November Wrap-Up

November was a bit of a weird month for me. It was a very busy month, with a lot of different emotions.
First of all, my grandma got ill. One day she was fine, and the next day she was in so much pain she couldn't walk. It was scary, seeing her that way. She has spend 2 weeks in the hospital before getting surgery, and because I wanted to visit her I had to conquer my fear of hospitals (I succeeded 😁). She had surgery at the beginning of the week, and she's doing a lot better now, thank God!
I also started seeing a new therapist. I had a good relationship with my previous one, but I needed to go to a new one to really get the help I need. It was very scary, because getting a new therapist is a scary thing. Having a good one that you can connect with is just so vitally important. I've seen her twice now, and she's very nice, so that's great!
I've also talked about the fact that I'm kind of homeschooling myself right now, and that I was doing 3 subjects. This month, I added a 4th one 🙌 I decided to add chemistry, and it's been very though. I've forgotten everything I've learned previously, and it's very very frustrating. 
And of course, there were the US elections. I don't really want to say much about them, but let's just say that I was, and still am, devastated.
So overall, November wasn't really the best month for me, so I hope December is going to be a lot better!

Reading-wise, my November was okay. I didn't read as much as I wish I had, but I've been so busy with other things that I kind of forgot about it. Overall, I've still managed to read 6 books.

Timekeeper, by Tara Sim - ★★★★★/5 stars
The Blazing Star, by Imani Josey - ★★★/5 stars
The Sun is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon - ★★★★★/5 stars
Holding Up the Universe, by Jennifer Niven - ★★★/5 stars
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan (re-read) - ★★★★★/5 stars
Meester Bart op zijn best, by Bart Ongering - ★★★★★/5 stars

I'm currently reading both Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne and The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg. Am I Normal Yet? is a very difficult read for me, because I can see a lot of myself in the MC Evie, and that's very confronting. Luckily, The One Hundred Nights of Hero is a bit of an easier read, and it's absolutely beautiful so far! I haven't seen it around a lot, but I would definitely recommend it 🙌

Someone on Twitter mentioned that they made a playlist every month, so they could look back on the past month's playlists and remember exactly what they were feeling those months. Those playlists became some kind of timecapsule for them. I thought that was an amazing idea, so I started doing them too!

As you can see, I was really on a Disney kick this month. I watched Hercules again, and I absolutely fell in love with the songs I Won't Say (I'm in Love) and Go the Distance! There were also a few Youtubers that came out with their albums, and I loved them SO MUCH. 

Another thing that was very exciting to me was the Hamilton mixtape! I loved each and every song that came out in November, and you can expect a lot of the newly released mixtape songs on my December playlist 💖💖

So, that was what my month was like. Now tell me, did you have a good November? What books did you read?

September Wrap-Up

It's currently raining outside, I'm wearing a big sweater and I have a steaming cup of tea sitting in front of me: it's autumn! I couldn't be happier, because there might be nothing I love more than autumn. I feel so much more myself while wearing sweaters, baking apple pies and walking through a very colorful forest, and I can't wait to see what this autumn will bring. 
September has been a weird and busy month for me. I did a lot of things that I wasn't able to do before (anxiety wise) and the biggest thing of all is that I started school again! I now take three classes at home: English, Math and History. It's been very challenging, because I haven't done any schoolwork for the past one, maybe two years, so I'm a bit out of it. My concentration gone after about five minutes, and it feels like everything I read just isn't saved in my brain. Let's hope that this will improve after a few weeks, but we'll see. 
I also participated in the #DiverseAThon last month (you can read my #DiverseAThon wrap-up here), and I loved every second of it. I really learned a lot, and I am determined to read more diversely in the future. 

• The Kiss of Deception, by Mary E. Pearson - ★★★★★/5 stars
• Electra, by Euripides - ★★/5 stars                                      
• Everything Leads to You, by Nina LaCour - ★★★★/5 stars             
• The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse, by Brian Farrey - ★★★★/5 stars
• Some Kind of Happiness, by Claire Legrand - ★★★★★/5 stars   
• Girl Against the Universe, by Paula Stokes - ★★★★/5 stars
• George, by Alex Gino - ★★★★/5 stars
• The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Adieh - ★★★/5 stars
• The Heart of Betrayal, by Mary E. Pearson - ★★★★★/5 stars 
• The Beauty of Darkness, by Mary E. Pearson - ★★★★/5 stars

It's quite a lot of books, but as you can see I gave most of them a very high rating, so I couldn't be happier. I also finally got around to reading The Kiss of Deception, and I marathoned the whole series afterwards. I was definitely kicking myself about not picking up this series sooner, because it was excellent. It might even be one of my favorite series. The world was so beautifully complex, and the main character was such a strong but kind female. But more on that in my review! (If I ever decide to write one. Oops.)

After reading such a huge amount of book in September, I find myself in a bit of a reading slump at the moment. I tried picking up The Rose and the Dagger, and a book I got for review, Heir of Thunder, but I just couldn't get into them. So, besides my listening to Pride and Prejudice, I'm not reading anything at the moment.

I did, however, start watching One Upon a Time again, after not watching for a few months. I find myself completely falling in love with it all over again. I am currently about halfway through season five, and I'm bracing myself for a certain character's dead. I got spoiled for it, and let me just tell you that I'M NOT READY. But I will never be, so I should just get it over with, I guess. 

Anyway, I hope you've all had a lovely September, and you'll have an amazing October!

#DiverseAThon Wrap-Up

As I mentioned in a previous blogpost, I decided to participate in the #DiverseAThon! This readathon was hosted by Monica, Christina, Whitney and Joce and took place from Monday the 12th till Monday the 19th of September. They challenged us to read as many diverse books as we could, and they also hosted some amazing Twitter chats. Sadly, I could only participate in one chat because of the time difference, but even though it was only one, it was very insightful and I learned a lot!

I completed, and loved, 5 books over the course of the readathon! I have to admit that I cheated a little bit and started a day early, but I'm still very happy with what I read. 

Title: Everything Leads to You

Author: Nina LaCour

Genres: YA, Contemporary

Goodreads

Everything Leads to You was the first book I finished during the readathon, and I loved it. A lot. 
It was a very light and easy read, and I loved basically every aspect of it; the friendships, the movie set design, the romance, the mystery, just EVERYTHING. Nina LaCour might actually become one of my favorite contemporary authors. 
★★★★/5 stars

Title: The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse
Author: Brian Farrey
Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Goodreads

The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse was a very dark, but beautiful book. It had a very fairytale-esque feel to it, and it features 2 amazing female MCs who form a wonderful friendship. I have to admit that I had tears streaming down my face when I finished this, because I was so happy with what this book teaches it's readers.
★★★★/5 stars


Title: Some Kind of Happiness
Author: Claire Legrand
Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Goodreads

When I finished Some Kind of Happiness I just couldn't stop talking about it. FINALLY I have found a book that describes anxiety/panic attacks the way I experience them, in a way that isn't sugar-coated. I loved this book so much, and not only because of the realistic-ness of it, but also because the overall story is so beautiful and the characters were amazing.
★★★★★/5 stars

Title: Girl Against the Universe

Author: Paula Stokes

Genres: YA, Contemporary
Goodreads

I honestly started this one because it dealt with anxiety, but I kept reading because of the romance. The romance was beautiful, and I loved that mental health played a part in the romance, but in a real 'we help each other' way. Jordy is my new bookish boyfriend <3 The anxiety-aspect of the book is a thing that I, sadly, had some problems with, but I still very much enjoyed the book.
★★★★/5 stars

Title: George

Author: Alex Gino

Genres: Middle Grade, Contemporary

Goodreads

This book was such an important read for me! I learned so much from it, and I enjoyed every second of it. The story itself was adorable, and made my heart very very happy. It was the perfect end to the #DiverseAThon for me.
★★★★/5 stars

Even though the readathon is over, I definitely won't stop reading diversely. This week has really shown me how important reading diversely is, and that I still have a lot left to learn. I especially want to read more books with characters from different backgrounds and cultures, because I realize that the characters I read about this week were mostly white. And so are the authors. I definitely need to change that.

These are some of the books that have moved to the top of my TBR, in case you were interested:

I am really happy that I participated in the #DiverseAThon, and I want to thank the lovely ladies who I mentioned above for hosting! And if you guys have any diverse book recommendations for me, please let me know!

August Wrap-Up

What's going on with me?

In my August TBR, I spoke about not knowing if I'd get much reading done because of me going on holiday and the anxiety that came with it. Well, I'm here to tell you that it went great! I had a great time, and I even managed to read 4 books in the week I went on holiday, which is a bit of a record for me. And I didn't even DNF one book! I actually rather enjoyed most of the books I've read. But, pro tip: don't listen to Mindy Kalings book while doing your makeup, because it'll make you laugh and you'll poke yourself in the eye with your mascara wand. 
In other news, I won't be doing a TBR for September. I am starting school again after being stuck at home for an entire year because of anxiety, and I'll be doing it all by myself at home. Normally one would do 8 subjects in a year, but I'll be doing 4 subjects this year, and 4 next year (aka the last year of high school will take me 4 years to complete, and I'll be ancient once I finally finish.) Because this is all new to me, and I have no idea how much time I'll have to spend studying, I have no idea how many books I'd be able to get through, so making a TBR would be a bit useless. However, I do really want to finish the book I'm currently reading, and I want to start reading Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi, which is arriving this Friday and I'm beyond excited! 

What books did I read?

• Since You've Been Gone, by Morgan Matson (re-read) 
• Story Thieves, by James Riley 
• To Be or Not To Be, by Ryan North 
• That Summer, by Sarah Dessen 
• You Know Me Well, by David Levithan and Nina Lacour 
• Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard 
• The Cartographer's Daughter, by Kiran Millwood Hargrave 
• Why Not Me?, by Mindy Kaling 

What am I currently reading?

I'm currently reading The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson and I'm absolutely loving it! Rafe and Kaden are both so so dreamy and I might have a bit of a crush on both of them. It's a bit of a slow read for me, but that's okay. I'm enjoying every minute of it. 

I hope you'll all have a great September! Tell me, what's the best book you've read in the month of August?

July Wrap-Up

My July reading month was pretty great. In total, I've read 10 books, including my very first poetry collection and an audiobook! 
Well, when I say 'read' I'm not being entirely truthful because I DNF'd 3 of the books I read. I know, big shocker, right? I normally never DNF books, so this came as a bit of a surprise to me. It could be because the last week or so, I've been in a bit of a reading slump and I wasn't feeling any of the books I read. I really hope to get out of it soon, because it's summer and I have so much more time to read! 
In other news, I got myself a subscription to an audiobook service! I figured that, if I wasn't going to read a book, I could just listen to one. I'm very glad I made that decision, because I'm loving it! I might even do an entire blogpost on audiobooks.
So, because I read 10 books this month, I'm not going to write my thoughts about every single one of them in this wrap-up, like I normally would. Instead, I'm just going to give you the ratings and links to the reviews that are already up, and start a mini-review series. That's right, my very first series! There are so many books that I don't review because I don't have enough thoughts/feelings about the book to fill an entire review, so a series of mini-reviews would be perfect for that!

Anyway, here are the books I read in the month of July:

What books did I read?

• The Princess Saves Herself in This One, by Amanda Lovelace
• Flames Like Vines, by Sara Raasch 
• The Forgotten Mountain, by Heather Lyons DNF
• Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen 
• Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis 
• In the Present Tense, by Carrie Pack 
• Word Nerd, by Susin Nielsen 
• Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë DNF
• An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green DNF
• My Lady Jane, by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jody Meadows

What am I currently reading?

I'm currently listening to the Red Queen audiobook. I've also just finished My Lady Jane, and I have no idea what book to pick up now. Might have to sit in front of my bookshelf for an hour thinking about what to read today. 
Anyway, I hope you're all doing great and you'll have an amazing August!

What books did you read in July?

June Wrap-Up

This month has been a pretty good reading month for me. In total, I've read 6 books, one short story and listened to the first 13 chapters of the Jane Eyre audiobook. June was also the month where I got my e-reader (and turned 19!), so I've read my very first e-books! I've been loving it, and I might dedicate a whole post to it. 

I'm incredibly happy with the amount of books I've read, especially since June wasn't the best month for me. I was extremely busy, and felt very tired. Luckily, while the month started off slowly reading-wise, it really picked up towards the end. 

What books did I read?

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

I finished this book on the first day of June, and it was a very good way to start the month. I have loved every book by Rick Riordan that I've read, and this one was no different. I loved the characters and the story, and I really like the 'bad guys' they'll be fighting in this series. Well, I don't like them, they're awful people, but they're such good bad guys. Very interesting as well. I can't wait for the rest of the series, but unfortunately, I'll have to wait a whole year for the next book to come out. 

The Crown by Kiera Cass

The next book I read was The Crown. Judging by the reviews I've seen, I liked this one more than a lot of other people did. It was WAY better than The Heir, and I loved the character developement in this one. I also really enjoyed all of the friendships that formed, or grew even stronger, throughout this book. 
I am currently working on a review for this one, so that'll be up sometime in the next few weeks!

The Girl and the Machine by Beth Revis

This was the very first book (or, short story) I read on my e-reader! I read this to kind of try out my e-reader, and I thought it'd be a very cute story with time-travel, and let me tell you, it was not. It got very very dark, and while the writing was good, I didn't enjoy it very much.

The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

This was the fourth book I read this month, and I enjoyed it. It had a great set of characters, and the writing was amazing, but I expected so much more. I finished my review for this yesterday, so you'll be able to read more of my thoughts about this soon. 

Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine

This book was great! Not as good as the first book, which is probably my favourite read of 2016 so far, but still very good. If you want to know more of my thoughts, check out my review here.

I can't wait for the 3rd book in the series! I can't find the release date anywhere, though, but I hope I won't have to wait long. 

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

I am SO glad that I decided to re-read this one, because I absolutely loved it. I didn't love it as much as I did the first time, because I noticed some things I didn't like that I hadn't noticed before, but I still had a great time reading it and I finished it very quickly. 

Also, if someone can find someone like Roger for me, that'd be great.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

This is the last book I read in June, and I finished it in one day. Needless to say, it was good. It was a very feminist novel, which is something I adore, and the writing was very very good. I'll be posting a review of this one soon, too!

Current read?

Right now, I'm not really reading anything. Well, I'm still technically reading/listening to Jane Eyre, but it's not something I'm actively reading; I only listen to it when I go on walks or when I'm cleaning. It does make both of those things a lot more enjoyable, though. 

I'm planning on picking up the Snow Like Ashes novella, Flames Like Vines, next. I really miss that world, and the novella is about one of my favourite characters, so I'm very excited to start it!

How was your June reading month?

March Wrap-Up

What did I do in March?

In March I worked my butt off. I did a lot of exposure stuff for my anxiety and I came quite a long way. At least, for me. On the less-bright-side, I had some sort of a relapse last week. After not having a big panic attack for weeks, I suddenly got one and it completely drained me. The days that followed were awful, because I experienced a lot of extra anxiety, everything hurt and I had no energy to do anything. Luckily, I'm getting better now.

In my February Favorites I talked about how my panic disorder prevents me from going to school. Initially I wanted to go back to school next year, but both my parents and school thought it wasn't such a great idea. Luckily, they came with a very tempting 'solution': doing my final year online. This way I can do everything at my own pace and have extra time left to do my exposure and bookish stuff, which is great. So, that's probably what I'll be doing next year.

Reading-wise, I was doing very well until my relapse, because on anxiety filled days I'm unable to read. Luckily, I read a few amazing books. Also, I joined Netgalley! I'm super excited about this, since it offers a lot of great books for free. The 'free' part is especially exciting for me as a broke student, haha. I will always prefer reading physical books from reading books on my phone, but books are books, right? 

Books I read in March

• The Magician's Nephew, by C.S. Lewis -
• Yes Please, by Amy Poehler -
• The Star-Touched Queen, by Roshani Chokshi -
• Stars Above, by Marissa Meyer -
• Adulthood Is A Myth, by Sarah Andersen -

Music I loved

I have been absolutely obsessed with Tessa Violet's Youtube channel, and I love her music. She recently did a cover of Junglebook's I Wanna Be Like You and it's been stuck in my head for days. I'm not complaining, since it really brightens my mood. 
I actually planned on finally listening to Hamilton in March, but I still haven't done it. It's bad, I know. Maybe I'll finally get around to it this month? 

Instagram

This past month I have been a lot more active on Instagram than I used to be, and I'm planning on keeping that up. I absolutely love it, and the community is so lovely and just ahhh. 

So, what have you done this past month? Do you have any exciting plans for April? Tell me!