via Netgalley ~ more thoughts here Nothing Like The Movies by Lynn Painter {★★★★★}: If you were wondering if I got randomly accepted for an early copy of this book on a random Friday and spent that random weekend yelling into the void, you might be right. You’ll probably see a review from me about this so I shall save the thoughts for then. But indeed I died and went to heaven, and then cried over WesLiz in this book. Tysm to Simon Teen for the eARC via Edelweiss ~ all the yelling in my GR review here Thank…
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DECEMBER 2023 RECAP // wrapping up the last reading month of the year ft all the romance, austen addiction, great films & job searching
Once more I am fashionably late but you all know the drill at this point. Let’s jump right in! — Betting On You by Lynn Painter {★★★★☆}: when she said When Harry Met Sally inspired YA rom-com, suddenly I appeared. Out of nowhere. Can’t explain it. But living my best life and she was cute as heck. Now I just need to catch up on Painter’s previous YA release so I can come out of shameville. Tysm to Simon & Schuster for the eARC via Netgalley. More thoughts in my GR review here <3<3<3 If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane {★★★★☆}: Finally got back into my McFarlane groove and she truly is a genius!!! And men suck hardcore. Whilst this one does not top Mad About You for me, I loved it nonetheless. I related so deeply to Laurie’s insecurities and adored her as a main character. I do think I wanted a bit more from the romance? Read more in GR review here xoxoxo Persepolis Volume 2 by Marjane Satrapi {★★★★★}: Finally finished this one after having to put it down for thesis writing. Ugh Satrapi is a GENIUS and I have so much appreciation for her.…
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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…
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JULY RECAP // movie theatre mania aka going to barbenheimer, publisher events, back to school & cute reads
Quite chuffed with myself for being mostly on time with these lately. Who knows if it’ll stick because I have a big fat deadline at the end of August. You have been warned of my potential upcoming hibernation. Let me stop freaking us all out (lmao) and jump right in! — Nothing More To Tell by Karen M McManus {★★★½☆}:I FINALLY picked up this one and ugh Ms McManus always manages to sweep me away with a great time. Unfortunately, this was not my favourite of hers, I usually tend to love her characters but they weren’t my fave in this one. But the cold case was fun and I kept going, so it’s definitely worth a read if you’re a fan like me. Big thanks to Penguin Random House South Africa for the eARC and physical copy. More thoughts in GR review right over here You, With A View by Jessica Joyce {★★★★½}: I mean wow. Round of freaking applause for this DEBUT that literally knocked my socks off. Jessica has pure talent in those finger tips and this book was just absolutely everything. From the writing to the romance to the settings and the gut-wrenching grief conversations THIS…
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MAY RECAP // a lot of essay writing, cute new books & some romance to relieve the stress
Who doesn’t love when Ruby only does recaps? Definitely not you, because you love me no matter what I do right? I’m full of myself I know. Please just ignore me. Let’s get into this already ; ) — Sabrina September Is A Liar by Nikki Lincoln {★★★★☆}: never going to get over how stunning this cover is and you all so need to read this absolutely fabulous debut romance! I was SHOCKED it was a debut because the writing is blow-you-socks-off good and I’m so excited to see Nikki flourish. Tysm for gifting me with an ARC and a finished copy!!! Click here for the GR review xoxo! Meet Me At The Lake by Carley Fortune {★★★★☆}: Another stunner of a cover, gosh these pinks are getting to me, man. This was an excellent follow-up to Every Summer After, which I really liked last year. She almost had the potential to get a higher rating but something was holding me back. But I loved the characters, and the writing was wonderful and I literally want to go to Canada rn. Love that for me. I’m truly going haha. Click here for more thoughts With Love, From Cold World by…
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MARCH RECAP // graduation, moving, some reading & other chaos
Quite chuffed with my incredibly inventive title if I do say so myself *wink wink* We all know that I am a comedian by nature. God I need to shut up now. Anyways, back to your irregularly scheduled belated recap, as per usual, due to very obvious reasons in the title. I honestly don’t remember what happened last month, it was all very blurry but I shall try my best to recount it to you. Into the chaos we go! Last Violent Call by Chloe Gong {★★★★★}: I was never prepared for this book and I have read it and am still not prepared. Chloe never misses and this book was perfection, as is everything she writes. My heart stopped beating for approximately 200 pages and I need to tattoo this book onto my forehead. It was stunning and I will have a full review up hopefully soon, GR review here in the meantime *screams for eternity* The First Move by Jenny Ireland {★★★☆☆}: The lovely people at Penguin SA had an eARC available and I needed a smol pick me up so I read this on a whim. Devoured this in like a day and agh what a cute…
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FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL & MAY RECAP // i’m back! ft. uni was a lot, many essays, new fave books, mental health updates & ST4
God, I’m awful, but we’re used to this by now, right? Uni kept me busy hence this recap with far too many months in the title but better late than never. Semester literally started in February so you’ve missed it all, and there’s much to catch up on. I’m excited to be back, and you know the drill, let’s stop rambling and get into it! — Required Reading for The Disenfranchised Freshman by Kristen R. Lee {★★★½☆}: I read this for a blog tour and have already posted a whole review, so I won’t talk too much about it. This is a NA contemporary that deals with racism and microaggressions on modern college campuses, which I’ve never seen talked about in fiction, so I loved that. Overall, I loved the message and thought this was a solid debut, though it wasn’t as hard-hitting for me as I anticipated it. Big thanks to Crown Readers at Random House for the eARC and Turn The Pages Tours for having me on the tour. Complete review here! – It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey {★★★★☆}: Who else would have thought I’d be here telling you about how much I enjoyed this book?…
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OCTOBER RECAP // essay mania but at least I discovered some new all time fave books and movies
I AM FREE FROM THE SHACKLES OF ESSAYS AND IT FEELS SO GOOOODDDDD Ugh anyways I did disappear again, so this post is late (as usual) but hey least all of my reads last month were 5 stars *wink wink* Let us just get into it! — The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry {★★★★★}: I declared October Emily Henry month and I’m not mad about it. I finally recovered from my adult romance bender and fell into the beautiful and graceful arms of Emily Henry, who I *was* so behind on but as you can tell, I’ve caught up. Anyways, I did start this at a time where I was focused on essays so I read it over quite some time but nonetheless it was brilliant and seriously EH’s debut? Shooketh. I’ve said this approx 123456789 times but she could write a shopping list and I’d still be mesmerised. This book broke my brain but I absolutely adored it. I read it at just the right time and wow I so connected to Natalie on a level I didn’t think I ever would. It’s been a second since I read a book where I saw myself in…
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APRIL & MAY RECAP // book mail, reading and essays oh my!
Welp has it been a while, my friends. But hi hello I’m currently using this blog as a form of escape so excuse any unusual activity from me. So as you can see by the title, this is 2 months in 1 as I didn’t get around to a recap last month. Will I do this once a year? Methinks yes. Anyways, let’s dive right into what I’ve been up to these past two months! Kulti by Mariana Zapata {★★★★☆}: it’s the way I went into this thinking I didn’t like age-gap romance for me. But omg it was so great. I think I’ve narrowed down that I love romances between two athletes. I think I’ve said it all in my GR review (also it’s been a while and my memory doesn’t function anymore) so head on over there. But the banter was A+++ and I loved the friendship development. Sal and Rey are literally everything and deserve the world. Need to get my hands on MZ physical copies so I can admire them at random intervals of the day. – Kate In Waiting by Becky Albertalli {★★★★½}: oh gosh did I love this one so much. I participated in…
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MARCH RECAP // start of 2nd year uni ft. book shopping & a 5-star read
Hello world, no I am not dead. However, in my mind posting twice in one week gave me the liberty to disappear for two weeks. You know what you signed up for here on this blog. I made no promises. Or maybe I did, I don’t really know anymore. My brain is kinda numb right now. I’ll stop rambling because we have much to discuss. So let’s goooo!!!! The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas {★★★☆☆}: Look, I actually did eventually finish this book. Unfortunately, since we last spoke about it, my enjoyment went down. Which is why you haven’t seen that post from me, because I don’t want to give this a really negative review. Because it is not terrible, it’s just not my kind of romance. Which is totally fine. I really enjoyed the writing style, the characters and romance were just not for me. Full GR here < 3 – Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi {★★★★★}: I,,, wowee literally just finished the book the other day and have still not been able to recover. Also yes, your visual of a 5-star is correct as I LOVED this one. This book was excellent. If you read it…
