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Back from hiatus

It’s good to be back (again).

I had a rough start to this year, so I really needed the break. I won’t lie, I always feel strangely guilty whenever I take a break from blogging. It feels almost sacrilege, which is absurd because this is just a blog. This is just my own tiny bubble on the internet, where I feel almost completely at ease to share whatever is on my mind. There is a comfort in knowing that I can express my thoughts freely from behind a screen, where no one who knows me in real life would try to interpret the meaning of my words just so they can fit me in the narrative they’ve written for me.

That sounds harsher than I intended it to. What I really mean is that when you interact with someone in person, you form an impression of them. And even if your first impressions are not your lasting impressions, you will still unconsciously try to fit them in a stereotype, or at the very least you will unintentionally put labels on them, for no other reason than it helps you make sense of that person better. We are all guilty of this to some extent, but here, on this blog, I don’t have to be afraid of being labelled. Of being finite.

I have personal issues with being labelled, but that’s a story for later.

As I was saying—I was meaning to return to blogging in January and then in February, but given how things were going for me I realized that It just wasn’t the right time yet. One of the most important lessons I learned last year is prioritizing. This year, after losing a friend, after watching my father’s health deteriorate day by day (and realizing that part of his carelessness about his own health is because of his mental health issues), opening a bakery which comes with its own equal share of excitement and stress, starting my final year at university, dealing with my own mental health, and a million other things…yeah blogging was not my priority.

Looking back at my younger self though, I have to admit, I am doing much better than I have had in years. Despite everything, I am coping, and definitely knowing what needs to be done first has helped me a lot.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are reading this, and you are disappointed in yourself for not being able to follow whatever plans you have set for yourself to the dot—then take a deep breath and stop. You don’t have to do everything at once. Just focus on what’s truly important, and try to choose something that brings you joy. Best of luck. You got this.

Book Corner, Home, Young Adult

Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

What power can bruise the sky?
Two worlds are poised on the brink of a vicious war. By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera’s rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her.
When the brutal angel emperor brings his army to the human world, Karou and Akiva are finally reunited–not in love, but in tentative alliance against their common enemy. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves.
But with even bigger threats on the horizon, are Karou and Akiva strong enough to stand among the gods and monsters?

Trigger Warning: This book contains graphic scenes of violence

Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

Dreams of Gods and Monsters is without a doubt, an excellent ending to an excellent series, but before I start fangirling reviewing this book, please note that this review might contain minor spoilers for those who have not yet read Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight. I highly recommend you read my review of those books first before you read this review.

Here’s what I enjoyed about this book:

World building (again): this time we get to explore the other side of Eretz, the home of the mysterious Stelians. The imagery is so vivid, and it truly shows how fantastical Taylor’s imagination is.

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Home, Stray Thoughts

I have a hater and this is what he taught me

This is quite possibly the strangest thing to have happened to me.

See I am usually a nice person. Not necessarily very nice–I am human, I have my bad days, and sometimes I know I am not really a nice person even when I am not having a bad day (no one’s perfect). But usually, I am polite. Maybe a little too quiet (because I am introverted) which people sometimes mistake for snobbishness, but really it’s only because I am shy and awkward.

But most days–I am nice. And in the past three years, I cannot recall a single moment when I have been anything but nice to the person this post is about: my hater.

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Home, Stray Thoughts

Sunday Wrap Up: Week 1 of November

(Let’s pretend it’s Sunday okay?)

I am not quite sure how long I am going to go on with this vanishing and reappearing act on my blog, but here I am reappearing after vanishing for the entire month of October. Anyway, here’s a quick wrap of of the first week of November for me:

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Book Corner, Home, Other Bookish Stuff, Top 10 Tuesday

Top 10 Tuesday: Backlist Books I Want To Read

It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday again! For those who don’t know, Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018.

TTT-NEW

This week’s prompt is “backlist books that I want to read”, and honestly, I have quite a long list of old books that were published ages ago but I never got around to reading…for…reasons…

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Book Corner, Discussion Posts, Home, Other Bookish Stuff

10 Things Non-Readers Do That Annoy Me

Ahh, non-readers. Those odd, clueless species who are so bewildered when they see a reader crying over fictional characters, gushing about worlds that do not exist and cancelling plans because we’d like to finish one more incredible chapter. We know that our habits perplex them…even annoy them. All we do is read, and read, and read. 

We understand their frustrations, of course, don’t we? In fact, we have our frustrations too, because non-readers do a lot of things too that annoys us and sometimes makes us want to smack their heads with those very heavy books we cherish. And here is a list of just 10 of those annoying things that non-readers do that seriously annoy me:

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Book Corner, Home, Young Adult

Review: Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

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If you haven’t read the first book please do not read further as there are spoilers in this review.Feel free to read my review of Daughter of Smoke and Bone here if you are interested in starting this series!

Trigger Warning: Graphic scenes of violence and sexual assault

Continue reading “Review: Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor”

Uncategorized

Announcements: Blogoween+The Classics Club TBR

I AM BACK FROM MY HIATUS!

(and I come bearing news)

It’s good to be back on the blog, but the hiatus was a much needed break because of how stressful things are right now in my life–my mom recently fractured her ankle so I have to do the groceries and take my sister to her classes and pick her up from classes too, none of which would not have been so difficult if only I didn’t have 8-5 classes myself.

(in fact I am trying really hard not to fall asleep on my laptop as I write this post)

(and so this is gonna be a very quick and short post…minus the tbr list below)

I’ll admit that a small part of me still wants to extend the hiatus, but I really didn’t want to miss Blogoween–the book blogger’s version of Halloween  which is being hosted by some lovely people I met through #NewBloggers (you’ll get to know them all as I start posting on the prompt dates).

Continue reading “Announcements: Blogoween+The Classics Club TBR”

Uncategorized

Announcing Mini Hiatus

Hi guys! This just a quick heads up that I am taking a very short break from the blogosphere. I have been busy with a few things lately and am finding it really hard to squeeze in posts while also handling other responsibilities. And so I think it’s better if I take a bit of time off until October–in the meantime, I’ll be drafting up posts in advance so there’s less pressure on me when I return again.

I am sorry I won’t be able to read all of your posts, but if there is something you want me to take a look at feel free to send me links! I’ll make sure to read and comment on them when I can <3

See you all in October!

Book Corner, Dystopia, Home, Thriller, Young Adult

Review: Champion by Marie Lu

He is a Legend. She is a Prodigy.

Who will be Champion?

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps-Elect, while Day has been assigned a high-level military position.

But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them: just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything.

5 out of 5

The third and final book of the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu surpassed all of my expectations—and let me tell you, my expectations were pretty high. I know I have said this before in my review of Prodigy, but Marie Lu’s writing improves dramatically after the first book in this series, and Champion was no exception. Here is a quick rundown of all the things that I loved about the book (and none of the things I didn’t like because guess what…I loved EVERYTHING!)

Continue reading “Review: Champion by Marie Lu”