-
JULY RECAP // beating the reading slump, bookstagram mania, booktube videos & back to uni
Friends, this post is actually on time and I am just living my best life tbh. July… was a bit all over the place. Which was unexpected. Unfortunately, I fell into a bit of a physical reading slump so… am behind on reading a little bit. But it’s fine, I’m slowly getting back into it and I’m looking for quality, not the quantity you know. But some other great thigs happened. Anyways, let us just get into it!! All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson {★★★★★}: No, I do not know why it took my an entire month to listen to a 5-hour audiobook. I just don’t make sense that way. Truly it should not have taken me so long because I was absolutely loving it. This book is SO GOOD and one I think literally everyone needs to read. It was narrated by the author, which made the reading experience so much more personal. This one is a YA memoir-manifesto that deals with topics like sexuality, race, the intersection of being black and queer and also navigating your way through life. George is also gender non-conforming, so it also handles misogyny and gender roles. And it’s so well…
-
IMAGINE ME BY TAHEREH MAFI // book talk: mini defy me review ft. sad feelings and hardcore warnette shipping
My life now has a hollow hole because I’m SAD and EMO this series is over. Somebody send me HELP please and thank you. Also, I have no self-control and read this book in an entire sitting YAY FOR ME. I think I’m an ACTUAL reader now, a reader whizz if you will. I’VE MADE IT! Watch me do all the 24 hour readathons. WAIT NO I TAKE IT BACK I DON’T WANNA JINX IT!!! gahhhhhh mini-review Before we start, I again have to apologise because I was supposed to do a review of Defy Me ages ago when I read it but never got around to it. Should we do it now? Why the heck not I suppose… Defy Me (Shatter Me #5) by Tahereh Mafi Seeing as I read this book like a year ago, excuse any stupidity. I mean you already do that most of the time but still. But from what I can remember, and I’ve actually been rereading parts of the books because I’m emo and truly don’t want this series to end welp. I did not love the end of Restore Me, it was way too much drama and I HATE a particular ‘trope’…
-
JUNE RECAP // pride reads, end of semester, profile photo change, movie watching & fave blog posts
Hi hello there friends I keep doing these saying I’m trying to be on time and then I never do and it is an… endless cycle. Seriously, I need to stop making broken promises. Anyways, some fun things happened in June so let’s just get into it I didn’t have the most amazing June in terms of new faves, but I nonetheless enjoyed mostly (we’ll get into that later) all of the books that I read! Pride by Ibi Zoboi {★★★½☆}: what a delightful book oh my gosh. I stayed up until like 4 am reading this because I was enjoying it so much. I haven’t read Pride & Prejudice, only seen the film, but I loved this twist on the story and thought it was very well done. I definitely need to go and read all of this author’s backlist now too because I just really enjoyed her narrative and lyrical voice. The romance was sweet, although frustrating at times ahhh, and I LOVED the sister dynamics. I loved how Zuri could stand her ground. I do think this book could’ve been longer for character development but I also do like how short it was? Anyways, a fun time…
-
MAY RECAP // reading game still going strong ft. 8 books, new music + black authors & pride tbr
Hello friends So the world is terrible right now and we need to fix with it. SOME LINKS So in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement, here are some links you can head over to SIGN PETITIONS, DONATE and SHARE. The only way any change will be made is by doing so. And please, don’t stay quiet. Racism exists EVERYWHERE and we must be allies in every way possible. It’s about time something was done to end racial injustice. You can sign petitions! It takes 3 seconds: ↳ George Floyd ↳ Ahmaud Arbery ↳ Breonna Taylor ↳ Tony McDade ↳ National Action Against Police Brutality ↳ Collins Khosa #1 & #2 ↳ More DONATE!! ↳ Completed list ↳ To bail funds ↳ Watch this Youtube video where all AdSense revenue gets donated Directly contact ↳ Text or call ↳ Email template ↳ Collins Khosa email template Ways to be a better ally ↳ Support black businesses ↳ Support black bookstores ↳ Educate yourself ↳ Read books by black authors ↳ Read non-fiction about racism More ways to help – click here Beach Read by Emily Henry {★★★★★}: so this book is possibly my favourite book of this year, apart…
-
BEACH READ BY EMILY HENRY // blog tour book review: my heart feels like it was stabbed a thousand times over ft. amazing banter & many tears
I would like to thank Emily Henry for destroying my emotions. I would also like to have a personal chat with her because HOW DID SHE DO IT??? My heart has been shattered into pieces and I blame THIS. FREAKING. BOOK. I’m mad. But in a good way. Wow, what has my life come to? But also HAPPY RELEASE DAY TO ONE OF MY NEW FAVE READS!! Let’s get into the review. Title: Beach Read Author: Emily Henry Page count: 384 Date published: 19 May 2020 Genre: Adult contemporary romance ☀ Synopsis: A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters. Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast. They’re polar opposites. In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighbouring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block. Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them…
-
2019 BOOK RELEASES I HAVEN’T READ YET // my extended 2020 tbr list ft. the amazing books i missed out on last year
I don’t even know why I’ve been so excited to write this post since I’m literally just calling myself out on all the books I didn’t read last year. Go me… on brand?? Truly it is. We know I’m on brand when this post is so old that I’ve had to take books off this list already since it’s… May. Wow, Ruby wow. Hopefully, I’m not setting myself up for failure this year. But I’m thinking I can do this. I made my most anticipated 2020 releases quite short so fingers crossed. This is also technically a list of books I want to get to this year, thereby it is my extended 2020 tbr. However, if you’d like to see my official 2020 tbr then you can click here! Eeppp, just watch this catastrophically E-X-P-L-O-D-E. Here’s to my failure. Cheers *clinks glass* FANTASY We Hunt The Flame by Hafsah Faizal I just KNOW I’m going to enjoy this one, it was one of the few YA fantasy releases that I was genuinely interested in last year. Fantasy and I have been having an iffy relationship lately whoops. I’ve interacted with the author a little bit too and she’s SO nice.…
-
RAMBLING ABOUT THE HUNGER GAMES BEFORE THE PREQUEL IS OUT // less than a week ft. the best book, why gale is a piece of cardboard & much excitement!!
Is this post useless? Yes. But am I doing it anyway? Indeed. I’m sorry you unfortunate souls who a) don’t care and b) haven’t read the masterpiece that is The Hunger Games trilogy. But also if you haven’t been around then you wouldn’t know that I did a reread of this series back in February and had like the best time of my life. And idk I wanted to do this semi-countdown (was trying to get this up a few days ago but alas uni work). As I said this post may be pointless? I don’t care, it’s my post okay. I have no idea how this post is going to pan out so I wish you luck on this rollercoaster alongside both myself and also these books because WOW. Also CAUTION: this post does have some spoilers, not many, and most are minor but be cautious. SERIES THOUGHTS!! See now even I’m regretting doing this because I have no idea where to start. Love that for me. Maybe we should start off with how ahead of its time this trilogy is. I mean we all knew that but reading them in 2020 woweeeee *insert exclamation point* First off, I…
-
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…
-
JANUARY & FEBRUARY RECAP // end of holidays, starting uni and some reading
Yes hi hello. I AM BACK. Wow, people I know I said I would try to not just disappear off the face of the earth and, of course, I don’t keep my promises WHOOPS. I literally just realised it had been a mont Again WHOOPS. I’m so bad at warning people I know. Anyways, the university has been A LOT. Which is why I haven’t been active. Like anywhere. I occasionally post on Instagram. True emphasis on occasionally. So… yeah. We’ll get more into that later. Let’s just get into the small number of books I’ve read so far this year! Aristotle & Dante Discover The Secrets of The Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz {★★★★½}: I think it’s now become my thing to start the year off with a gay book? We’re living a good life up in here. Anyways I just decided it was about time that I read this book and boy oh boy was it a delight. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a full five star but it was almost there. The characters man!! They’re just such smol beans who require hugs. Lots of hugs. They’re also chaotic drama queens who make no sense at all but it’s…
-
TWEET CUTE BY EMMA LORD // blog tour book review: the best YA rom-com ft. snarky banter and baking
I am so excited to talk about this book OH MY GOSH. Achievement reached: I actually read this before the release date!! Which is new for me because I’m such a mood reader and am always late. But yes ACCOMPLISHMENT. And as you read in the title, this book was just such an unexpected favourite. I was totally taken by surprise, having heard next to nothing about this book apart from a pitch on Instagram. And I knew I needed to read it. And boy did it not disappoint. But without any further ado, let us just get into how brilliant this book is. A huge thanks to St. Martins Press & Wednesday Books for inviting me to join this blog tour! Title: Tweet Cute Author: Emma Lord Page count: 368 Date published: 21 January 2020 Genre: Young Adult contemporary ♥ Synopsis: Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account. Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t…
