The Weekly Hufflepuff #69 // HAPPY PRIDE Y’ALL

Wow and another week bite the dust* what a surprise does time even e x i s t

ALSO HI I’M TURNING 21 IN LIKE THREE DAYS I’M NOT FREAKING OUT HAHA

On the plus side I’m seeing Love, Simon again in TWO (!!) days for my birthday because the cinema close to my house (and heart I love it it’s so small and cute and the atmosphere is just great??) is having a pre-showing. I just subtly moved my laptop with the webpage about the pre-showing on the screen so it was facing my mom and she was all excited ‘you want to see it again?’

* I have a terrible sense of humour please forgive me

Last weekly wrap up I mentioned having started All of This is True and not being sure how I felt about it yet. Well I finished it and guess what!! I was highly disappointed! Full review came out yesterday*

To cheer myself up after reading that… thing… I immediately started Cinderella Boy because I needed a cute queer Cinderella retelling with a genderfluid protagonist. I’m happy to announce that I finished it on Friday, on the first day of Pride

The first half was super slow – it was cute, sure, but I was also bored?? But then things picked up and it got really good. Also that epilogue killed me.

* Haha I really hope so I’m procrastinating writing that review by writing this post ahead of time hahahaha help

I’m scheduling this in advance as I don’t think I’ll have time tomorrow, but I’m hoping to also have started Autoboyography by the time you read this. If you want to read Autoboyography as well – wow this sounds like sponsored post IT’S NOT I JUST WANT TO SPREAD THE LOVE AND LET Y’ALL KNOW THAT DURING THE MONTH OF JUNE A.K.A. PRIDE MONTH AUTOBOYOGRAPHY, THE ENTIRE BOOK, IS UP FOR FREE ON RIVETED. Just sign up, which, again, is free, and shouldn’t be restricted to your location (I expected it to be for Americans only but my lil Dutch self was able to sign up??) AND THEN YOU CAN JUST,, READ AUTOBOYOGRAPHY FOR FREE (and other books as well)

So the beginning of this week still wasn’t too great, but I feel a lot better now and am so excited about so many things?? Like seeing Love, Simon again, it being Pride, my birthday coming up, all the amazing books I plan on reading this month (especially once exams are over), freedom being near, nice weather!!, hopefully being able to write after exams, The Bold Type* and Voltron coming back** and blogging! My brain keeps screaming Pride related ideas at me and I’m just like,, pls calm down,, I don’t have that much time but honestly? My heart is yelling ‘HECK YES BRAIN’ and just,, Once I finished writing this post there’s a good chance I’ll write a Pride related post?? Because I really really want to and sure I can wait until after exams but nope i don’t want to do that!

* I mean not only is this an AMAZING show but also!! the main ship is between a black woman (she hasn’t used a label yet on the show but she’s definitely attracted to both men and women) and a lesbian muslim!!
** @ Voltron remember you promised us there’d be LGBTQIAP+ rep,, now would be a good time buddies chop chop

Um honestly I don’t really remember much about this week? I had school for two days because my literature class on Tuesday was cancelled (and that was supposed to be the last one now I have to suffer this Tuesday adgbjsh) and other than that? I’ve been trying to do some schoolwork, reading, blogging, playing some Pokemon* and just relax. I don’t think I did anything special?? Oh but the reason I’m scheduling this is because my mom and I are going to a museum again (two actually, if everything goes to plan)

* @ Pokemon yo I thought there wouldn’t be a game this year what u doing fam now I’m going to need to get myself a Switch do I look like a millionaire to u there goes my money afsgdj

🐝 The Writing Hufflepuff 🐝

💛 I announced the relaunch of my photography blog
💛 I reviewed Anger is a Gift, a powerful look on police brutality (plus it’s super queer!!)
💛 I wrapped up May??? Where did May go??*
💛 I reviewed All of This is True which I unfortunately found quite boring and I have some concerns about the way a character who commited sexual assault was written

* Lol it sounds like I’m asking about May @ Forever and Everly

📷 Aesthetically Dreaming 📷

📸 I (awkwardly) introduced myself and the blog
📸 I shared a photoshoot of some ‘under the sea’ photography*
📸 I did the photography tag in which I shared my best photo, favourite instagrams and my love of cats**

* So yeah I took those photographs in an aquarium that blog post title is a LIE sue me I ain’t going under water I’m terrified of the ocean
** Yes cats not pugs pugs are my first love but I do love cats very much too

💛 Aimee @ Aimee, Always shares 12 YA books that are being released this month
💛 May @ Forever and Everly wrote an important discussion post about the own voices label and the negative pressure it puts on both authors and reviewers
💛 Savannah @ The Book Prophet wrote an own voices discussion post Native American representation
💛 Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books shares tips on how to find blogging inspiration
💛 Sarah @ Written Word Worlds wonders if there’s too much romance in YA
💛 Lu @ It’s Lu Again did the 20 Questions Book Tag
💛 Saida @ Erucchii’s Books and Recs did my Your WIP in Gifs Tag
💛 And so did Marrill @ Books and Ravens 

How was your week? Read any good books? Are you celebrating Pride? Are you excited about The Bold Type and Voltron? Let me know in the comments!

The Monthly Hufflepuff May // I First Wrote Mufflepuff Afbadjfh

Hello, it is I, The Writing Mufflepuff. Mufflepuff was founded by Melga Mufflepuff. Mufflepuffs are particularly good finders.

Anyway…

How is May over already (well, almost, it’s technically still May but ssh). But it being June is very exciting though! 1) it’s Pride month! 2) My birthday is June 6th!* and 3) School ends this month! Hopefully! If I pass everything! Please teachers I beg of you I will do anything!**

* Even though I don’t want to turn 21 because uh yes hi the past year I kept forgetting I wasn’t a teenager anymore do you have any idea how even more embarrassing that will be if I’m 21
** And by anything I mean show up at your house and cry until you give me a passing grade

Anyway, how was May?

💛 My Name is Victoria by Lucy Worsley ⭐⭐ – Turns out Worsley’s books are not for me. This was the second book of hers I read and both times I had similar problems. There just isn’t much plot, which meant I was quite bored. The plot twist at the end also ruined my experience

💛 Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson ⭐⭐⭐ – Uh a bit of a let down? *hides* I have a full review (possibly a mini review) planned but yeah. It took me SO long to finish this one. This book is partly at fault for me not reading as much as last month. I just felt like it was way too long, with not that much happening.

💛 Over Raging Tides by Jennifer Ellision ⭐⭐⭐ – FEMALE PIRATES KICKING ASS, STEALING STUFF, JUST BEING PIRATES HECK YES. This one was a lot of fun, but unfortunately it was a bit underdeveloped. I definitely do recommend it though

💛 Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – THIS BOOK. WHAT EVEN. WHERE IS THE HYPE. WHY ISN’T EVERYONE READING THIS AND YELLING ABOUT IT IT’S SO GOOD. IT’S A GIFT. I’M SORRY THAT PUN WAS TOO EASY.  PLEASE DON’T LET THAT PUT YOU OFF OF READING THIS. DON’T SLEEP ON ANGER IS A GIFT

💛 All of This is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor ⭐⭐ – Well this was a disappointment. I wasn’t fond of the writing style (though the format was interesting) and I found the characters very flat. There was barely any difference between them. Then there was the plot twist that really disgusted me so yeah. Full review hopefully coming this Saturday!

COMICS: Giant Days #38 // Lumberjanes #50

I usually don’t talk about personal stuff in my monthly wrap ups, because I usually do that in my weekly ones already so I don’t want to repeat myself*, but I just want to talk about what a weird month May was? Like at the start of the month I finished and handed in my final essay, truly ending my period abroad which is so odd. First of all it just doesn’t feel like that happened this month. Not that it feels longer ago, but it just feels like this separate thing? I don’t know how to explain it. Second, this was my first full month back home which is so odd? Sometimes it feels like I never actually went haha. Anyway, I got another grade back and I passed that one as well, so now I only have to wait for the final one *fingers crossed*

If you read my last wrap up you know my mental health wasn’t that great last week, and honestly it kind of continued to be bad. Thankfully I started feeling better on Tuesday.

* Unless of course I haven’t written a weekly wrap up in forever which actually happens quite often lol

Reviews

💛 My Name Is Victoria // Two Victoria’s, One Queen, An Alternative History
💛 Starfish // The Best Anxiety Rep I’ve Ever Read
💛 Over Raging Tides // Female Pirates Kicking Ass
💛 Anger is A Gift // A Powerful Look On Police Brutality (Also It’s Hella Queer™ )

Bookish 

💛 Finally Attending Hogwarts // My Hogwarts Mystery Reactions
💛 Books I Loved But?? Memory?? ERROR CANNOT BE FOUND

Wrap ups

💛 The Monthly Hufflepuff April // Great Reading Month, Baaaaaad Blogging Month*
💛 The Weekly Hufflepuff #67 // Uhhhhh *insert witty title* **
💛 The Weekly Hufflepuff #68 // My Mental Health is Currently That Gif Of Captain Holt Saying ‘Everything is Garbage’

Other posts

💛 Monthly Mixtape // Mellifluous: Sweet and Cute Songs

* I wonder if I got the amount of a’s right in ‘baaaaaad’
** Now I’m wondering the same thing about ‘uhhhhh’ also what a great post title

Well that isn’t too bad! I have no idea what will happen next month. I want to be really active, especially with Pride, but I also have exams coming up, so we’ll see? I might end up posting a bunch of Pride posts at the end of June after my exams lol

I added my lil bees and hearts but I have no idea why because I have nothing left to say? Uhhh buy and read Anger is a Gift

How was your month? Best book you read? Or the worst? Are you going to read Anger is a Gift?

The Weekly Hufflepuff #68 // My Mental Health is Currently That Gif Of Captain Holt Saying ‘Everything is Garbage’

How is May almost over already what is this sorcery what even is time

I finished Anger is a Gift and I’m dead. So so intense, but so so good guys. Please pick it up (it’s out already because I’m slooow but hopefully I’ll have my review up this Thursday). I pretty much immediately started All of This is True because it’s coming out this week. I’m definitely getting my review for this one up after the release date as well but oh well 🤷🏻‍♀️ Can’t be helped. I’m not really sure how I feel about this one yet? It’s intriguiging but also a bit underwhelming, mostly because of the writing which I’m not really impressed with. But we’ll see!

Well this week was terrible! My anxiety has been through the roof and today I’m still not doing so great. I can’t really talk about what happened, but something triggering happened this week that honestly made me feel like I took SUCH a step backwards when it comes to my mental health and now I’m just,, really struggling.

That said, it wasn’t entirely garbage, as I went to the Moco Museum with my mom yesterday which was fun and I also had to work on Friday evening, which was a welcome distraction. But my anxiety won’t really,, go away. I mean, it never truly goes away, but it’s been very present this week no matter what I do or what happens.

Fingers crossed that this week will be better

Oh but on a lighter note, I really love my new design and am so so happy I decided to change it already after all! I had been sick of my old design for so long now, but I had trouble finding a theme that I really liked. I don’t know why the current theme didn’t catch my attention earlier? Oh well I’m using it now and I’m happy with it

Two posts, which I’m honestly happy with! I used to post three times a week plus a weekly wrap up, but that’s just not do-able for me right now, so I changed my schedule to twice a week (plus a possible wrap up, depending on how I’m feeling on Sunday) and look! I made it!

💛 I reviewed Over Raging Tides, a fun female pirates book
💛 I talked about books I apparently loved according to Goodreads but I don’t remember them

💛 Julianna @ Paper Blots talks about her writing in the Rising Author Tag
💛 She also talks about some tired and overused discussion topics
💛 Elizabeth @ Redgal Musings did my Your WIP in Gifs tag (Irish Folk retelling of The Little Mermaid)
💛 And so did Savannah @ The Book Prophet (#OwnVoices Native American rep)
💛 Vivian @ Writing With Style talks about writers influenced her the most
💛 The Orangutan Librarian gives some great writing advice
💛 Annie @ Blossoms and Bullet Journals shares 7 reasons why she loved Summer of Salt
💛 Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books talks about her WIP in the Milestone Writing Tag
💛 Farah @ Smiling Dreamer is back!
💛 Chiara @ Delicate Eternity shares 5 reasons why you should watch When Marnie Was There
💛 Olivia @ Purely Olivia shares 5 reasons why she still reads and loves middle grade fiction
💛 Cait @ Paper Fury talks about her favourite and worst things about being an author

Despite my struggles with my mental health I’ve actually been kinda throwing myself into blogging?? Why can’t I do that when my mental health is better adlgkfsj I’m actually kinda keeping up with the blogs in my wordpress and bloglovin feed and even trying to branch out and find other posts to read. I’ve actually kinda been neglecting school, though also not really because I DO feel like I’m kinda keeping up with it, but I’m just used to giving it my all, putting all my time into it, working ahead etc. so now it just feels weird?? My anxiety is of course not helping because it keeps telling me that I’m behind!! And I should work on school!! Or I’m going to fail!! Which is ridiculous because I know I probably won’t (did you notice the ‘probably’ because I did sdkgjh) but… Ugh

me @ my anxiety

I just can’t wait for school to be over for the year tbh even though that means I’ll have all the time worry about next year and internships and freelance work and then graduating hahaha

How are you guys? Hopefully doing better than me, if not sending you lots of hugs. Read anything good? Find anything good to watch now that B99 is on hiatus? Let me know in the comments!

The Weekly Hufflepuff #67 // Uhhhhhhh *insert witty title*

Yes a weekly wrap up on a Monday but it’s okay

It’s been over a MONTH since my last weekly wrap up and?? I don’t know how that happened?? I did talk about some personal stuff in April’s wrap up (IT’S ALMOST TIME TO WRAP UP MAY HOWWWW) but I didn’t share any blog posts that I read?? Be prepared to get lots of great posts thrown in your facesMy memory is failing me and I have no clue what I’ve read since my last wrap up (both weekly and monthly) so I’ll just talk about what I’m reading right now which is okay because it’s SO GOOD. I was hooked from the first page and I immediately knew Anger Is A Gift would be a new fave. It’s coming out tomorrow so I should have finished it by now so I could have my review up but… I requested it not that long ago thinking I wouldn’t get accepted anyway, but then I DID and now I’m kinda screwed. But I’m halfway there so my review should be up next week at the latest*

* That’s what I thought when it came to Starfish and that took me a MONTH hahahaSo last wrap up I didn’t talk about what classes I’m following this term, which surprises me because I remember being prepared to RANT but then I just forgot because school is eating my brain. Oh well

Anyway, in either your third or fourth year you need to choose a specialisation. I chose culture, which means I’m taking fine arts, film, literature and philosophy of culture. Fine arts and film are a lot of fun, philosophy of culture is okay – it’s not a lot of philosophy, mostly it’s history and a lot of it I already knew? And then there’s literature

Now I know what you’re thinking: ‘Michelle, you’re a book blog! Are you saying you don’t like your literature class?’ hahahaha

That’s exactly what I’m saying

Okay but hear me out. My entire class is focusing on ONE book. ONE. A book of course written by a white, abled straight cis man, who also!! Is incredibly islamophobic, sexist and homophobic!! So the book we’re reading?? A MESS. My teacher? LOVES IT. My anxious ass? QUIET. I really wish I could speak up but,,, ugghh. Anxiety. The teacher doesn’t seem to have a problem with the book at all. She even went out of her way to say that she doesn’t think it’s islamophobic. Oh and the sexism?? ‘so absurd that it’s unrealistic’ yeah the main character thinking women shouldn’t vote is so unrealistic hahahahaha and the objectifying of women? Doesn’t happen!!! Never!! But to make matters worse there was this:

”Do you guys think there’s any humour in this? I do”*proceeds to read aloud a quote that I personally found homophobic/lesbophobic but apparently she thinks it’s funny!!*

And of course a few people laughed

Meanwhile I felt like I had been slapped in the face and was about to cry

So yeah. FUN

But my other classes are a lot more inclusive! Not as much as I’d like, but still. Plus at least they’re not this woman :) We have to fill out surveys for each class each term, so I’m definitely going to say something about her and her class. Maybe I’ll find the courage to speak up in tomorrow’s class now that I’ve finished the book but that woman makes me really anxious (speaking up itself already does sdjgh)

Anyway what else happened?

💛 EUROVISION. Eurovision was once again a blast, though there was not enough weird Eurovision stuff, glitter and gay. Also I don’t like the winner. I had SO many faves why did my two least favourite ones end up first and second. Countries were robbed. Not enough meme material. But it’s Eurovision and I will always love it

💛 MY OTP GOT MARRIED AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT AND GINA RODRIGUEZ FINALLY APPEARED ON B99 AND IT WAS PERFECT AND ROSA’S REACTION WAS ICONIC AND RELATABLE AND SUCH A MOOD (don’t want to spoil anyone so I’m being vague lol)

💛 Two weeks ago I had to take care of the neighbours cat and she was the CUTEST thing #blessed

💛 Uhhhhhhh

💛 I seriously need a PensieveSince my monthly wrap up I wrote four posts wow so much many posts much impressed

💛 I reviewed My Name is Victoria which was,,, okay? But the plot twist at the end ruined it for me
💛 I also reviewed Starfish which was INCREDIBLE and my favourite book of the year nothing will surpass it
💛 I shared my reactions to the Hogwarts Mystery game
💛 I shared another playlist for Monthly Mixtape

I can’t wait for summer break to get here and I swear if I don’t pass my exams and have to redo them my school is going to catch these hands💛 Emma @ The Book Crunch shares her favourite YA books that feature mental health issues
💛 LaRonda @ Flying Paperbacks recommends some contemporaries that deal with mental health as well
💛 Julianna @ Paper Blots reviews My So-Called Bollywood Life which sounds like a great book so check out her amazing review
💛 Ilsa @ A Whisper of Ink talks about her writing in the Rising Author Tag and shares some amazing snippets
💛 Annemieke @ A Dance With Books celebrated her blog’s third birthday
💛 She also wonders if these days 3-star ratings are bad ratings
💛 Eri and Alexis @ Lacy Literacy talk about their day at YALLWEST
💛 Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books shouts about 10 books she rarely screams about but feels like she should
💛 She also wonders if you have to review books to be a book blogger
💛 Oh and of course she once again made me even more excited about her WIP by doing my Your WIP in Gifs Tag
💛 Amber @ The Literary Phoenix talks about the worst movies adapted from books
💛 Sarah @ Written Word Worlds talks about stereotypical YA characters and created a quiz to figure out which one you are
💛 Kat @ Life and Other Disasters wonders if you fight for your tv show
💛 She also created another great writing tag called The Milestones Write Tag
💛 May @ Forever and Every recommends YA Asian books 
💛 She also reviewed Furyborn and rants about the messy and vague bi rep which you should really read
💛 Ever wondered how to write a shipable OTP? Elizabeth @ Redgal Musings has a guide for you
💛 Holly @ Nut Free Nerd talks about book blogging as a feminist space
💛 Lu @ It’s Lu Again started a new blogging series called ‘Coming Out Series’ and I can’t choose which one to share so: Part 1 about LGBT+ Rep // Part 2 about 2018’s LGBT+ themed books // Part 3 in which she reviews Autoboyography
💛 Aimee @ Aimee, Always shares 5 things Children of Blood and Bone made her do 
💛 Vivian @ Writing With Style talks about how she avoids inconsistencies in her writing
💛 Amena @ Nerd in New York talks about how blogging changes the way she reads
💛 Inside My Library Mind shares all you need to know to start using Edelweiss
💛 Chiara @ Delicate Eternity gives 5 reasons why she enjoyed Ace of Shades
💛 Cristina @ Girl in the Pages talks about YA books set in college
💛 Fadwa @ Word Wonders shares how she manages to not drown under blogging and reading
💛 And last but definitely not least, Cait @ Paper Fury announced her second (!!) novel

I have four more weeks to go until summer break* but it feels sooo much longer. Probably because I never even got to properly rest from last school year dskngjhd I have so many blog post ideas and I’m so excited about blogging again, but it’s hard to find the time and energy to be honest. Even though I don’t want school to dominate my life (which I’m kind of succeeding in?) I just can’t bring myself to blog as much as I’d want to. I also really, really want to change things about my design** and technically I could make time, but I’d rather use that time to write posts and blog hop. It’s starting to bug me though, I really want to change things haha

* If I pass everything please I’m begging you
** You may have noticed I changed my ‘summary’ and ‘review’ banners in my review

So yeah after I scheduled this post I got reaaaally annoyed with my old design and realised that the new posts I’ve got planned (emphasis on planned I haven’t written anything lmao) wouldn’t be done justice soooo LOOK NEW DESIGN. And a few new graphics. It’s not done yet, as I need to replace a bunch of other graphics and I want to clean up my categories more (you may have noticed that my menu is a lot smaller, but I want to come up with more categories and just order everything better) So if you only see one post from me this week blame the new design lol 
Are you almost done with school? (please don’t tell me if you’re done this week I will cry out of envy) How are you hanging in there? Read any amazing books? Did you cry at the Peraltiago wedding? Let me know in the comments!

The Monthly Hufflepuff April // Great Reading Month, Baaaaaaaad Blogging Month

Am I the only one who’s reading ‘baaaaaaad’ with a goat voice

Just me?

ok

💛 Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I HAVE NO WORDS. Which is also resulting in me still not having finished my review*. That and that I’ve been busy with my final essays. But yeah, absolutely love this one. If you haven’t read it yet go read it now

💛 Sugar Lump by Megan Gaudino ⭐ – Really disappointed by this one. I didn’t expect to love it, but I was very intrigued by the mystery surrounding the town and well, the mystery was ridiculous and over the top soooo… Also the characters were flat, insta-love for your ole regular brooding YA bad boy *eye roll*, token stereotypical gay character… I just can’t say anything positive about this one except that I liked the MC’s dad but he was ruined for me thanks to the mystery so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

💛 The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed ⭐⭐⭐ – Incredible plot, very important and empowering, but I couldn’t really connect to it and the characters because of the writing style. Mini review to come at some point hopefully. This is definitely a case of ‘it’s not you it’s me’ though, so definititely consider picking this one up!

💛 Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Really loved this one! While it deals with a heavy topic (attempted sexual assault), it’s still at the same time a fun read, as it really balances the more serious moments with fun scenes with friends and family. Janna herself felt very real and I loved how much she grew. Mini review DEFINITELY to come as I’ve already written it

💛 A Step From Heaven by An Na ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I honestly don’t know how to review this one all I know is that the moment I finished it I felt like crying this book touched me without me even realising it before the last words.

💛 All American Boys by Jason Reynolds ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of this one before? It really deserves a lot more recognition, as it’s a very important book. I can’t really find the right words right now, so hopefully I’ll be able to come back to this later and write a better review than this, as All American Boys truly deserves that. If I never come back to it because I’m forgetful and lazy, do pick this up! I had trouble putting it down, as I wanted to know what happened next. It was interesting to read from the two different perspectives and to see how they came together. Plus, like I said, it’s just a really important story

💛 Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Really enjoyed this one! Very empowering, covers a lot of important topics, discusses white feminism, inclusive, has girls supporting girls… Everything I love in a feminsit book, but the writing itself just didn’t really blow me away, thus the four stars.

COMICS: Giant Days #37 // Runaways (2017) #8 // Lumberjanes #49

* I have two sentences wow I’m so close to finishing it

All in all I’m really happy with my reading this month! I read quite a few books, which I all enjoyed except for one, and all of them (again, except for one) were very diverse, inclusive and important. I am a happy bookworm

I skipped two weekly wrap ups in a row, the first one because I was busy with my essay, and the second one because I was at the Kunsthal Rotterdam, an art museum, for most of the day and was too tired to blog when I got home. I’m really crossing my fingers that everything will calm down once I’ve finished my final essay*. After that I do have to catch up a bit on the schoolwork I neglected to focus on my essays and I am planning on hanging out with friends here and there and doing some other fun stuff, but still! I have a lot post ideas that I’m excited for, some of them already written out, so hopefully this blog will be up and running regularly again soon!

* I had planned on finishing it yesterday or today at the latest, but guess who just started today hahahahahah *whispers* h e l p

Speaking of doing fun stuff, I have been doing that! Like going out for ice cream after school with my best friend, going to an opening with my friend who’s usually not interested in art at all??? and she asked me??? #stillshook, going out on Kingsday* with my best friend, going to the art museum I mentioned before… I really don’t want school to become all I do this term, which is something I feel I say every term and then eventually fail, but still. Considering I only have three days of school I do feel like it’s actually possible this time!

* Kingsday is a national holiday where we ‘celebrate the king’s birthday’. I put that between apostrophes because mostly it’s just an excuse for people to go party and drink lots of alcohol. Not me though, nor my best friend. We walked around for a while and eventually escaped the crowds to go eat at a vegan food bar. I’m not vegan, but she is and she fell in love with that restaurant so I thought I’d give it a go. It was really good!

I’m sure I’m forgetting some stuff, since I always do, but oh well. Anyway, wish me luck on my last essay! I curse myself for getting overexcited and collecting so much information

this is how i feel right now

Oh! I’ve also been working a bit on my photography blog, which will now also be an art and travel blog I’m not saying I won’t be sharing my travel adventures on here anymore, but I am transfering my art-related posts to that blog. It’s currently on private and all the posts have been deleted, but it will go live again the 28th of May!

Me: *can barely keep up this blog*
Also me: let’s make a new one!*

* Technically I made it last year but I barely did anything with it lol

April might have been a good reading month, but it was not a good blogging month lol. Five posts, two of which are wrap ups and the other three are reviews

Wrap ups 

💛 The Monthly Hufflepuff March // SUPPORT LESBIAN JESUS’ NEW ALBUM
💛 The Weekly Hufflepuff #66 // I’M HOME

Reviews

💛 Lady Mary // An Interesting Look At Queen Mary I
💛 The Radical Element // Twelve Stories About Badass Girls
💛 Sugar Lump // A Disappointing, Over The Top ‘Mystery’
I’ll be sharing posts from around the blogosphere again in the next Weekly Hufflepuff, once I’ve finished this essay. Since this essay needs to be handed in this Friday, that may be this Sunday, but since I have to catch up on other schoolwork and may want to do some fun stuff as well, it may as well be next Sunday instead haha

How has your April been? Did you read any good books? Or maybe terrible ones that you’d advice me to stay away from? If you’re Dutch, did you celebrate Kingsday? Let me know in the comments!

The Weekly Hufflepuff #66 // I’M HOME

I’M HOME

live footage of me on the flight back home (also when i picked up my mom at the train station)

Sorry for the radio silence, but as I mentioned before my mom came over so I’ve been busy showing her around, and then of course packing everything up (including 16 plushies* I have a p r o b l e m) and getting back home. Manchester Airport was pretty chaotic, especially the security part which isn’t fun when that part already gives you lots of anxiety. And then our flight got delayed – but apart from that everything went fine and we got home safely.

* 1 I bought for my mom, 1 my mom bought for a friend and 1 I had brought from home but still adkbjfs

Since my last wrap up I started and finished Starfish, which I would’ve finished a lot sooner if I hadn’t been busy with my mom. I definitely could’ve read it all in one sitting – definitely worth the hype!

Today I finished Sugar Lump which was,,, disappointing. It’s centered around a mystery in a small town and boy was I let down by that ‘mystery’. I just expected a lot more.

I picked up Moxie for four pounds (if you’re ever in the UK and nearby an Asda – go go go they have a small YA section and really cheap prices it’s heaven) and started it on the plane, but I didn’t get very far as I was exhausted. I’m excited to continue though!

As I already mentioned I spent my last week in Manchester with my mom. Since Love, Simon came out last Friday and it takes forever to come out in The Netherlands* I HAD to go see it of course.

* Sometime in June like yyyy I was really lucky to still be in the UK when it came out

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Saw @lovesimonmovie the other day and I’m still not over it 😭 I have no words to express how much I loved it ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 ••• #lovesimon #simonvsthehomosapiensagenda

A post shared by Michelle 🌈 (@thewritinghufflepuff) on Apr 10, 2018 at 12:11pm PDT

I really have no words I loved it so much. I still tear up just thinking about it it was so beautiful and just??? perfect?? Brb crying

me pretty much the entire movie

I realise this sounds like I immediately went to see it as it came out, but since we had tickets to see Hairspray the same day we went to Love, Simon the next day. Hairspray is my favourite musical so when I found out it was playing in Manchester while I was there I knew I had to take the opportunity. I’m so happy that I got the chance to see it – and it was SO GOOD. The entire cast was just so talented and cute and just sdfhgv

Of course we did and saw a lot more than this, but I’ll leave that for future posts that I’ll hopefully get around to soon. Classes start this Tuesday and I still have two essays to write. I was planning on starting yesterday but uhhh guess what

I’m really excited to write those posts though – I’ve been meaning to write some of them since FOREVER as I wanted to post about the things I saw and did while still in Manchester, but oh well.

💛 I wrapped up March or more like promoted Hayley Kiyoko’s debut album
💛 I reviewed Lady Mary, which is an interesting look on future Queen Mary, daughter of Henry VII, and the affair between the latter and Anne Boleyn

💛 Olivia @ Purely Olivia wonders if standalones get enough credit
💛 Iona @ Dragon Waffles shares some romance tropes that melt her heart
💛 Chiara @ Delicate Eternity talkes about why she didn’t love Let’s Talk About Love
💛 Sarah @ Written Word Worlds wonders if star ratings should be replaced by gifs
💛 Andie @ Andrea’s Nirvana shares what she wants to see more of in YA
💛 Vivian @ Writing With Style shares how she outlines her novels
💛 May @ Forever and Everly talks about privilege in the YA online book community

Have you had the opportunity to see Love, Simon yet? Have you ever seen your favourite musical performed live? Let me know in the comments!

The Monthly Hufflepuff March // SUPPORT LESBIAN JESUS’ NEW ALBUM

yeah so my title is basically just promoting Hayley Kiyoko and I have no regrets – besides I do talk about her album so???

Uhhh I’m going back home in less than two weeks??

I honestly can’t believe how fast these months have gone by! But I’m getting ahead of myself, I’ll talk about that more later on in this post

💛 More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer ⭐⭐⭐ – An important read that deals with abuse, but a bit too heavy for me. I personally needed a bit more of a balance between lighter and heavier moments, but that may be because abuse is a topic very near to me.

💛 Head Over Heels (Geek Girl #5) by Holly Smale ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – My favourite of the month! Not that it had a lot of competition with all these three star reads haha, but still! That doesn’t make me love this one any less. Harriet has grown so much, which is very apparent in this book. It was just such a fun read, which I really needed. I love Harriet, her friends and especially her family so much, I’m so sad that I only have one book left!

💛 The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials #1) by Philip Pullman⭐⭐⭐ – So this took me over a month to read. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it at all, but it was just very, very slow for me. The edition I borrowed from the uni library has all three books, but honestly I don’t have the time or energy to try and get through the rest of the trilogy, which is really a shame as I was really excited to try this series. Maybe one day I’ll give it a try again.

💛 Lost Boy, Found Boy by Jenn Polish⭐⭐⭐ – This one has SO MUCH potential! It’s a queer Peter Pan retelling: Peter is trans and in love with Mir, his Enbyfriend; Gwen (based on Wendy) is in love with Tinkerbell who’s an asexual lesbian computer interface, Hook is a bisexual cyborg and two of the Lost Boys are also pining for each other. Unfortunately this is really short and underdeveloped, leaving me with a lot of questions about both the world and the characters themselves. While I loved the diversity, the characters were very flat.

💛 Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat! volume 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Below I just briefly mention the comics I’ve read that I’ve already talked about before and don’t really have anything to say about each month, but Patsy Walker is a new one, so I had to discuss it. Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat has been on my tbr for quite some time now, but I didn’t get to it until now and boy do I wish I read it sooner! It’s such a fun read. Patsy A.K.A. the superhero Hellcat, decides to start a Temp Agency for superheroes and regular people with powers. It’s a great balance between slice of life and superhero, is very diverse and just really cute. If you love Squirrel Girl, I definitely recommend this one as it’s humour really reminded me of it.

💛 Nothing But Sky by Amy Trueblood  ⭐⭐⭐ – Definitely a case of ‘it’s not you it’s me’. I couldn’t really connect to the characters or the writing, though I did enjoy this one! There’s a lot of love about this one: a kickass girl who constantly challenges the patriarchy and is a wing walker, a love interest who deals with PTSD, a crew who supports each other no matter what and is more like family… I’m really sad I didn’t enjoy this one more!

💛 The Radical Element (A Tyranny of Petticoats #2) ⭐⭐⭐– Full review should be up sometime next week (I hope haha), but this was a lovely anthology of kickass girls. Some short stories were less good than others of course, which always happens, but overall I’d definitely recommend this one.

💛 Lady Mary by Lucy Worsley ⭐⭐⭐ – As I didn’t know anything about Queen Mary I going in, this was very interesting to read. It also shows us a different side of the affair between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Everything I knew about that affair focused on the two main players, but I didn’t know anything about what Henry’s daughter Mary went through. The writing style was a bit too simple for me and I was bored at times, but all in all still an interesting read. Full review to come next week!

COMICS: Lumberjanes #47 // Lumberjanes #48 // Giant Days #36 // Ms. Marvel #28 // Runaways (2017) #7

Can you believe that I’m going home so soon already?? I can’t! I haven’t finished my last two essays yet, but I’m hoping to start writing the third one tomorrow as I’m mostly finished collecting all my information. I’m a bit worried having to balance writing my last two essays and the schoolwork of my new classes once I get back, but I’ll figure it out somehow.

My housemates have left for the Easter Break, except for one. He was actually gone at the start of the week – for almost three entire days I had the entire place for myself and no offense but it was so nice. Anxiety aside, while my housemates are friendly enough, they just don’t think of anyone but themselves. Two weeks ago they came back from going out or something in the middle of the night and were superloud.* Two of them decided to game, and after that watch football. They turned up the volume real loud and were yelling too, until about five in the morning. My anxiety is just too bad for me to go out and say anything, so I just,, had to suffer. Also I just wish they’d keep the kitchen clean? Like I can handle messy, but it’s just,, gross. I knowwww that that’s what a stereotypical students’ dorm looks like, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it! When they were all gone I cleaned the kitchen, because I thought no one would be able to make it dirty again. Until that evening when one of them came back. Next morning it was as if I had never cleaned it

* This is sadly not a rare occurance by the way my sleep here is,, not great

Thankfully my mom is coming soon, and she’s just,, ready to fight him lmao. If he turns up the music again in the middle of the night (like he did last night thanks mate) she’s just going to go the living room, say ‘excuse me’, pull out the plug and then if he says anything she’s just going to pretend to not speak English adsfbsgn*

* I don’t think I really make my pettiness known on this blog as it doesn’t really come up, but in real life I’m quite petty, especially when I’m with my best friend and like,, I definitely got it from my mom sdjdgf

Speaking of my mom!! I’ve been looking forward to her coming since,, pretty much ever since I got here lol. I’m really close to my mom, so even though I Facetime her multiple times a day I still really miss her, especially since I’ve never been away from home for this long. I can’t wait to show her around the city, see Hairspray and Love Simon!!

Friday evening I decided to treat myself after being so busy with my essays all week and go to shopping mall to (hopefully) buy Hayley Kiyoko’s Expectations. I also had to go to Boots because my hair dryer was broken, as in, smoke was coming out.

I could’ve gone sooner that week, but Expectations was coming out Friday so… I was a bit worried they might not have it since the HMV website said it was out of stock but…

So uhh yeah I haven’t been listening to anything else since Friday. I honestly can’t pick a favourite song? They’re all so good?? And all the songs sound so nice together?? It’s truly a masterpiece #supportlesbianjesuspls

Once I got a new hair dryer I decided to see if Claire’s had any new Doug the Pug plushies – I don’t remember if I mentioned it before, but I found out that Claire’s sold them a few weeks ago and immediately went to the one in the shopping center to see if they too had them and there were exactly two left!* So today I took a look to see if they had a different one and well…

This is the nineth plushie I bought while here in three months adfjbsh In my defense one of them is for my mom like I said and also LOOK AT HIM WEARING A DUCK OUTFIT HOW COULD I RESIST**

* My mom wanted one as well to turn into a keychain and hang it on her bag
** I’m turning 21 in a little over 2 months gsnbdhg

On my way out of the shopping center I saw an ad for Love Simon and then when I got off the bus I ran into a cat. Literally. We looked at each other and it ran towards me, wanting to be pet #bless

Also Keiynan Lonsdale released a new song called Kiss The Boy and not only is it SUCH a bop but it’s also so beautiful and boy he got me crying please listen to it

On Saturday I met up with my friend from the exchange students group and a friend of hers who I had met before when we went to see Black Panther, because they’re both going home today. It was a fun day and a much deserved break from my essays haha. In the evening we met up again to eat together.

💛 I created a new writing tag called ‘Your WIP in Gifs Tag’
💛 I reviewed More Than We Can Tell, an important story about abuse
💛 I wrapped up February and talked about meeting a blogger friend, cats, Chinese New Year, Black Panther and other stuff
💛 I reviewed Lost Boy, Found Boy, a futuristic Neverland where no one is straight
💛 I shared another monthly mixtape, this time with the theme ‘petrichor’: a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather
💛 I reviewed Nothing But Sky, a historical story about a kickass girl wing walker, though it fell a bit short for me

So I usually reserve these for Weekly Hufflepuffs, but who knows when I’ll have the time for one of those!

💛 Sarah @ Written Word World talks about the downsides of ARCs (= Actually Reviewers Crying)
💛 Fadwa @ Word Wonders reviews The Summer of Jordi Perez, a cute f/f romance with fat rep, though she also warns about the erasure of multi-gendered attraction
💛 Analee @ Book Snacks has some important questions about American high school in YA fiction
💛 She also talks about the pressure of writing #ownvoices reviews
💛 Elise @ thebookishactress talks about the #BuryYourGays trope
💛 Kat @ Life and Other Disasters talks about Netflix’ On My Block, which is an amazing show that you HAVE to watch so read her post to find out why
💛 Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books went to Paris, where she went to her first book fair and met some amazing authors
💛 She also wonders if book blogging is still relevant
💛 Lu @ It’s Lu Again did the Rising Author tag and talks about her writing
💛 She also talks about why better body image and other rep in books will help you love yourself
💛 Holly @ Nut Free Nerd talks about some London bookshops
💛 And she wonders if celebrities have corrupted the feminist movement
💛 Vivian @ Writing With Style rates writing tools
💛 May @ Forever and Everly also did the Rising Author tag in which she talks about her writing
💛 Hannah @ Mortal Reader talks about anxiety and toxic friendships
💛 Bridget @ Bridget and Books gives the in’s and out’s of self-hosted blogging
💛 Melissa @ Bookish Wandered did the Your WIP in Gifs tag
💛 And so did Kat @ Life and Other Disasters

Have you been listening to Hayley Kiyoko’s new album? Or Keiynan Lonsdale new song? Do you have a plushie obsession? What have you been reading? How was your month? Let me know in the comments!

The Monthly Hufflepuff February // Stress!! But I Also Met A Blogging Friend!!

So uhh while I did post this weekend before that I kind of?? Disappeared again? This gif sums it up perfectly:

So yeah I’m VERY stressed about my essays even though I got extensions BECAUSE I’m stressed* Whenever I get stressed about something (usually school) I just drop pretty much everything and focus on the thing I’m stressed on (yeah pretty much always school) and then I’m just too tired to do anything else. Usually that means I’m also too tired to read, but because I’ve got ARCs to read I HAVE to make time – while that may sound stressful, I’m actually grateful because last year around this time I was in a huge reading slump and pretty much only read comis. While I love comics, I really missed books. So yay at least I’m reading. But blogging? I WANT TO BLOG SO BAD. Like I said last month, I really missed it and found my love for blogging again, but my stress is eating all my desire to blog. But as you can see I’m trying! Cause I’m writing this post! And I posted during the weekend and I’ve been reading a few posts here and there**

Anyway, I’ll talk more about my stress and stuff later on in this post. Let’s get the wrap up started

* I thought to myself ‘boy, there’s a silver lining to having anxiety’ when I got my extensions but then remembered I probably wouldn’t need those extensions if it weren’t for my anxiety nsjdhd
** You may have noticed me reading and commenting on posts from February – that’s because I had a window open with posts to read except I didn’t find any time until now lol

💛 Picture Perfect (Geek Girl #3) by Holly Smale ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I absolutely love Geek Girl and Harriet, but this one felt a bit like a filler to me. Also some really frustrating stuff happens and just asfbjdh Also I really Harriet’s friends, but at least there was a lot of her family! Her parents are just so funny and lovable.

💛 Snow Sisters by Tom Wilinsky and Jen Sternick ⭐ – TRASH GARBAGE NEEDS TO BURNED RIGHT NOW EXCEPT I DON’T HAVE A PHYSICAL COPY (THANK GOD) AND I DON’T WANT TO BURN MY PHONE. Incredibly transphobic, the transphobe is actually portraid as a victim and the authors are trying to get you to symphatise with her (I shit you not), bi-erasure, sexualities used as plot twists…   IT’S A HORRIBLE MESS

💛 Flight Season by Marie Marquardt ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Oh my goodness how am I gonna sum this one up?? Centers around a beautiful friendship between three kids (actually I’m not sure about all of their ages but they’re kids to me ok) who’d do anything for each other and how to live with grief. It’s honestly just a beautiful book. Also the MC is a lil bird nerd and I love her

💛  All That Glitters (Geek Girl #4) by Holly Smale ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ -I uh,, don’t remember this one that well?? My mind is just filled with the fifth one which I recently finished but Harriet makes new friends!! And I’m so happy for her!! Also she continues to be so cute and funny and relatable and I love her. There are also some great plot twists in here which I didn’t see coming at all. Harriet matured quite a bit in this one and I love seeing her grow so much through the series.

💛 Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I finally read it!! I’ve been meaning to read this forever, and then ended up reading The Unexpected Everything instead because there’s a pug on the cover (the pug BARELY appears don’t let the pug deceive you even though the book is worth it but don’t expect the pug to appear that much ok?)

COMICS: Lumberjanes #46 // Runaways (2017) #6 // Giant Days #35 // Ms. Marvel #27 // The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl volume 7

So I accidentally skipped a few weekly wrap ups and now have so much to talk about?? Okay it wasn’t ‘accidentally’ – more like I didn’t mean to but I decided to skip them because every Sunday I was just too busy and tired. I thought of doing them on Monday instead but just didn’t have the time and before I knew it it was the next Sunday.

Anyway, my lack of weekly wrap ups is NOT because I have nothing to talk about: I did quite a few exciting things:

💛 I met Elly from A Hufflepuff’s Thoughts and her mom!! It was so exciting to meet them and it was just so lovely. Time went by way too quickly haha. We went to the cat cafe here in Manchester and oh my goodness I want to live there?? It’s just so cozy and relaxing and CATS also rainbow cake!!

 

I’m not a big fan of cake but 1) my gay ass needed this and 2) it reminded me of red velvet cake and that’s pretty much the only cake I like and I was right! It’s very much like red velvet cake. I couldn’t finish it though because it was just so sweet and if I kept eating I would’ve gotten nauseous

Also I have a LOT more pictures to share but I’m doing a separate post on the cat cafe because CATS

💛 I went to two museums: The Whitworth Art Gallery which is a modern art museum and the Salford Museum and Art Gallery. The Art Gallery of the Salford Museum wasn’t that exciting, but the museum has a Victorian street inside which was really cool!

💛 I went to see the dragon’s parade even though it was VERY stressful because I do not handle crowds well and got a few panic attacks here and there. It was still fun though!

💛 I saw Black Panther! AND BOY WAS IT GOOD. I mean I don’t need to tell you that because everyone’s been yelling that right??

💛 My mom and I booked her flight (and my flight back!) and got tickets to see Hairspray while she’s here and I’m so excited!! I can’t wait to see her, show her everything and to finally see Hairspray live as it’s my favourite musical and I love it so much

Other than that I’ve just been busy with my essays, but as this is my last week of classes I’ll have a lot more time for them now. My mom will arrive on the fifth of April so I’m hoping to have finished by then, but if not my first essay is due the 16th and my last the 4th of May so I do still have time.

I can’t believe that I’m going home already so soon! Thankfully I’ve seen and done the most important things I’ve wanted to do, and I still have time to do things once my mom is here, so I’m not too worried about that. While I’m not too homesick anymore I am definitely looking forward to going home.

💛 Reviews: The Wren Hunt // Snow Sisters // Flight Season
💛 The Reading Hufflepuff: It’s February So Obviously It’s Time To Share My Favourite Books of 2017
💛 Writing: Valentine’s Write Tag
💛 Michelle in Manchester: A Not So Quick Update From Manchester: I Continue To Be A Cryptid // I Went To A Football Museum? And A Cathedral Straight Out of Sleeping Beauty
💛 Other: Monthly Mixtape Schwarmerei

I do have quite a few posts from around the blogosphere to share, but I’ll leave that for the next Weekly Hufflepuff. I have no idea when that will be, but we’ll see!

How has your month been? Are you too busy with school? What have you been reading? Have you seen Black Panther?? Let me know in the comments!

The Weekly (And Monthly) Hufflepuff #65 | Is This The End Of My Blogging Slump?

I’m so happy to be doing another weekly wrap up as I’ve really missed doing them! I’ll also be wrapping up December and January though, as I really want to get those out of the way. I’m going to try to keep things as short as possible, so don’t worry about having to read a short novel haha

This week I started and finished Snowsisters by Tom Wilinsky and Jen Sternick as the publication date is coming out and I need to get started on my review. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this one at all, but I’ll be leaving all of that for the review. I’ve also been reading Northern Lights, as I got the His Dark Material series in one book from the university library. I remember liking the film (yeaaaars ago) and I’ve heard good things about the series, so I thought I’d try it out. So far I’m liking it.

DECEMBER

💛 Take Me With You by Andrea Gibson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I am IN LOVE with this poetry collection. I’ve already raved about it in my review and my favourite books of 2017 post so maybe you’re sick of my yelling about this one BUT I DON’T CARE. It’s beautiful poetry about gender, sexuality, politics, love and so much more and I will never get over this book

💛 Always and Forever by Jenny Han ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – The PERFECT ending to this charming, lovely and fun trilogy that captures what it’s like to grow up and go off to college so well. Had everything I wanted tbh except a guide to find my own Peter yes please and thank you

💛 Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I never ended up reviewing this one and I don’t think I will, as unfortunately it was very triggering for me and affected my mental health terribly. It’s well written though and there are definitely things I loved about it (thus the four star rating) but in the end it made me feel like crap. Guess it hit a bit too close to home

💛 None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio ⭐⭐⭐ – an important, fun and quick read, just needed a little more development to its character and plot. I felt like the story wasn’t over yet. Read my review here

💛 Dreams Beyond the Shore by Tamika Gibson ⭐⭐⭐ – another one that didn’t feel over to me once I finished it. There were so many plot points left unexplored! It was still an interesting read and it was fun to read a book set in Trinidad and Tobago. Read my review here

💛 The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – ABSOLUTE PERFECTION IT HAS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORE I LOVE THIS BOOK TO THE MOON AND BACK AND AM SO UPSET THAT I HAVEN’T HAD THE TIME TO REVIEW IT YET. Buuut I did rave about it in my favourite books of 2017 post so if you want to know a lil bit more about how I feel about this book, you can click here

REREADS: Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire
COMICS: DC Bombsells #60 

JANUARY

💛 It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I absolutely loved What’s A Girl Gotta Do? so when I saw It Only Happens in the Movies at the airport when looking for a book to keep me occupied while waiting for my delayed flight, I knew this was perfect. And it absolutely was! Holly Bourne has done it again. It Only Happens in the Movies highlights abusive relationships as they are and doesn’t romanticise them once. As someone who’s very passionate about how fiction often romanticises abusive relationships I was so happy to read this book. EVERYONE needs to read this asap

💛 The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson ⭐⭐⭐ (though actually 2.5 stars) – Ahh I was so happy to get approved for this one as it sounded delightfully creepy but alas, that’s not what I got. I do think this is a case of ‘it’s not you it’s me’, as I can definitely see why people would love this. Read my review here

💛 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern ⭐⭐⭐ – I have such mixed feelings about this one. The writing is without a doubt charming and magical, but there was just too much telling instead of showing, especially when it comes to the romance. Once the romance takes the center I started to lose interest as I just wasn’t feeling it.

COMICS: Giant Days #33 // Giant Days #34 // Lumberjanes #45 // America #9 // America #10 // Ms. Marvel #25 // Ms. Marvel #26 // Runaways volume 9 // Runaways volume 10 // Runaways volume 11 // Runways (2017) #1 // Runways (2017) #2 // Runways (2017) #3 // Runways (2017) #4 // Runways (2017) #5

This week I just really needed to relax, so I only went out for class, groceries or dinner when I didn’t have anything in the fridge. There were a few days where I thought of going out, but I only wanted to go out because I felt like I had to. You know, make the most of my time and explore the city, but there are already quite a few things I’ve seen, I still have time and I don’t have any classes next week. Plus, what good is it to go out and do things when you’re not feeling that energised? It would only make me more tired, so I’m glad I decided to take it easy.

Not to mention it meant I had a lot of time to blog, and I even wanted to! I’ve posted three times this week, four if you count this one and I’ve read quite a few blog posts. I also signed up for the 365 Commenting Challenge to get myself to be more active in the blogging community.

I’m super excited about blogging again and it makes me so so happy!

THIS WEEK

💛 So this was technically posted last week, but oh well. I posted a not so quick update from Manchester where I talk about some random things that happened
💛 I reviewed The Wren Hunt
💛 I FINALLY shared my favourite books of 2017
💛 And I finally posted another recap about Manchester, in which I go to the National Football Museum (who am I) and the Manchester Cathedral

DECEMBER

💛 Reviews: Paintbrush // Vengeance Road // Take Me With You // Mini Reviews: Marked and Flame in the Mist // Dreams Beyond the Shore
💛 Merry Christmas Ya Beautiful Bloggers*: Part I // Part II // Part III // Part IV
💛 Writing: All Hallows Write Tag // Winter Is Here Write Tag
💛 Travel: London Day 3 | My Search For Baymax Continues and My Opinion On The Cursed Child

* Merry Christmas Ya Beautiful Bloggers was a feature for the holidays in which I highlighted some amazing bloggers. This wasn’t limited to book bloggers and the order was completely random. Unfortunately due to my preparations for Manchester I didn’t get to highlight all the bloggers I wanted but I’ll definitely bring this back this Christmas!

JANUARY

💛 Greetings from Manchester!
💛 Manchester Week 1: A Beautiful Library and Town Hall And RIP My Wallet I Found The Disney Store
💛 Review: None of the Above

💛 Balie @ Nerd in New York described the zodiac signs as bibliophiles
💛 Austine @ NovelKnight created a database for the online bookish community
💛 Amber @ The Literary Phoenix wonders why there aren’t any girly girls in YA anymore
💛 Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books talks about her WIP and shares some aesthetics in the Winter is Here Write Tag // She also shared her book blogging essentials
💛 Holly @ Nut Free Nerd wonders what it means to be a ‘relevant’ reader
💛 Marta @ The Cursed Books talks about book piracy
💛 Kat @ Life and Other Disasters talks about her WIP Arcadia
💛 Briana @ Pages Unbound Reviews shares about four ways to spread love to book bloggers
💛 Kayla @ Kayla’s Book Nook shares websites that every bookworm needs in their life
💛 Ellyn @ allonsythornraxx shares 5 LGBT books you should read
💛 Mikaela @ The Well-Thumbed Reader wonders if blog-hopping can become a burden on book bloggers
💛 Aimee @ Aimee, Always shares a step-by-step guide to read like a fangirl
💛 Nola @ Pagefuls talks about why she no longer checks her stats
💛 Inside My Library talks about J.K. Rowling and diversity outside canon
💛 Lu @ It’s Lu Again wonders if we should comment if we’re not diverse
💛 Janina @ Between Worlds shares main movie characters who she thinks are Hufflepuffs
💛 Sophie Li @ Sophie’s Corner wonders if we should keep each and every book
💛 Em @ Yellow’s the Word wrote a beautiful poem called ‘To The Friends I’ve Lost’
💛 May @ Forever and Every celebrated her 1-year blogoversary // She also shared some WordPress tips and tricks
💛 Shannon @ Little Irish Book Cat reviewed Queerly Loving, a book we all need in our lives tbh

How has your uhh last two months and this week been haha? Read any good books? Any good blog posts I’ve missed out on? Let me know in the comments!

It’s February So Obviously It’s Time To Share My Favourite Books of 2017

Uhh better late than never? 2017 was a strange year honestly. While making this list I noticed books I couldn’t even remember having read in 2017. I thought it was longer ago?? Was 2017 even real *X-Files theme starts playing*

My Favourite Books of 2017 In No Order

Queens of Queek

When I first found out about Queens of Geek I expected to love it, but I had no idea how much I would love it and how relatable it would be. Queens of Geek was everything I wanted: two dynamic female leads, great bisexuality and anxiety rep, friendship, friends supporting each other no matter what, friends helping each other through anxiety, the exciting setting of a comic con, geekiness, calling out abusive relationships for what they are, healthy romantic relationships, lots of cuteness, the CUTEST date at an arcade, Taylor not being magically overcoming her anxiety through the power of love but trying to step outside of her comfort zone which has honestly been such an inspiration to me and just… So much more? Just a fun, important read full with positive rep and messages. Read my full review here.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue

You know when you read the summary of a book and know it’s perfect for you and you need it in your life now? That was me with The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, except I was on a book buying ban as I was saving up for Manchester and thus had to wait until the holidays to get it as a gift. I haven’t had the time yet to review it yet, but guys. I was wrong.I didn’t know perfect The Gentleman’s Guide was and how much I needed it. Despite having super high expectations it managed to exceede them and make me love it so much more than I had expected and I had expected to love it A LOT. I mean: a bisexual lead, a road trip and it’s historical? SIGN ME UP. Yet I got so much more
than I expected and just dsgjhsf I can’t wait to review this one

The Hate U Give

Okay so I never reviewed this one as I felt like everything had already been said? I just had nothing new to add, but if you haven’t picked up The Hate U Give yet, please do so. It’s such an important read, so well written, Starr is an amazing lead, one of the greatest family dynamics in YA, friends standing up to their racist friend and supporting each other, a healthy romance… Just read it. There’s a reason it continues to be #1 at the best seller’s list.

 

Take Me With You

How do I even start or do these beautiful poems justice? Once I finished Take Me With You I immediately read it again and I know that I will do so many more times (especially once I get a physical copy). Gibson manages to transition from beautiful and heartbreaking to funny without it being tactless or ruining the heartbreaking lines. Take Me With You made me feel all the things and I can’t even pick a favourite line as I pretty much marked everything on my Kindle app. If you love LGBTQ+ poetry, especially spoken word, then I 100% recommend it. If you don’t, I still recommend it. Read my review here

What’s A Girl Gotta Do?

Despite this being the third book of the trilogy (I didn’t know this when picking it up at a bookstore at the airport) I absolutely loved it. I had a lot of feelings when I finished this one and I couldn’t wait to review it, but alas, I didn’t have the time and I’m afraid I’ve forgotten a lot about it now? Lottie is an ICON though. She’s a great main character and SUCH an inspiration. What’s A Girl Gotta Do? made me want to get up and do something to fight the patriarchy. Maybe not as extreme as Lottie, but damn I loved her.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before Trilogy

Why did I wait so long to pick this up? I had a feeling I would like this, and yet. I kept picking up different books at the bookstore. Though only picking this up now meant I could read the entire trilogy in one year – #noregrets. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is such a fun and charming trilogy. I adore Lara Jean – apparently a lot of people find her annoying but? I really don’t see why. This also has one of the best families in YA and the cutest romance (where can I get my own Peter). Basically: IT’S FUN READ IT. No review yet because I wanted to review the entire trilogy in one post and haven’t gotten around to it yet rip

The Upside of Unrequited

Considering I read this twice this year, I think you can tell I loved this one. I would’ve loved to reread everything on this list, but when I found out I missed Simon vs Homo Sapiens Agenda cameos and references I just HAD to reread it (I felt so stupid when I reread it – HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THOSE). Anway: Molly is a sweetheart and such a relatable protagonist, cute sisters relationship, cute family dynamics overal, a very diverse cast, cute healthy romance, the message that you’re never ‘too old’ for anything and there’s nothing wrong with you if you’ve never dated, a big gay wedding – basically a gem

Heroine Complex

SUCH an underrated gem?? Basically it’s the first in a series about Asian female superheroes like what more do you want. It’s just such a fun read with comic book vibes, women kicking ass, female friendship, healthy romantic relationship, great character growth, humour and just a whole lot of comic book silliness. If you love superheroes and want to see more female and/or Asian superheroes than this is the book for you. Do keep in mind that this is an adult book and there are some sex scenes in it – there aren’t that many and as someone who doesn’t enjoy those: I easily skipped them. Please give this gem a try

Six of Crows Duology

Sooo I finally picked up Six of Crows in 2017 as I knew it would take me forever to finish The Grisha Trilogy and I’d be 89 years old before I’d finally get to Six of Crows. I’m so glad I made that decision because it definitely lived up to its hype. I’m sure you’ve heard all about Six of Crows as it’s one of the most popular series in the book blogging community, but I know I’m not the only one late to the party (Marie I’m looking at you 😜) so join the party/the hype train/the crew, because Six of Crows is one of the best fantasies I’ve read in a while and it put me in such a slum. It’s just so well thought out, the characters are all fleshed out, their dynamics are so much fun to read, well-developed relationships (both platonic and romantic), great action… Honestly it has everything a great fantasy should aspire to have

Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith

This was such a lovely surprise! Usually when books are marketed as similar as Harry Potter I’m a bit wary but Ewan Pendle and The White Wraith is really like Harry Potter, but it’s not a rip off. Are there similarities? Yes, but I think it’s easy to find similarities with books taking place in magic boarding schools. Ewan’s world is well developed and magical all on its own. To quote my own review: You know how when a book is really good you forget you’re actually reading something, and you’re not actually there? That was me with Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith. This book just filled me with joy and warm fuzzy feelings and I can’t wait for the sequel. Read my review here

Chasing Eveline

Chasing Eveline was SUCH a refreshing read I still can’t get over it. While there are a few small unrealistic elements, overall it was incredibly realistic which I absolutely loved. Don’t get me wrong, I love my unrealistic contemporaries. Hell, I know my current  WIP isn’t always super realistic – and that can be fun! (though there’s a limit) But Chasing Eveline? It dealt with Ivy’s mom having left her so well. Ivy’s pain and trying to hold on to her mom felt so real. It was also nice to see her relationship with her dad getting a lot of attention, a great friendship between her and a boy without any romantic feelings, a realistically built up romance which I want to say so much more about but alas

Read my review here

Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor

This was my first read of 2017 if you don’t count comics so I don’t remember it that well, but The Hammer of Thor made me fall in love with Magnus Chase, which was a relief considering I was a bit disappointed in The Sword of Summer. The characters felt more developed and unlike with the previous installment I was never bored. It was just plain fun like I’m used to with Rick Riordan’s books. Also Alex Fierro (who’s genderfluid!!) aka the love of my life was introduced.

And those are – finally! – my favourite books of 2017! Obviously I’d recommend them all in a heartbeat, so if you haven’t yet, please consider picking them up!

Have you read any of these? If so, are they also among your favourites? What were some of your favourites of 2017? Let me know in the comments!