Life Update: I’m Selling Books Apparently

Let’s go back in time a little bit to the end of February, when I ended my internship in a publishing house near Strasbourg, and moved back to my parents with one goal in mind: find a job, get money, and become a functional adult. Okay so that’s three goals but I feel like if the first one happens the other two follow.

Wait, we’re going back in time some more actually. Ever since high school I did not really know what to do with my life, except for the fact that I liked books, but that’s not much of a plan. Which is how I ended up studying humanities, and eventually did a Master in Comparative Literature.

At the end of the day, most of my friends from college knew they wanted to become professors, while the only thing I knew was that I DID NOT WANT to become a teacher / professor. Which is how I ended up at my internship: it was pretty much a combination of books + the need to get out of here for a while. And here I am back a little more than 6 months later.

Throughout the first four months, I still didn’t really know what I was doing there. Then came January, and I attended a comic book festival with my coworkers, partly in order to promote our latest releases, and partly because it was a really popular event. Anyway. I am mentioning this because that’s basically when I had a big revelation of what I wanted to do with my life. Suddenly I had a plan!

I figured that I wanted to be a corrector — basically the person who proofreads novels, contracts and such. Which sounded to me like I could get paid to read and point out other people’s mistakes: how great would that be?

And thus I came up with a plan: finish my internship, possibly find a job in a bookshop, and from October to next June, follow the program that would allow me to become a reader / corrector / proofreader.

I quickly realised that I needed to get a job in order to stay busy and earn some money, so I applied to several positions in various publishing houses and bookstores, and eventually got contacted by one of the bookshops which turns out is quite close to where I live, and believe it or not, I got the job!

So I’ve been working there for a little over a week, and my legs are finally getting used to it… But more importantly, I’m happy that I got the job although it get get confusing and frustrating because I need time to adjust, I don’t know where anything is, and I unfortunately haven’t read all the books in the world.

What I hear every time a customer asks me a question that I cannot answer which is all the time.

And I know that I only just started, and that it’s normal that I don’t know where every single book is, and that I’m here to learn, yet it remains SO FRUSTRATING.

Hopefully I will get used to it, and I guess I will see what the future has in store for me!

Top 5 Wednesday: Rainy Day Reads

Top Five Wednesday is a weekly meme created by Lainey @GingerReadsLainey and she has passed down the torch to Sam @ThoughtsOnTomes. For more information and for future topics you can check out the goodreads group.

The topic for this week’s T5W is favourite rainy day reads, and I decided to go with some books that made me travel to fantasy land, and are a great comfort to curl up on a sofa with a cup of tea and a blanket, and read on a rainy day. As I went with fluffy contemporaries for my post on Spring reads, it seems only fitting to go with a different genre when it comes to rainy days reads!

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1. The Weaver’s Riddle by C. M. Lucas

I feel like I haven’t mentioned this book in SUCH A LONG TIME and I really liked it, so when I saw this prompt, I thought it would match perfectly! The Weaver’s Riddle has some mystery, and some magic, and some fantasy lands. It will definitely make you travel, both through Scotland and through magical realms, which in my opinion makes it a perfect pick for a rainy day!

2. A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab

Another fantasy read which I absolutely love. In addition to all the fantasy that I love and cherish dearly, Grey London does make me think of the rain, and that makes the Shades of Magic trilogy all the more perfect to read on a rainy day.

3. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Maybe it’s just because the new season is finally happening, but I’m in a very game of thrones mood these days, and I’m finally considering carrying on with the books I have only read the first two books in A Song of Ice and Fire, and I really enjoyed them, but for some reason, A Storm of Swords has been sitting on my shelves for YEARS and I still haven’t picked it up. It does sound like a good choice for a rainy day read though, a day when you have plenty of time to read… All the better since it’s a good old chunky book with magic and dragons!

4. Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe is a different kind of fantasy, but it’s also quite a long book, that will have you travel through both time and magical lands, and that seems only perfect for a rainy day. In addition, I also think that a rainy day matches perfectly with Circe herself, as she was rejected and exiled, and a rainy day seems fitting. I don’t know, my mind has decided on this fact.

5. The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay

This one is not fantasy, it’s more of a speculative fiction, but as it’s a book where it rains constantly, it seems only perfect to match with this prompt! The Rain Watcher as a very unique atmosphere, and I feel like reading it on a rainy day would definitely add something special to the mood, to the soft atmosphere and the urgency that this book contains.

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And that’s it for this Top 5 Wednesday! Feel free to recommend your favourite rainy day reads in the comments, and have a wonderful day ♥

The Nowhere Girls: My Review

I read The Nowhere Girls last month, and found out about it thanks to Riveted Lit, as it was a free read on their website (gods bless them). I didn’t really know what to expect, but the blurb was really catchy, and I ended up LOVING the book! Ever since I read it, I also heard many people complimenting and recommending it, so basically I wonder how I hadn’t heard of it before, but I’m so glad I finally came across it! Also, how gorgeous is that cover??

Title: The Nowhere Girls
Author: Amy Reed
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Publication: 2017
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

TW: Rape, Assault

The story:

The Nowhere Girls follows Grace as she moves into a new town after her mom, a Baptist preacher, turned into a liberal and was rejected by her own community. At her new school, she befriends Rosina a queer punk girl from a Mexican family who constantly has to help out at the diner her uncle owns, or babysitting her cousins; and Erin, a Star Trek obsessed girl constantly following weird diets because her mother thinks it will help with her Asperger’s. When Grace finds out that her house was previously occupied by a girl the same age as her called Lucy, who was chased out of the community because she had accused the most popular guys in school of gang raping her, she decides that she has to do something. Thus are born the Nowhere Girls, an anonymous group who intends to resist the constant sexism that the girls are facing in their own high school.

My opinion:

I absolutely LOVED this book, from the fantastic writing style to the various POV alternating through the chapters, from the three main characters Grace, Rosina and Erin, but also from other girls attending the same school and witnessing the same events. It was extremely cleverly done in my opinion.

The Nowhere Girls was absolutely empowering. It dealt with many aspects of growing up a girl, and dealing with rampant sexism, which was all the better considering it showcased different perspectives. That of girls who had been abused. But also the perspective of WOC and queer girls, and disabled girls. Of girls discovering their own sexuality. It displayed girls of different origins, of different educations, and the troubles they all could face in a very realistic way.

I found their environment extremely harsh and conservative, and I’m super grateful that my own environment was never that bad, but I also know and acknowledge that it exists (and maybe my context is a little bit different because I live in Europe and not America, but I don’t really know where I’m going from here).

This book was beautiful. It showed girls trying their best in the face of adversity. I also liked the fact that it showed girls and their families, for better or for worse. Grace and her absent parents who still loved her very much. Rosina’s complex relationship with her single mother. Erin’s overprotective mom, who was simply trying her best for her daughter. I thought it was particularly interesting to read from Erin’s perspective, as I don’t often have the occasion to read (or watch on TV) people who are on the spectrum, and it made this book all the more interesting ♥ Kudos to the amazing representation throughout the book!

Basically me @ anyone who would do these girls any harm.

I also loved to read from Rosina’s perspective, both as a WOC and as a queer girl with a crush on popular cheerleader. And obviously, I loved reading from Grace’s perspective, because the chubby catholic girl was exactly who I was in high school and it feels good for a character to be relatable like she was.

So basically, this book is important and I think you should read it!

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Similar recommendations:

* Goodbye Perfect by Sara Barnard is a story about friendship and family, also dealing with grooming and a teenage runaway.

* The Way I Used To Be by Amber Smith is another book dealing with the subject of rape, and more specifically with its aftermath on a teenage girl. This book was a heartbreaking and eye opening coming of age story.

* The Netflix show Sex Education: while it does not exactly deal with rape, it deals with coming of age and discovering your own sexuality, as well as unwanted pregnancy and the prejudice some girls can face throughout their high school and life in general — in that aspect it reminds me of The Nowhere Girls.

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Feel free to let me know in the comments your thoughts on The Nowhere Girls, or recommend similar books you think I might like ~

Circe: My Review

Finally a new book review! I got around writing quite a few posts last week, but I feel like it’s been a while since I last wrote an actual book review, so here goes! I had been meaning to pick up this book ever since it was released, and what best occasion than a book reading? None, really. At the beginning of the month, I got to meet the wonderful Madeline Miller at Shakespeare and Company, aka my favourite bookshop, and now that I have finished Circe, I can tell you sincerely: this book was fantastic.

Title: Circe
Author: Madeline Miller
Genre: Literary Fiction, Retelling
Release: 2018
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The story:

Set it what seems to be the beginning of times, Circe is an eponym novel following the Titan witch from her birth in the palace of her father Helios, the sun. You may know her from her encounter with Odysseus, and we sure get to meet him in his own time, but Circe’s immortal life is about so much more. From her childhood to the discovery of her powers, to her exile on the island Aiaia, she gets to meet a lot of famous mythological figures (among them Hermes and Daedalus).

But Circe is also a tale about the life and powers of a woman who constantly had to make her own choices. Used and exiled by the gods and by her own father, she had to make her own place in this world, on her own terms. Which makes the book all the more worth reading.

My thoughts:

I absolutely LOVED this book. I had read Miller’s previous novel The Song of Achilles a while ago, and loved it, but I loved Circe even more, probably because of the feminist aspect of the story. I absolutely adore Miller’s writing, it is so enjoyable and fascinating. I rarely fall in love with an author’s writing to that extent.

It was all the more interesting to have a little background on her writing process. The book is obviously based on the Odyssey and a few more famous mythological writings, and in that aspect I learnt a lot about Circe’s life. But it’s also the author’s own take on the story, and I really loved it. Circe is a fighter, and she had a fascinating life.

The book also has a feminist dimension, and points out things that are still very much valid today, such as the fact that Circe’s brothers always had more freedom than she did, but also the few scenes where we reader witness entire ships of men arriving on Aiaia and taking everything for granted, including their hostess’s body. It was painfully realistic, and somewhat relatable even though I sadly do not have Circe’s powers, and the whole turning of men into pigs did make a lot of sense in those conditions! In addition to that, I absolutely love books about witches, and I don’t read enough of them, so that was also a plus.

I find it hard to put words on it exactly, but this book really spoke to me on a feminist level. Somehow, I needed to read it, I just didn’t know it yet… And now I can’t shut up about it.

Without giving too much away, I loved watching Circe grow, from her relationship with Glaucos, to her interesting and unexpected friendship with Penelope by the end of the book. I absolutely loved reading about Daedalus and his inventions as well, and it was fun to read mentions of many other mythological stories such as that of Ariadne or Medea. I’m a huge mythology fan, and took Ancient Greek lessons for years when I was in school, and as such, this book was a jewel.

So basically, this book is a full package: amazing story, amazing writing, and fascinating characters. If you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for?

The I Hate Spring Booktag

I honestly do not hate Spring at all but I stumbled upon this fun original booktag while I was blog hopping and I decided I had to give it a go! The tag was created by the amazing Biblio Nyan, feel free to click here if you want to see the original post!

The Time Tantrum: Name a book that had large time lapses that frustrated you greatly

Honestly as soon as I saw this prompt I knew that I had to do this booktag, because I have the PERFECT ANSWER for this question. I absolutely LOVED this book but oh boy did it frustrate me with its time lapses… I’m talking about one of my favourite books of all times The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. And yes, this book is quite a chunky piece already, but it covers about 80 years of time if I remember correctly and includes some crazy ass time lapses which frustrated me greatly: I simply wanted to know more!

Bugs, Begone! Name an insect, or creepy crawlies, centred novel that you’ve been interested in reading, but feel too grossed out by to give a proper shot

I know this is super random because despite its title, the book doesn’t have to do with insects but my answer for this one would be Lord of the Flies by William Golding. And I want to read this book because it’s a classic but it kind of creeps me out a little bit although I’ve never opened it? If you have some arguments in favour of me reading this book please feel free to let me know in the comments!

Tax Trouble: Name a special edition that was worth every penny

For this one, I’ll go with my illustrated edition of the Harry Potter series. I have The Philosopher’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets and I love them SO MUCH they are SO PRETTY!!!

Atrocious allergies: Name a book that you loathed so fricking much, that you may as well be allergic to it

Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn. I got this book because it was a freebie on kindle and I love freebies but I just did not like it one bit? It was overly cliché and annoying? The writing was meh and I simply did not like the characters. There are very few books that I tend to REALLY dislike but this one really disappointed me. And while I’m complaining about books I did not like I also want to say The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp because honestly, what was the point of this book, I disliked Stutter so much it was so frustrating y’all.

Moody meteorology: Name a book, or book series, that has inconsistencies that drove you mad

Although I greatly enjoyed this book, there are some things that bothered me because they were a bit over the top and unrealistic, and sometimes inconsistant. I’m talking about The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald. It’s a very sweet book and all, and I loved it all the more considering it dealt with the main character’s love for books, but come on y’all, you can’t just save visa problems like this, you have to keep it real a little bit even if it’s a romance novel! (That being said, I really loved that book! I’m just really bad at finding inconsistencies so I couldn’t think of anything else!)

See, I’m not that mad about those inconsistencies! Anyway, thank you so much for reading, I hope you had as much fun as I had writing it! And kudos to Biblio Nyan for coming up with such a fun tag!

Top 5 Wednesday: Favourite Jokesters

Top Five Wednesday is a weekly meme created by Lainey @GingerReadsLainey and she has passed down the torch to Sam @ThoughtsOnTomes. For more information and for future topics you can check out the goodreads group.

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Favourite jokesters was the prompt for this week. I was not so sure what to make of this topic at first, but in the end, I had a lot of fun writing this article! Here’s my list:

1. Jest from Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Jest is the first character who came to my mind when I heard the prompt for this week, as his function at the royal court is to be the Joker. Although he turns out to also be handsome and dramatic, he also is full of secrets and tricks, and as an official Joker, definitely deserves his place on the list. Bonus: you should read this book.

2. Fred & George Weasley from the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

I could not make this list without including them! They are honest to god the best pranksters ever. Unique, clever, and very devoted to their jokes, the twins are probably my most beloved characters on this list, and I decided on doing this week’s T5W solely because I wanted to talk about them.

3. The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll

Maybe the Hatter is more of an odd character rather than a jokester, but he is so unique and different from the rest of the world that I felt that he belonged on this list. He definitely have his quirks, which make any time you spend with him NOT BORING AT ALL, so I believe he can be considered somewhat of an unconventional jokester.

4. Winston from New Girl

He’s not a book character, but still remains a character who is very dear to my heart. Winston is an original, and someone who is really passionate about his pranks, whether they are ridiculously small or extravagantly big. He is so hilarious, and was definitely one of my favourite characters on the show. (I’m kidding. They all were.)

I struggled so much to find this gif, I really wanted something from this scene because it is at the same time incredibly dumb, bold, ridiculous and hilarious, and one of my favourite Winston pranks!

5. Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Thorne has the essence of the funny sidekick. He is always ready for a joke, or a prank, or to make fun of his partners in crime. He has a heart of gold, but is also there for the comic relief, and we love that about him. I couldn’t imagine The Lunar Chronicles without him! And yes I realised but too late that this list incuded two mentions or Marissa Meyer, but I love her books & her characters so I stand by it!

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And that’s it for this list, which I just noticed, doesn’t include any female character. I am nevertheless quite satisfied with it, so we’ll keep it at that. Thanks for reading & and feel free to share some of YOUR favourite jokesters in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday #51

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Ambrosia @ The Purple Booker.

The rules are simple:
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Let me tell you, I hadn’t done a Teaser Tuesday in FOREVER but I somehow decided that today would be the day I participated again! I used to post one almost every week back in the days (in 2016?) and I used to really enjoy it so I don’t know why I stopped, and here we go again!

I had the great pleasure of meeting with Madeline Miller last week at my favourite bookstore in Paris Shakespeare and Company for a book talk about her latest release, Circe, which is my current read. It took her years to complete, and is a mythological retelling about the witch Circe (you may know her from the Odyssey: she is the one who turned Ulysses’ men into pigs). The book is extremely well written and I really enjoy it so far!

Genre: Literary Fiction, Mythology, Retelling
Release: 2018

My quote:

“They cringed and shook like the weak vessels they were, stuttering to their feet and creeping away. Above,  the sky was cloudless, and the heat pinned the air to the deck.” – p.102 (end of chapter 9)

Add it on Goodreads

In Which I Associate Songs With Fictional Characters

This idea of associating songs I love with fictional characters I equally love has been sitting on my mind for quite some time, and I’m finally committing to it. I included a Spotify playlist with all the songs at the end of the post if you’d like to listen to them, and in the meantime, I hope you enjoy!

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King of the Clouds – Panic at the Disco
Séverin from The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

“I don’t trust anything or anyone below the sun
And I don’t feel anything
At all”

I feel like the lyrics of this song as a whole really fit Séverin, and his whole revenge plot as well as his status as a leader. Someone who has been hurt by the world, and wants to distance themselves from it, someone who feels above the rest.

A Little Wicked by Valerie Broussard
Astrid Dane from the Shades of Magic Trilogy by V. E. Schwab

“No one calls you honey when you’re sitting on a throne”

First of all let me tell you how much I ADORE this song. It’s so powerful. And every time I hear the lyrics, I immediately think of Astrid Dane, sitting on her throne of bones in white London. If you haven’t listened to this song, I highly recommend it!

Warriors by Imagine Dragons
Clarke and Bellamy from The 100 by Kass Morgan

“We are the warriors that built this town”

I have such a great list of song that I associate with The 100 in general, both the books (which I still haven’t finished) and the show. In the books, Bellamy and Clarke are this great power couple, and I feel like the song Warriors would totally fit with them.

Angel With a Shotgun by The Cab
Tris from Divergent by Veronica Roth

Sometimes to win, you’ve got to sin
Don’t mean I’m not a believer

Maybe it’s because I heard this song in a Divergent themed playlist but I just think it really fits Tris, and how merciless she is. It’s ruthless, and doesn’t think much, just like Tris through the trilogy.

Run Boy Run by Woodkid
Kaz from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Run boy run!
The sun will be guiding you
Run boy run!
They’re dying to stop you
Run boy run!
This race is a prophecy
Run boy run!
Break out from society

This song really has a sense of emergency that seems to fit with Kaz, the king of outlaws. It addresses a character who is on the run from the rest of the world, and that’s just how Kaz is on his impossible quest with his gang of misfits, in both Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom.

Netflix Trip by AJR
Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Now the finale’s done and I’m alone
I’m on a Netflix trip here on my phone
But who I am is in these episodes
So don’t you tell me that it’s just a show

While this song is a bit different from the rest of my selection, I just love its light tone. I love how dreamy and realistic it is, and I think the immersion in a fictional world really applies to Cath and her obsession with Simon and Baz!

Immortals by Fall Out Boys
Victor and Eli from Vicious by V. E. Schwab

They say we are what we are
But we don’t have to be

I still have yet to read Vengeful, but I think both those two lines, and the idea of being immortal really fit with Victor and Eli in Vicious. I absolutely loved that book, I found it extremely fascinating and unique, and every time I hear Immortals, it reminds me of it.

Irony by Christopher
April May from An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

I’m addicted to my phone
Getting anxious every time that it’s out of reach
I lie awake, screen right up in my face
And I wonder why I can’t sleep

As a whole, I feel like this song really represents a cliché of my generation. A cliché that is not entireally wrong (I can really relate to most of it to be honest), and April May and her journey through instant fame also really matches both that characterization and that song, so I thought it’d be fun to include them in the list! Honestly if you have never heard that song I highly recommend you give it a listen ~

Migraine by Twenty One Pilots
Kiko from Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Am I the only one I know
Waging my wars behind my face and above my throat?

Migraine is yet another song I really love because it hit me right in the feels with how relatable I found it. It really applies to my anxiety and how I can get stuck in my head, so of course when I read about characters like Kiko (♥) I also find that it immediately applies to them.

Sweet but Psycho by Ava Max
Kate Harker from the Monsters of Verity duology by V. E. Schwab

She’ll make you curse, but she a blessing
She’ll rip your shirt within a second
You’ll be coming back, back for seconds
With your plate, you just can’t help it

I feel like Kate is such a complex character, but also a really fascinating one. She both attracts and scares people at the same time, which makes this song perfect for her in my opinion. (Truth be told, it would also work for a lot of other V. E. Schwab characters I guess?)

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So did this post half turn into a Victoria Schwab appreciation post? Kind of, I have to admit. Do I mind? Not one bit! I had a lot of fun writing it as it combines two of the things I love the most: books and music. Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing!

Bonus: here’s the list of songs if you’d like to listen to them

Top 5 Wednesday: Collectibles on Bookshelves

Top Five Wednesday is a weekly meme created by Lainey @GingerReadsLainey and she has passed down the torch to Sam @ThoughtsOnTomes. For more information and for future topics you can check out the goodreads group.

The theme for this week is a bit different from what we usually get but I am HERE FOR IT. As you could maybe guess from my header picture (which is actually getting a little bit old and my bookshelves have actually gotten quite messier) I am obsessed with my bookshelves, and they are also full of a lot of things in addition to books…

NUMBER ONE thing I love on my bookshelves obviously is pretty books. I like them colorful in case you hadn’t noticed on my pictures. I also LOVE pretty collections such as the Penguin clothbound classics, or the illustrated edition of Harry Potter ❤️

NUMBER TWO thing that is all over my bookshelves, and actually all over my room is BOOKMARKS. I have them everywhere, stacked in what is probably my NUMBER THREE item I love to see on my shelves: cups & mugs. From the top of my head, I have one Game of Thrones mug, on TFIOS, and at least two Harry Potter ones and one with a gorgous illustration of The Little Prince, as well as a few non bookish ones ☕

NUMBER FOUR item on the list – and you probably have guessed that one already – is funko pop! I love their little bobbly heads, and I also think that they are perfect props for all my bookish pictures. I have a lot of Harry Potter and Stranger Things ones, and seeing them all with my books genuinely makes me HAPPY 🦄

And finally the NUMBER FIVE thing I love having on my bookshelves is cacti and little plants! I am actually not that good at taking care of plants, but somehow most of my cacti and succulents (and I also have a baby aloe vera!) seem to survive which makes me really happy and somehow helps me feel like I have my shit together… Plants are the best 🌵

And that’s it for today! Thank you so much for reading & I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

March Wrap Up

At least this month was more productive than February! I managed to finish some books I had started eons ago, and read some more books that had been waiting on my TBR for a while, so it’s all good. I even got to pick up some ARCs, something that hadn’t happened in a while, and I’m really happy about it!

Books I read:

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I feel like I’ve been babbling about this book for months but anyway, it was really good! April May was a very realistic AND relatable character, and I loved how the book dealt with very contemporary topics such as instant fame, social media, as well as the rise of extremisms. I highly recommend it! (full review)

The Weight of our Sky by Hanna Alkaf ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book. I have no words. I heard about it a few months prior to its release, and immediately wanted to check it out because it got me real curious and it seemed to have fantastic rep. Well I was not disappointed. It was fantastic. Heartbreaking, but so necessary. [TW: Violence, Death, Anxiety] (full review)

Manabu vol.3-4 by Masako Yoshi ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
After reading vol.1-2 last month, I ordered the rest of the series (a short manga series, isn’t that perfect!) It’s such a sweet tennage story, kind of romance + slice-of-life, I really enjoyed it.

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one is a contemporary fiction set in Paris in the events of a giant flood and I loved it SO MUCH. The writing was absolutely beautiful and I just really enjoyed the story. I hadn’t read a book by this author in quite some time, and it reminded me just of how much I love her books. And I just added it to my mental list of amazing books that are set in Paris! (full review)

La Chinoise — Pekin 1964 by Régis Hautière & Gregory Charlet ⭐⭐⭐
A newly released French comic book about a French man who turned into a spy for the Chinese government because of the person he fell in love with. It starts in 1964 and continues for the next decades. As I finished it, I also discovered that it was based on real life events!

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I had heard so many great things about this book before picking it up, and for some reason had decided that I would not enjoy it. But oh boy was I wrong! I simply loved it so much, Anne is the sweetest, and I enjoyed the narration so much I am officially joining the team of people constantly recommending this book, because it’s simply THAT worth it.

// an accurate representation of me drowning in my love for Anne Shirley //

The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one was a free read on RivetedLit and as soon as I saw the main topic I knew that I HAD to pick it up. It deals with rape, sexual abuse and rape culture, and follows a groupe of high school girls trying to change things. This book was absolutely brilliant. [TW: rape, sexual assault]

The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Another free read on RivetedLit (bless this site!) It deals with a teenage girl who navigates through high school while dealing with the aftermath of rape. She never told anyone about it. It also deals with frienship and family and first love, at this time of your life where you are coming of age. This book was terribly heartbreaking, but also, I believe, very important. [TW: rape, sexual assault]

Currently reading:

I am currently reading Comment j’ai arrêté de manger les annimaux, a book about vegetarianism by French journalist Hugo Clément, as well as Quest and Quandaries, an e-ARC that was kindly sent to me by its author Alda Yuan, and finally I for some reason decided to pick up War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy!

Movies I’ve seen:

Mean Girls ✨ Isn’t it Romantic ✨ How to be single ✨ Friends With Benefits ✨ Bridesmaids

TV Shows I’ve been watching:

SKAM France ✨ SKAM Italia ✨ Druck ✨ Brooklyn Nine Nine ✨ The Umbrella Academy ✨ SkamNL

Kdrama:

Romance is a Bonus Book ✨ Uncontrollably Fond

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An update on my reading challenges:

Goodreads Challenge: 18/70 Books
Audiobook Challenge: 3 Books
YARC: 6 Books