At the start of January, I used a “wheel of TBR” to determine which books I should pick up during the month. The wheel wasn’t very kind to me as it chose some quite large books. I didn’t have all that much time to read last month, so I didn’t get to all of them (as expected). However, I did tackle one of my most intimidating reads at the start of the year which makes me feel very proud.
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh – ★★★★★ This was a random purchase from the Amazon sale a month or two ago, and my pick for the “short book” prompt of the wheel. Although I had seen it mentioned on a few Best of 2019 lists, I didn’t expect much going into it. I find it hard to fall into a new world or atmosphere or get attached to characters with novellas because they’re so short. However, this novella was atmospheric and rich from the start. On page 3, I already knew it would end up a 5-star read.
Words of Radiance (Stormlight Archive #2) by Brandon Sanderson – ★★★★★ I can’t believe I managed to read one of my most intimidating books at the start of the year. Why is Words of Radiance so intimidating? First of all, it’s about 1300 pages long. Second, one of my favorite characters has the tendency to almost end up dead in every chapter. I was scared, okay? After gathering all my courage and picking this book up, I fell in love with it. It was even better than the first book in the series as we didn’t need as much worldbuilding or background this time around. I can’t wait to buy and read Oathbringer, the next book in the Stormlight Archive!
Are monthly wrap ups the only posts I’ve been writing for months? Yes, they are. I want to keep you all up-to-date with my reading, even though I’m going through a) one of the busiest periods of my life, and b) an incredibly long and stubborn blogging slump. I’m not in a reading slump at all! I just seem to forget I own a blog, and haven’t wanted to write a post in months. Sorry… I’m hoping that by letting my life take its course and focusing on other things at the moment my passion for it will come back. I don’t want to force it. Either way, here’s what I read in October!
Shortcake Cake vol. 4 by Suu Morishita – ★★★.₅ Like I mentioned in September’s wrap up, while in Tokyo I stayed at a hotel that allowed you to read as much of the manga on their shelves as you wanted. I started the Shortcake Cake manga during summer when I bought the first two volumes. This is a series I enjoy, but don’t love. The art is incredibly cute, the story is sweet, but there isn’t much to make this stand out from other manga.
Anonymous Noise vol. 1 byRyōko Fukuyama – ★★★.₅ Another one I borrowed from the hotel’s shelves. This is the story of a girl whose best friend moves away/disappears one day, and she grows up looking for him. Then she meets another guy, they write songs together as they grow up, and he disappears too. She’s convinced that they will come back once they hear her voice. This was a fun introduction into the world, but I couldn’t stop cracking up every time she sang. Why is she opening her mouth so wide and why can the entire world hear her? Does she have supernatural lungs??
Shortcake Cake vol. 5 by Suu Morishita – ★★★ Same story as volume 4, to be honest. It was enjoyable but not very memorable. I’m glad I had the chance to read it though! I think I will continue the manga as it gets released because I’m invested now but it’s definitely not a priority purchase.
Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty vol. 1 by Megumi Morino – ★★★ You guessed it, another volume I read while staying at the aforementioned hotel. I didn’t know what to expect from this manga at all. We follow a young guy who doesn’t want to go to university but wants to work instead. His father agrees to let him help with his job in the hopes of dissuading his son. The boy ends up working a part-time job at the mansion on the hill, where he meets the mysterious daughter of the house. While reading, I was afraid this was going into a weird direction with mental illness but then it turned into something supernatural (and not related to mental illness at all) and I was relieved. Once again, will probably continue but not a priority.
Waiting for Spring vol. 1 by Anashin – ★★★★.₅ A manga that has become a priority, however, is Waiting for Spring. I absolutely loved this first volume about a girl who accidentally befriends the popular members of the basketball team at her school. It was funny, adorable, and everything I wanted. I need to buy the volumes so I can continue soon!
The Poppy War (The Poppy War #1) by R.F. Kuang – ★★★★★ After finishing all that manga, I finally managed to read a novel as well. On the plane home, I finished The Poppy War, which will definitely end up on my favorite reads of the year list. It was brutal, captivating and fantastical, and I can’t believe it took me so long to read it. I want to read the sequel so badly but the paperback isn’t available anywhere… Be aware of all the content warnings for this book, though! There is an extremely brutal scene in here. You can find those content warnings in a lot of Goodreads reviews.
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing – ★★★★.₅ I sent in an acquisition request for this book to my local library, and was ecstatic when it was approved and the novel arrived. This is the story of a married couple who like to kill women together. It’s such a fascinating read, especially as we read from the perspective of the husband. How he both loves the “hunt” and abduction, yet hates how scared his daughter needs to be when she goes outside. This book was quite predictable and I wasn’t surprised at any point, yet it didn’t detract from the reading experience at all. I would highly recommend this book if you want to venture into thrillers.
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He – ★★★.₅ I’m not sure how to rate Descendant of the Crane, to be honest. I really enjoyed reading the book, and sped through it. Clearly, I was captivated by the world, characters, and story. Yet there’s quite a lot about the book I didn’t enjoy. It was very predictable. At times, I knew that a certain action from the main character would end up biting her in the ass in a specific way, and I was always right. Another aspect of the book I didn’t like was how passive the main character is. While I don’t think that every female leader or main character needs to be a sword-wielding assassin or brilliant strategist, I would hope that they at least have some agency throughout their story. I’ll keep it as a 3.5 for now. I’m curious to see what Joan He will write next!
I’m aware that I haven’t posted anything but a wrap up or tbr since mid-July, and for that I apologize. I mentioned in July that I wouldn’t post much for a while because I’m both overwhelmed with life and have lost some of the blogging magic.
I do want to keep sharing what I read with you all, despite the blogging slump, which is why I’ve been posting wrap ups every month. Let’s ignore my prolonged absence for a bit and talk about the books (manga, really) I managed to read in September.
Shortcake Cake vol. 3 by Suu Morishita – ★★★.₅ I started reading this manga in August, after buying copies of the first two volumes. I quite enjoyed them, but didn’t fall in love with the story or characters. The sentences are chopped up so much that the dialogue doesn’t flow at all. However, the hotel I was staying at in Tokyo was the Manga Art Hotel, and they (obviously) had a ton of manga you could read for free. Shortcake Cake was also available! I decided to continue the manga as I did like the first two volumes. I feel the same way about the third volume as I did the first two though. I like it, but I don’t love it.
Escape Journey vol. 1 by Tanaka Ogeretsu – ★★★★ Escape Journey was also available at aforementioned hotel, and looked pretty interesting. It’s a second-chance m/m romance set in university, which just seemed perfect to me. This could have been a 4.5 or 5 stars if it weren’t for the completely unnecessary rape scene (and the fact it was written by a woman even though it’s an m/m romance). While I would advise you to be careful with the scene I just mentioned if that is triggering to you, I did enjoy this volume overall. It’s very smutty though, so please keep that in mind!
Sweet Blue Flowers vol. 1 (omnibus edition) by Takako Shimura – ★★★★ I went from a smutty m/m romance to a sweet, adorable f/f one with Sweet Blue Flowers. It follows two girls who rekindle their old friendship when they start taking the train to school together every day. While they go to different schools and have their own friend groups, they take the train together every day. It has so many sweet moments, multiple LGBT+ characters and relationships, and I absolutely loved it. The only reason this didn’t receive a higher rating is because I felt like I needed a diagram or chart to keep up with the different characters and their relationships. It became so confusing after a while! Would highly recommend this manga if you haven’t read it already!
That’s it. That’s all I managed to finish in September. I know, I barely read anything! To be fair, I was traveling for almost half the month, and work was crazy right before leaving. I also started taking classes once a week last month which only added to the hectic schedule. I’m quite happy with what I managed to read though. I’m happy to have discovered some more manga.
I know this post is quite late as we’re already halfway through the month of August, but better late than never. I only read a few things during July thanks to the reading slump I’d been in for a while already. Here’s what I managed to finish!
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin – ★★★★★ I had been rereading this since March. I do love this series but I wasn’t feeling motivated to read it whatsoever. Then the #IronThroneReadalong happened, which gave me the push to finish this book. I read along with the group and found so many nuggets and hints to the later events in the story. I annotated my copy as well!
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang – ★★★ This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2019, and I was over the moon when I got accepted for a review copy on Netgalley. I’ve already reviewed it as well. I enjoyed it, but found it nowhere near as epic as her previous novel, The Kiss Quotient.
Twelve Kings (Song of the Shattered Sands #1) by Bradley P. Beaulieu – ★★★.₅ I loved the world, characters and history of this fantasy novel, but was disappointed by the pacing and writing. I’ve summarized my thoughts on Goodreads, as I’ve taken a break from posting. I would still recommend this book, and I’ll definitely continue the series, but I have to admit I was expecting more from this SFF novel.
That’s all I read during the month of July! I apologize for the late post and the very short thoughts on each book. As I mentioned in my ‘taking a break’ post, I haven’t felt very inspired to write here. However, I still wanted to share my July reads with you. I also want to put up my July in the life post in the coming week so I can chat to you all about what I watched, listened to, and did in the last month.
As always, I’m making a separate monthly wrap up to discuss the movies and TV shows I watched, the music I listened to, and the things that happened to me in the past month.
So, March… It was quite the interesting month!
I started the month off by getting two wisdom teeth extracted, which wasn’t very fun if I’m being honest. I didn’t read or do much in the 10 days following the extraction, which is why I ended up watching so many TV shows last month. Be warned, the next section of this wrap up will be long!
In more exciting news, I got a new job! I started on the 18th, and I’m really happy about it. I was definitely nervous on my first day, but it’s been such a good experience so far. Obviously, it’s time-consuming, and I expect I won’t be watching many shows or reading many books in the coming weeks. That’s okay though. I watched plenty in March…
The only movie I managed to watch in March was Arrival, but it was definitely a hit. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a movie so thoroughly, and it truly took me by surprise. I know people had been screaming about it for years, but I somehow thought it wasn’t one for me. How wrong was I? It was brilliant. A new favorite for sure!
I also watched the entirety of Coffee Prince, which is arguably one of the most famous Korean dramas ever. It has the girl-disguises-as-boy trope we all happen to love, but it’s a tad deeper than most shows that revolve around the topic. I loved this show far more than I expected to -see, there’s a trend here- especially since it’s now about 12 years old. Either way, you can read my full thoughts on the show in my review, here.
I also (finally) started watching La Casa de Papel. This show has been on my Netflix to-watch list for absolute ages! I’ve seen 7 episodes so far, and I’m hooked. Once I start watching, I can’t seem to stop. It’s so intense, and I’m invested in all the characters already. I’ve been putting off continuing the show, because I haven’t had much time the past few weeks, and know that once I start watching, I’ll end up glued to the screen for hours.
I also watched Romance is a Bonus Book in March, a Korean drama I’ve quickly fallen in love with. I already knew Lee Jong-suk was one of the most beautiful men ever, but I truly enjoyed his acting in this show. I also loved Lee Na-young in this drama, as she portrayed such a refreshing and fun woman. Truly, Kang Dan-yi is a woman I’d like to be friends with. Thanks to Netflix and the enormous backlist of Asian dramas I want to watch, I haven’t watched a show where I had to wait a week for an episode in ages. I saw this one on Netflix though, and couldn’t resist. All too quickly, I had caught up with the show and had to wait for 2 new episodes every Tuesday. You best believe I binged those ones as soon as I possibly could.
I also watched the Flemish show called De Luizenmoeder, which is an adaptation of the Dutch show of the same name. If you translate the title literally, it makes The Lice Mother. It follows the mothers of a group of elementary school children, and the staff at the school. It’s absolutely hilarious, and I binged it in one weekend. I did watch the Flemish version instead of the original Dutch one, because I am Belgian (and Flemish) so it’s far more relatable for me.
Inbetween all that, I watched season 3 of SKAM France. You may know that I’m a huge fan of the original SKAM, a Norwegian TV show about the lives of a group of teenagers from the same school. I haven’t really been interested in watching the remakes, because I already know the story and think no one can really top the original actors. HOWEVER, I fell into the French remake somehow, and watched the entirety of season 3 – Elliot and Lucas’ story. I love it. They’re the first ones to come close to the original Isak and Even. Sometimes, I can’t even tell who I prefer more. I think they’re incredible actors, especially Axel Auriant – who portrays Lucas/Isak.
Lastly, I watched the entire third season of Queer Eye. Who is surprised? NOT ME. Once again, I love this show. The new season is no exception on that rule. It’s fantastic.
Ready for the music section? Let’s go!
The Jonas Brothers – Sucker Who is surprised? NOT ME. You know I’ve been listening to this song on repeat since March 1st, and I’m not apologizing for it. It’s absolutely fantastic. I think it leans more towards the music Joe’s been making with DNCE – and I love it. Can we also talk about the MV? It’s so beautiful, silly, and fun, and I’m so happy all their significant others are in it.
ONEUS – Valkyrie I finally watched ONEUS’ debut song, Valkyrie, and consequently fell in love with it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to this song in March. It’s an embarrassing amount, for sure.
Jus2 – Focus on Me GOT7’s music has always been hit or miss for me, but this sub-unit blew me away. I don’t know what I was expecting from a Yugyeom-Jaebum song, but it wasn’t this. It might be my favorite song of them so far? It’s so chill, yet demands your attention. The choreography is amazing, and can we talk about the editing in this video? Damn. I love the smoothness of this song, though, and can listen to it again and again.
MAMAMOO – gogobebe It’s official, MAMAMOO is my favorite girl group. I love all their music. They’re such incredibly talented women, and I am filled with endless admiration. It’s silly, fun, and catchy.
Stray Kids – MIROH Listen, Stray Kids is one of my absolute favorite groups. They’ve never had a comeback I didn’t like/love, and Miroh is no exception. I have to admit that I had to listen to it twice when it was first released, because the song is so overwhelming that I didn’t absorb anything on the first listen. Now, it’s been on repeat ever since its release. The entire album is filled with amazing songs though.
BTS – Persona (Comeback Trailer) I usually don’t fall in love with BTS’ comeback trailers – don’t kill me. However, RM is absolutely fantastic in persona, and I’ve had so much fun diving into the lyrics. I wish this was on Spotify already so I could add it to my playlist.
That’s everything for March! Have you watched any of these shows, or listened to any of these songs? If you have any recommendations for me, I’d love to hear it!
While I didn’t read as much in March as I did in January and February, I still had a pretty good reading month – aside from that one book, but we’ll talk about it later. As always, I’m sharing the books I managed to finish this month, and what I thought about them.
Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa – ★★★★.₅ – loved it As you may know, I’ve been trying to read more graphic novels and manga in the past few months because I truly feel like I’m missing out on some great stories. Last year, I bought a secondhand copy of the first Fullmetal Alchemist volume. I figured it would be a great place to start, because it’s so famous. I absolutely loved it. Actually, I immediately bought volumes 2-7 on better world books… I want to continue the manga first before checking out the anime, because I want to story to surprise me in book-format – if that made sense.
Alchemy: the mystical power to alter the natural world; something between magic, art and science. When two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, dabbled in this power to grant their dearest wish, one of them lost an arm and a leg…and the other became nothing but a soul locked into a body of living steel. Now Edward is an agent of the government, a slave of the military-alchemical complex, using his unique powers to obey orders…even to kill.
Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick – ★★★★.₅ – loved it I always feel weird rating nonfiction books. Does anyone else have that issue? Anyway, this is another book I picked up used, and it seemed like an intriguing read. The author, Barbara Demick, is a journalist who made news reports on North Korea for years. For this book, she interviewed 6 North Korean citizens (defectors) and follows their lives over a period of 15 years. This was published in 2009, so before Kim Jong-un became the Supreme Leader. She followed people from the same city, so she could get a clearer view on their lives from a number of different perspectives. It’s such an interesting read! Especially because she addresses that a lot of today’s defectors would return to North Korea if the government fell. They’d want to go back and help their fellow country men assimilate and get back on their feet.
In this landmark addition to the literature of totalitarianism, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick follows the lives of six North Korean citizens over fifteen years–a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il (the father of Kim Jong-un), and a devastating famine that killed one-fifth of the population.
The Wicked King (Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black – ★★★★.₅ – loved it I’ve recently revised my rating of The Cruel Prince. I originally rated it 3.5 stars but rounded it up to 4 on Goodreads. Looking back on it, that was a tad too generous. I had quite some issues with the pacing of the first book, because nothing really happened for the first 80%. I had no such issues with The Wicked King. I love political stories, strategy, and power struggles. This book was right up my alley, and I loved it so much. I can’t wait to read the third book! I’m glad I decided to give the sequel a try, even though I didn’t love the first one.
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren – ★★★.₅ or ★★★★ Yes, I’m using an ‘or’ in my rating. I feel so conflicted right now, I don’t know how I feel about this book. For the first 75% of this novel, I was sure it would end up being a 5-star read. I simply loved it! It was adorable, funny, and sweet – and I do love me a soft boy. I was afraid at first that Hazel would become that quirky girl who is just so special, but it really didn’t feel like that. She just seemed genuine and 100% herself the entire time. But the last 25% of this book RUINED it for me. What was that? Why did you have to add one of my most hated tropes? It was NOT necessary at all.
Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. Their loss. Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air. Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them…right?
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman – ★★ – really didn’t like it Listen, I only made it through this book because a) Armie Hammer narrates the audiobook and his voice is fantastic, b) I shared the worst moments with some of my lovely friends so I didn’t have to suffer alone, and c) I felt challenged by this book and didn’t want to let it win by DNFing it. I watched this movie in 2017 and absolutely adored it. I HATED THIS BOOK. IT’S THE FUCKING WORST THING I HAVE READ IN A WHILE. I honestly felt violated while reading this. My brain needed to be submerged in bleach to erase the stain of it on my soul. Here’s my review of this novel, so your brain can feel like it need disinfecting too.
Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents’ cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. But during the restless summer weeks that follow, unrelenting buried currents of obsession and fear, fascination and desire, intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them.
I Hear the Sunspot Volume 1 by Yuki Fumino – ★★★★★ – a new favorite I needed to cleanse my soul after finishing the book we shall never mention again, and I Hear the Sunspot seemed like the perfect manga to do so. I read this on MangaRock, which is an app where fans translate manga from the original Japanese. A lot of manga never get translated, so that’s nice. I did find out after finishing this that the first three volumes were recently translated into English and I’ve already bought them all. This was the most wholesome thing I’ve read in a while. It’s the cutest thing. I will scream about this manga forever, until everyone has read it. (Yes, I’m serious. I really will.) Here’s my review of the first three volumes! I manage to explain why I love it in more detail, and don’t give away any spoilers – don’t worry.
Because of a hearing disability, Kohei is often misunderstood and has trouble integrating into life on campus, so he learns to keep his distance. That is until he meets the outspoken and cheerful Taichi. He tells Kohei that his hearing loss is not his fault. Taichi’s words cut through Kohei’s usual defense mechanisms and open his heart. More than friends, less than lovers, their relationship changes Kohei forever.
Bye Bye Liberty Volume 1 by Ayuko Hatta – ★★★.₅ – liked it Bye Bye Liberty was another random MangaRock pick that I ended up liking. It’s a fun manga that follows a girl who has never had a crush nor been in love, and an immensely popular boy. It’s cute and funny, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. I also didn’t like how she went from ‘never have had a crush’ to ‘I might be in love with this person’ so soon. This could have been a chance to write about a demiromantic character, and it feels like a missed opportunity somewhat. I’ll probably continue the manga some day, but I’m not in a rush.
I Hear the Sunspot: Theory of Happiness by Yuki Fumino – ★★★★★ – a new favorite I was in a rush to continue this manga, though, and ended up reading it immediately after my purchased volumes came in the mail. I devoured this series, and am so in love with it. Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve written a review on the first three volumes that are published in English, which you can find here.
I Hear the Sunspot: Limit 1 by Yuki Fumino – ★★★★.₅ – loved it I didn’t love this as much as the previous two volumes mainly because I think it’s too short. The Japanese chapters that have been published in ‘Limit’ are far more than the ones in here, which is why I assume it’s called Limit 1. I don’t see why they were split up though. I continued reading the rest of the Limit volumes on MangaRock, and can I just say that a) I’m truly in love with this manga, and b) WHAT IS THAT ENDING? YOU CAN’T DO THAT TO ME.
That’s everything I managed to read in March! I barely read anything in the last two weeks of the month, but I think I had a pretty good month nonetheless. Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What did you read in the past month? I’d highly recommend reading I Hear the Sunspot – and avoiding CMBYN.
January has come and gone, which means it’s time for the wrap ups to start. I always create a wrap up where I talk about the books I read during the month prior to the post, as well as a wrap up where I discuss the movies and TV shows I watched, the music I listened to, and the things I did.
Burning – ★★★★
I saw some people mention Burning as one of their favorite movies of last year, or as one of the most underrated ones. When I discovered a cinema in Brussels was playing it for two days in January, I knew I wanted to go. I ended up really enjoying it! It’s not a movie for those who love to have every question answered by the end, but I think that’s part of its charm. Go into this movie not knowing anything, and message me with your theories when you’ve done so!
Searching – ★★★★.₅ Searching was actually the first movie I watched in 2019! Once again, inspired by people’s list of favorite and most surprising movies of the year. I would have never watched it without seeing it mentioned so often. The movie is described as following a father whose daughter goes missing. Nothing new, right? However, this story is only told through tech – FaceTime, security cameras, desktop screengrabs, etc. It’s a very interesting way to tell a mystery because it makes the audience feel like they’re investigating the disappearance alongside the main character.
Tidying Up With Marie Kondo – ★★★★ I have a full review of this show coming up, so I won’t say too much here. Suffice it to say I absolutely loved it. Marie Kondo seems like the most adorable and respectful person on the entire planet, and I would protect her with my life.
What’s wrong with Secretary Kim? – ★★★★★ This has to be one of my favorite Asian dramas so far. I’ll definitely write a ‘thoughts on TV’ post on it soon, but I want you all to go watch it now. It follows a young Vice Chairman/CEO who has been at the top of his game for years. Partly thanks to his secretary, Secretary Kim, who has been by his side for 9 years. One day, seemingly out of nowhere, she tells him she’ll be resigning soon. The CEO, who is the biggest narcissist ever, just can’t seem to understand why someone would willingly quit working for him and decides to investigate.
Because this is my first life – ★★★.₅ I only watched a few episodes of Because this is my first life, since I watched the majority of it in 2018. I thought it was okay but nothing special. I didn’t understand the main female character, to be honest. Her actions became completely ridiculous to me by the end. However, it was an enjoyable show overall!
January always feels like such a long month, doesn’t it? It seems absolutely endless… However, I’m happy to report some pretty great things happened to me in January!
Obviously, I celebrated New Year’s with my family at the start of the year. It was nice to see everyone together again, and I ate some incredible food. Actually, I ate a lot of incredible food…
I made plans with some of my best friends as well. Here’s some of what I did with my friends: had lunch, went shopping, went to see a movie, had coffee, had dinner at some of my favorite places, went to the gym… Even the gym was fun because it gave me some time to spend with a precious friend!
I also hosted a Korean dinner party for some wonderful people I’ve known all my life. We cooked several dishes (japchae, tteokbokki, jjajangmyeon and tangsuyuk) so everyone could try some of the most popular foods! I think they liked it well enough!
Something small but incredibly wonderful is that I put some money aside to get my nails done. Getting my nails done is such a small thing, but it immediately makes me feel put together! I hate doing them myself, so I went to my favorite salon in my neighborhood instead. I go once every two to three weeks now to choose a different color.
Last, but most certainly not least, I went to Amsterdamfor two days with a friend! We mainly went to see DAY6 in concert, but stayed the next day so we could sleep in and have some food together before we both went home. It was such a nice time, and I was so happy to spend time with her again! DAY6 was absolutely fantastic. I think it might have been the best concert I’ve ever been to. I also bought a DAY6 hoodie!
While I was in Amsterdam, I got an ear piercing as well! I’ve been wanting one for ages but never actually went through with it. It was one of my 3-monthly goals for 2019 and I’m glad I finally did it. Even though it hurts at times right now.
Ariana Grande – 7 rings Even though I find the tattoo story absolutely hilarious, I do quite like the song. It’s one of those songs I had to get used to. I didn’t like it the first time I listened to it, but it grew on me after a while.
Whoever said money can’t solve your problems
Must not have had enough money to solve ’em
WayV – Regular This might be my favorite version of Regular. This song marked the debut of WayV (NCT China), and I couldn’t be more excited.
ATEEZ – Say My Name I’m really impressed with this group. They’re so new, yet they’ve created a few songs I’ve absolutely loved already.
That’s it, my month of January! Although it was a long one, I’m quite happy with everything that happened. How was your month? Did you do anything fun? Watch any great movies or shows? Listen to some fantastic music?
Another month has gone by, which means it’s time for my monthly wrap up! In these posts, I show you everything I’ve read during said month and if I’ve made a review for it, I will always leave a link for that. So let’s get into it!
Rite of Rejection by Sarah Negovetich4.5/5 stars A young adult dystopian novel that I highly enjoyed! I was even surprised by how much I liked it and made a review about it, which you can find here.
Written On Her Heart by Paige Ryan3/5 stars A new adult book about a famous writer and a girl who aspires to be one. I also wrote a review on this one, which you can find here.
Yes Please by Amy Poehler5/5 stars Amy Poehler is absolutely hilarious and her audiobook is no exception. Because this is the first audiobook I’ve ever finished, I had to write a review about it -linked here.
Seeker (Seeker #1) by Arwen Elys Dayton4.5/5 stars An awesome young adult (high) fantasy novel. This one only releases in February, I believe, but I just had to read and review it now. I was definitely not disappointed -review here.
I’m quite proud of the read/reviewed ratio I’ve got going on! I wish I would’ve read more during the month but considering the amount of work I’ve had I know I should be ecstatic that I even read this much. The only book I haven’t reviewed is the Harry Potter reread, which I think doesn’t really warrant a review.
What did you read this month? I’d love to read it in the comments below!
The Fictional Reader 