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CHECK AND MATE BY ALI HAZELWOOD // spoiler-free book review: this book has me in a chokehold and we don’t talk about this NA rivals to lovers chess rom-com enough!!!
I just can’t stay quiet any longer. I must stand up and speak my truth: you are all wrong if you disliked this book and yes I have an argument to back myself up. What can’t of an amateur do you think I am? Anyways, let’s just get right into it!!! Title: Check & MateAuthor: Ali HazelwoodPage count: 325Date published: 7 November 2023Genre: New adult contemporary ♟️ Synopsis: Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess. Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist…. As she…
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HAPPY PLACE BY EMILY HENRY // spoiler-free book review: the most perfect summer read from my queen mother ft. stunning best friends on vacation & heartwrenching second chance romance
Let us ignore that I could have read this book months ago but I was too much of a scaredy cat lmao But I shall cease to be in awe of the Henry magic and I shall now spend the rest of my days shoving this down your throat. You’ve been warned! Let’s dive in ; ) Title: Happy PlaceAuthor: Emily HenryPage count: 388Date published: 25 April 2023Genre: Adult contemporary romance ☀️ Synopsis: A couple who broke up months ago pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends. Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t. They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the…
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POPULAR BOOKTOK BOOKS I RECOMMEND // 10 viral tiktok books i actually like that you could read if you want
I don’t know what I’m doing today but I am unhinged and we’re just rolling with it. Spur of the moment decisions over at Ruby Rae Reads today *hides* I could be here talking about the worst BookTok books because I know there are many but I don’t want to put myself through that amount of pain. Very rarely will you catch me pushing through god-awful books and oof I know which ones those are. Avoiding them like the plague in this household. Anyways, I shan’t waste time on the opinions I have concerning this platform because frankly, I don’t know what I would say. It has been both very amusing watching books grow on TikTok whilst also being really cool for the book industry. So there are my two cents, maybe I’ll come back for a discussion? This post is just going to discuss books I rated basically higher than 3 stars. Some are not amazing and a few by authors I wouldn’t support anymore, but I wanted to talk about. Let’s just get into the books. There are more than I anticipated so I’ll be as brief as possible! CONTEMPORARY — It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover:…
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MY FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2022 // top 15 books of the year in an unorganised order
Ahhh it’s my favourite time of the belated year. Let’s ignore that minor detail and focus on the positives today folks. I’m only a week late so not too shameful. I,,, my list is stunning this year but I’ve also yelled about a lot of them already so you probably know what books I’ll be talking about. Also yes I am aware Chloe Gong is not on this list and there are two reasons for that: 1) I got busy this year and 2) my mental health is not prepared haha. Not even an exaggeration, that book will give me a heart attack. Prepare for all of her books to be on the 2023 list *wink wink* Oops, Taylor Jenkins Reid has also not made an appearance but can you guess? I’m behind. Yep. Related posts: Top Books of 2021 2022 Mid Year Freak Out Tag I’m doing it slightly differently this year because I’m indecisive with the usual honourable mentions list so I’m putting them all together and we’ll rank near the end. Idk just roll with it *hides* Shall we just get started? Indeed. TOP 15 BOOKS OF 2022: (in semi order) ♥ Every Summer After by Carley…
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VALENTINE’S DAY ROMANCE BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS // 10 romantic reads to make you smile, yearn, laugh and cry (in no particular order)
I refuse to take notice of the fact that I’m listening to driver’s license amongst other songs that are considered “sad” this weekend, so do with that what you will. Yes, I was being dramatic but also I am kinda only in the mood for sad music. Truly no idea why. Who else has been streaming driver’s license and acts indifferent but is also very invested in that drama? Okay, I’ll stop now because we are here for happy books and smiles. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. I mean, it’s technically tomorrow (in my time zone) but I’m trying to be slightly on time. Before we start, wanted to let ya know I was going to make this part of the Distracting Yourself series however idk if it fits, but I would like to say that social distancing is still a thing my friends. I hope you’re listening and adhering to guidelines. Now that that’s out of the way, I wanted to do something fun for a Valentine’s Day post, and whilst this isn’t unique or anything, you may have noticed that I’ve been reading quite a lot of romance lately. Idk did you pick up on that? So I may have…
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BINGE-WORTHY BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WHILE YOU’RE STUCK AT HOME // distracting yourself part 2: need an action-packed adventure or angsty romance? take your pick
The world is in shambles, but at least we have books to keep us company. Okay no I know it’s not funny because it’s a stressful time right so I hope you’re doing okay. That you’re staying safe and healthy. And also, if you’re not reading then that’s also fine because same. But I thought I’d do a lil recommendations post of books that I found are great to binge, that’s what we’re all doing right? I should just let you know though, that if Ruby can DEVOUR a book really quickly, anyone can tbh. Truly. So this list will be very easy to get through hehe *wink wink* ➳ There’s a part one of this series where I talk ROMANCE MOVIES!! So if you missed that, click HERE <3 Warcross by Marie Lu This duology folks!! It’s a futuristic sci-fi story set like 20 years in the future or something. Not entirely sure so don’t quote me on that. It’s got virtual reality and this video game called Warcross, which is like an action-adventure type game. Super cool. I’m bad at explaining, I apologise. Anyways, this book is so addictive. Our main character, Emika Chen, is super awesome, SHE’S GOT…
