start date: 01/02/2022 | end date: 10/02/2022

genre: YA, crime, murder mystery

summary: Stevie, a student at Ellingham academy strives to solve the past murders and kidnappings that surround the academy but then becomes involved within a current murder. (This is book 1 of a trilogy)

overall thoughts: I actually really enjoyed this. I heard a lot of good things about this book but however was not completely convinced when starting since it was a YA book. I do admit, I did tell Reeva during the early chapters of the book I didn't like the main character because at first the author seemed to be portraying her as completely pessimistic. HOWEVER, as the book progressed we saw the many sides of Stevie and I commend the representation of mental health. The main character really grew on me and I will gladly admit this. I did hope for better 'clues' to the murder mystery but I do think the development progressed...

start date: 17/01/2022 | end date: 22/01/2022

genre: contemporary romance

summary: Fake dating trope involving a PhD student and a professor

overall thoughts: I really got pulled in by the tiktok hype with this one. Should not have trusted booktok especially after they said 'We were liars' was bad lmao (but I still found These Violent Delights on booktok). I mean it wasn't a bad book - more like something I would only read once. A big fan of the fact that the main character was a female in STEM because we love that for our in real life STEM gals. The writing was simple and easy to follow along with. I did hope for more conversational development between Olive and Adam. I feel like as a reader we only got to see surface level interests shared between the both of them. The author did try to involve delicate subjects (eg. Olive's mum) between the two but in terms of interests, I feel li...__(*spoiler alert*)__ they were in love.

start date: 01/01/2022 | end date: 11/01/2022

genre: ya, mystery, romance, enemies to lovers

summary: part 2 of the 'These Violent Delight' series. Roma and Juliette again find themselves as enemies undergoing the aftermath of the first novel.

memorable moments: TOO MANY but the ending SDJSKS

• "Juliette is not her people" (this hit diff)

overall thoughts: Was really anticipating this book and it didn't disappoint. The character development was by far my favourite part of this book (especially Mars' and Ben's character development towards Juliette). I do admit, it wasn't as good as 'These Violent Delights' but it was still a good follow up. Managed to keep me wanting to continue to read despite my very bad reading slump.

would I recommend this book? YES

would I read this book again? YES

start date: 27/08/2021 | end date: 27/08/2021 (about a 40 minute read)

genre: classics, thriller, horror, feminism, mental health, short stories (I don't think it's true horror - but in a way it does have those elements in which would set fear in the reader)

summary: A short story about a woman in confinement forced into rest after childbirth and her thoughts on the lead up to insanity.

thoughts: This was a really solid short story that was followed by an afterword detailing thoughts of others on the short story. The whole short story encompassed the theme of female subordination. It was told in a very chilling point of view in which the imagery played on most of the 5 senses. It started out with only sight but then brought in smell and touch. I think this was a good way to truly bring my mindset (as the reader) to be highly connected to that of the narrator. In doing this, I honestly felt trapped with the narrator. In...

start date: 21/08/2021 | end date: 24/08/2021

• I think this might be my favourite book that I've read this year

genre/tropes: ya, mystery, romance, sci-fi fantasy, lovers- to- enemies, historical

summary: a retelling of R&J in the setting of 1926 Shanghai. The characters Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai are part of enemy gangs. In the event of a virus, Roma and Juliette find themselves having to work together.

memorable moments:

• The moment Roma found out Juliette was back (page 45) URGHHH MY FKING HEART
• "If Roma were ever again to run a tender finger down her spine, it would be to count her vertebrae and gauge where he could stab his knife in" AGAIN, MY FKING HEART IT ACHES
• PAGE 260 just hits different

• abby
• grace
• loora
• nina
• reeva

-

• guide

Start Date: 13/08/21 End Date: 20/08/21

Genre/Tropes: Sci-Fi, Fiction, Horror, Thriller

Summary: A nine member crew board the mysterious ship called the Nightflyer, run by its mysterious captain. They are then faced with a murderer who is everywhere, can do anything, and knows all.

Thoughts (RANT & SPOILERS): I would have enjoyed this book more if I had actually liked the characters, but was just completely turned off by how FUCKING STUPID the majority of the characters were. Altogether there were like 10 characters and 3 of whom were competent enough to have survived. Basic maths 3/10 is 30%. That leaves 70% of just idiots!!! That's a fail grade right there. Like I can understand wanting to know more about whats happening with this ship, like who the captain is, why its empty and all that for the sake of plot development. But when 3 of your col...

start date: Sometime in May

genre/tropes: Fantasy, Slow Burn, Mafia? Gang Rivalry

_summary + thoughts

The characters come together to do an impossible heist, that will each grant them things they so desperately want. An unlikely group, who on the surface don't look like they'd work together but all their skills and powers meld together, with Kaz being the mastermind behind it all. I think what makes this so good is the character development in all the characters. Literally all the characters, you see the pains the trauma and each of their struggles that are overwhelming each of them. And the banter. THE BANTER i loved each of the characters interactions, theyre witty and cunning but somehow they all make it work . _

Favourite Quotes (This is for you Laura)

• “I have been made to protect you. Only ...

• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
• Soon by Morris Gleitzman
• The Binding by Bridget Collins
• A Modern Detective by Edgar Allan Poe
• These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
• Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven
• The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
• The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
• Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong
• The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
• Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz
• Truly Devious -Book 1 by Maureen Johnson

Start Date: 30/03/21 End Date: 29/06/21

Genre/Tropes: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, YA, Steampunk, Romance, Vampires, Angels

Summary: in 1878, Tessa Gray has arrived to London from her home in New York. Trusting the first person she meets she gets kidnapped and held against her will by the supernatural. Then one day Will Herondale happens across her trapped whilst on a mission. What follows next is a tale of adventure in Victorian London.

Thoughts: I don't wanna say that this book put me into a slump but this book put me into a slump. This took me like 3 months to finish because a lot happens but also nothing happens at the same time. Like one moment they're fighting against these machine spiders but then the next your literally sitting there for 30 pages of just dialogue. I'm all for character development cuz that's what I fuck with but jes...

Start Date: 12/08/21 End Date: 12/08/21

Genre/tropes: Graphic novel, sci-fi, dystopia, post-apocalyptic

Summary: Mankind has fled into the ocean because the radiation from the sun has become too deadly. So they try to find possible planet to move to by sending probes into space.

Thoughts: I remember buying the graphic novels because I thought that the covers looked pretty. But man the story and the characters were so boring. I only went so far into reading the first three volumes because I had bought the first three volumes. The characters are so bland and boring. The thing I hate most about it is the religion that they follow which is pretty much like 'if you have hope then all your problems will be solved'. This is such a cheats way of using the deus ex machina trope which is to magically save your characters after you've gotten them so far...

start date: 28/04/2021 | end date: 02/05/2021

genre/tropes: action, romance, fantasy, faes, demons (theres probably more but i can't remember for the fucken life of me)

summary: trained assassin who is serving a life sentence is offered a deal for her freedom: compete in a to-the-death tournament to become the king's champion.

thoughts: why the fuck did i decide to do this so late i barely remember what happened hoWEVER- i do know that this is the book that got me into reading aFTER YEARS OF NOT READING !! legit the last book i read before this was in year 9 so i guess its pretty good !! i very much enjoyed it to the point that it got me hooked on the series.

• would i read this again?: no lol
• do i recommend this book?: yeah !! if u haven't read it, i say give it a try

• This was a re-read

Soon (book 5 of the once, then and now series) by Morris Gleitzman

start date : 11 Aug 2021 | end date : 11 Aug 2021

genre : wartime, adventure

Summary : Based around the time of Nazis, it follows young children and their attempts of survival.

Thoughts : If you don't know, the 'once, then and now' series is my favourite book series. I like that Morris Gleitzman has written this series to be read in any order because then I can come back and read any of the books without feeling the need to read the whole series all over again. I think what really hits me with this series is that it doesn't avoid the truth of that time. It's always hard-hitting. I remember the first time I actually read the first book 'Once', I was in year 6 and it hurts that at that time, I was reading about ...

hi guys, welcome to the library !!

so here is the group page for us to leave reviews on books we have been reading. this is more of a guide to follow -- as you can always add and subtract things to your entries to give them your own flavour, if you will. if you would like information on how to code your entries:adding bullet points, italics and links etc, please refer to this link

also -- each person will have their own assigned colour (which you can find in the 'modify' tab at the bottom of the board) so we can easily see who's review it is! i (grace) will take care of all the masterlist stuff so don's worry about that ;-))

okay with this out of the way, here's a basic template for your entries! also, feel free to be as formal or as casual as you want with this! the whole point is to have fun!

start date: 12/02/21-12 | end date: 12/02/21

summary: a modern day romance between a vampire and a werewolf

memorable moments: to be honest it's been a hot minute since i read this, but i was super enamoured with the way that this was told. more so short snippets of day-to-day life, rather than a linear narrative. there were some pretty good one-liners in here -- none that come to memory right now -- but god it was so good

thoughts:

• positives
  • although cliche, the comic was super enjoyable. i really liked the simplicity of it, and the romance in it kind of makes me want to be in love -- but i also just think vampires are sexy
  • the velvet cover also gets points from me. i will judge a book by its cover and th..._fucks_

start date: 13/07/2021 | end date: 13/07/2021 (roughly 4 hours reading time)

summary: with their countries on the brink of war, damen and his master, prince laurent, must exchange the intrigues of the palace for the sweeping might of the battle field as they travel to the border to avert a lethal plot

memorable moments: these aren't in chronological order but

• the way they kissed like toward the end of the book. it took them 1 & 3/4 books to kiss
• aemeric....
• "then feel it"
• the part where laurent and damen switch roles, they're in the tavern and laurent feeds damen by hand
  • laurent's laugh,
  • and then they are on the run for their lives

Start Date: 24/11/2021 End Date: 22/1/2022

Genre/Tropes: There were different genres but mainly Japanese horror and thriller

Summary: A collection of stories based in Japan

Thoughts: I remember buying this book on book depository YEARS ago because I had read a really good fic that was based on the short stories of this book. It was only now that I got around to reading it. I'm honestly too lazy to write a review on each short story and I had already done so in my other journal so I'll literally just rank the best to worst and provide a sentence or two on my thoughts.

• In a park at twilight, a long time ago- MY absolute fav in the entire collection. It was literally only 2 pages though. It was short, simple and memorable. It was also horror which was the whole reason I w...

start date: 15/12/2021 | end date: 04/01/2022

summary: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as a part of a ruthless authoritarian progream, they are privided arms and fprced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing

memorable moments: (spoilers ahead)

• killing kiriyama --> kawada turning on them --> turns oiur he DIDN'T --> shuya, noriko and kawada makinig it out alive
• shuya reuniting with kawada and noriko
• the lovers dying together
• takako killing that one guy and then reuniting with hiroki
• the lighthouse scene
• looking at the sunset and then having ~kawawda say that this is the last sunset that they will ever see~

quotes:

Start Date: 26/08/21 End Date: 01/08/21

Genre/ Tropes: Memoir, Biography, Pop Culture, Non Fiction

Summary: A biography on iconic actor River Phoenix chronicling his life growing up in a cult to being one of the most famous actors from the mid 80s to early 90s to his untimely death from a drug overdose in 1993.

Throughts: This is actually the first time I've ever read a biography seeing as I tend to read more fiction, but god damn this is a pretty good biography!!! Like I honestly couldn't put it down. It's about actor River Phoenix. I don't think a lot of people know who he is seeing as though he died in 1993 and he wasn't really in a lot of movies, but the movies he was in was what made him so memorable. (If you've ever watched Stand by Me, he was the blonde kid. He was also in he second Indiana Jones movie). But this biography cen...

Start Date: 03/07/21 End Date: 25/08/21

Genre/Tropes: Greek Mythology, Romance, Retelling

Summary: A retelling of the story of Circe, the daughter of Helios, God of the Sun in greek mythology as she is exiled onto a deserted island where she spends centuries learning and perfecting her potions and witchcraft. As that happens she comes across different mortals who happen upon her island, including the famed Odysseus.

Thoughts: I both really enjoyed and was really disappointed with this book. I really enjoyed the whole retelling of Circe in her POV. Madeleine's writing is *chef's kiss*. And I loved the relationship dynamics with Circe and her father as its portrayed as kind of one sided, as well as the other Greek Gods and mortals that she interacts with. I absolutely loved the first half of the book because it really pa...

• 12 rules for life by jordan peterson
• clockwork angel by cassandra clare
• low by rick remender
• nightflyers by george r.r martin
• of mice and men by john steinbeck
• circe by madeleine miller

start date: 20/07/2021 | end date: 24/07/2021

summary: achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess thetis and the legendary king peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath

memorable moments: [spoilers ahead] if you don't know anything about greek mythology"

• thetis & patroclus remembering achilles for what he was. thetis visiting achilles' grave
• achilles motives and ambitions changing throughout the course of the book
• patroclus presence even after death
• as for the goddes' answer, i did not care. i would have no need for her. i did not plan to live after he was gone.

• battle royale by koushun takami
• call me by your name by andré aciman
• 'captive prince' series by c.s pacat
  • book one: captive prince
  • book two: prince's gambit
  • book three: king's rising
  • epilogue: the summer palace
• fangs by sarah anderson
• the horizon by jeong jihoon
• night sky wth exit wounds by ocean vuong
• the song of achilles by madeline miller

17/08/2021 | end date: 20/08/2021

genre/tropes: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Smut, Angst

summary: Follows a girl named Lily as she travels through life. What I like about Colleen Hoover books is the inner-monologue of the character the complete raw unfiltered thoughts that capture you and really add depth to the situation and setting. You see the struggles she goes through life and her relationships, it does have a triggering things, I dont want to say what because spoilers? But it was heart wrenching because of that but it was written really well. Everyone asks if this has a good ending, I think it did but yes it is about the JouRNey ~

_Favourite Quotes: "And if you could love again, choose me...."

“All humans make mistakes. What determines our character is whether we turn those mistakes into excuses or lessons.”

start date: 20/08/2021 | end date: 21/08/2021

genre: mystery, crime, classics

summary: 2 short stories set in Paris about the thought process to understanding culprits of a murder

memorable moments : The description of the crime scene in the 2nd short story titled 'The mystery of Marie Roget'. This was well done and gave me chills (I think it was around page 60)

thoughts: to be completely honest I didn't know what was actually going on until page 30. The first short story was disappointing and was all over the place. The second short story was a lot better but again, the reveal of the murderer was anti- climactic. I was really anticipating some good thrills with this book because Edgar Allan Poe is my favourite poet and his work always surrounds very dark and twisted themes. This on the otherhand was not up to that standard.

Start Date: 30/01/21 End Date: 01/02/21

Genre: Historical Fiction, Modern Classics, Required Reading at School

Summary: Two men, George and his simpleton friend Lenny are in search of work in Salinas, California. They get a job as workers at a ranch and meet the other workers at the ranch.

Thoughts: I don't really understand why this is required reading for schools. If I was a student and had to read this book I'd hate reading too. Like there's not much that happens in terms of story, like they got on the ranch and just interact with the other workers. Like what can you get from that?

Reread?: Nope

Recommend?: Nope

start date: 25/05/2021 | end date: 28/05/2021

genre/tropes: magic world building, fantasy, enemies-to-allies, fictional politics, slowburn romance (book is a trilogy)

summary: jude and her sisters are taken to a fairy world and have to learn to live there as vulnerable humans.

thoughts: i wasn't a fan of the book but then again it is really only the start of the series and maybe i'll enjoy it if i continue the rest of the books so idk. the hype for this book raised my expectations which left me unsatisfied but tbh i reckon if it weren't so hyped up i would've enjoyed it more. (mini spoiler): the prince has a tail and i think thats fucken ugly i don't fucks with that

• would i read this again?: no
• do i recommend this book?: no

start date: 18/05/2021 | end date: 23/05/2021

genre/tropes: action, romance, fantasy, faes, demons, lovers-to-enemies, major character death

summary: the king's champion is tasked to dispose of his enemies but can't bring herself to do it. instead, she fake's their deaths and puts those she loves at risk. she must then decide what she will fight for: her liberty, her heart or the fate of a kingdom.

thoughts: again, i do not remember this book but i enjoyed reading it fr. compared to the other books in the series, i don't think it's that good but it's really the catalyst for the change in her character and the start of the REAL plot of the series.

• would i read this again?: nope
• do i recommend this book?: only if u enjoyed the first one cause if u didn't then this won't catch ur eye (is that the saying ??)

start date: 07/08/2021 | end date: 07/08/2021

summary: two children unexpectedly meet in the midst of war. after running away from the chaos, they come across a long empty road. with no adults to rely on, the two strangers, now become friends, walk alongside each other to see what's at the end of the road. all they hope is to keep being able to move forward. Just what kind of trials and tragedy awaits them during their journey for survival?

thoughts: here is the review i left up on good reads

i am a big lover of horror; specifically horror anime and manga, comics and the like. surprisingly, out of all places i saw this recommended on tiktok -- and immediately fell in love with the art style and had to read it immediately. although, i'm not going to write anything that gives the plot away entirely because i think it's better to go into this without any pr...

start date: 10/05/2021 | end date: 23/05/2021

genre/tropes: adventure, fantasy, action, magic, friendship based, romance-ish (?), bully-to-lover lmao

summary: a village is protected by a wizard (called 'the dragon') from the forest which emits dark magic. the price of his protection: the village must offer up one of their young women to serve the dragon every 10 years. the main character, agnieszka, is sure her best friend will be chosen until the dragon arrives and takes her instead.

thoughts: i started reading this for the romance and it flopped lmao. the thing i really liked about this story is the friendship between the protagonist and her best friend because lemme tell ya they REALLY go through it. it was really nice to read this book and see the depth of their friendship and how far they would go for each other and it's really endearing i absolutely ...

start date: 19/07/2021 | end date: 19/07/2021

genre: poetry

summary: ocean vuong's first full-length collection aims straight for the perennial "big"—and very human—subjects of romance, family, memory, grief, war, and melancholia. none of these he allows to overwhelm his spirit or his poems, which demonstrate, through breath and cadence and unrepentant enthrallment, that a gentle palm on a chest can calm the fiercest hungers

thoughts: ouch there are a lot of bangers in this one, especially all the like... religious guilt that hit close to home.

• "maybe the body is the only questuin an answer we can't extinguish. how many kisses have we crushed to out lips in prayer == only to pikc up the pieces?"
• "as if my finger, / tracing your collarbone / behind closed doors, / was enough / to erase myself. to forget / we built thi...

start date: 12/07/2021 | end date: 12/07/2021 (roughly 4 hours reading time)

summary: damen is a warrior to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of akielos. but when his half brother seizes power, damen is captured, stripped of his identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure slave

anecdote: i picked up this book after purchasing some fanart at smash in 2019. i had no idea who the fanart was of at the time, but bought the book shortly after. i've had the book for long period of time, but have not read it until now

i knew it was going to a scandalous read, and i was right

memorable moments: on god for the life of me there were a few that stood out

• "you have a scar here"
• the regent making laurent apologise to damen

Start Date: 22/1/22 End Date: 8/2/22

Genre/Tropes: Memoir, Music, Pop Culture

Summary: A memoir written by musician Dave Grohl based on his experiences growing up in rural Virginia, being introduced to punk rock music, touring at age 17 with a band, being the drummer of Nirvana, to starting the Foo Fighters after Kurt Cobain's death, and becoming a father.

Thoughts: This was one of the few books I've ever read in which I was sad that it wasn't longer. I've recently been listening to a lot of Nirvana and Foo Fighters so when I found that Dave Grohl wrote a memoir I went to buy it on Amazon. And BOY was I not disappointed!!! Honestly, Dave has a way of storytelling that can make you vividly picture in your head what he's describing and that's probably why I was enjoying this book so much.

Honestly, his life in his first band 'Scream' as well his time in Nirvana were som...

start date: 21/01/2022 | end date: 31/01/2022

had to finish this before I got more busy with my intern program

genre: murder mystery, crime

overall thoughts: (most of this is from my goodreads review lol) This book was very riveting - particularly the final chapters (which did make my stomach flip at times). I liked that it highlighted the portrayal of crimes within the media and how women generally do not feel safe in today's society. Must admit, the first couple of chapters were difficult to get into and make sense of due to the changing perspectives. However, once I was able to gather my thoughts, I made more sense of the storyline and was able to become increasingly compelled.

memorable moments:

• page 186 when it mentions the disproportionate amount of media attention POC murders receive in comparison to caucasian mur...

Start Date: 13/2/21

Genre/Tropes: Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Philosophy??

Summary: This is a short story in Otsuichi's collection titled 'Zoo'. This particular short story is set in the future where humanity has been completely destroyed by perhaps an extremely advanced form of germs. The main character has been woken up by an unknown man who tells him that MC's reason for being woken up is to bury him when he dies.

Thoughts:I really loved this story, I think that it was written very beautifully. I loved the setting as an isolated cottage surrounded by forests. I could honestly visualize the setting to a T. It also delves into the discussion of death, which was very interesting and a complete 180 to the horror and thriller stories that Otsuichi usually writes in Zoo, but I was not disappointed at all! I think this is o...

start date: 29/08/2021 | end date: 03/09/2021

genre: sci-fi, dystopian, classic

summary: A novel split into 2 books (BOOK I: The Coming of the Martians, BOOK II: The Earth under the Martians) based on the narrator's point of view/ attempts of survival during a martian invasion.

thoughts: I think this novel had a lot of potential to give further action/thrill particularly within the first book but I do understand that it was trying to remain realistic. However, because it didn't have that action/ thrill factor I felt like I wasn't reading to see a resolution to the story since majority of the time the story felt stagnant. The first book was more world- building and in saying this, this is probably why I preferred the second book more. Overall, it was solid read in terms of sticking to the themes of sci- fi and realistic dystopia (not that I believe in martians, but I can definitely see how l...

start date: 25/08/2021 | end date: 26/08/2021

genres: realistic fiction, ya, romance, contemporary

summary: A story about Libby (a girl who has had an unfortunate couple of years) who meets Jack (a boy diagnosed with Prosopagnosia).

thoughts: I was really anticipating this book because one of my favourite standalones is written by Jennifer Niven (All the bright places) but alas I was left disappointed. I just felt like she kept driving these characters as stock characters. Like the mean girl remained the mean girl. For Libby who was characterised as the 'different' girl - I felt like the author was just forcing her into a /quirky/ box with her listening to disco and her writing quotes on her shoes. It was all just very predictable to me. The romance wasn't even good. I guess what I did like about this though is that it started with a 'To Kill a ...

• it ends with us by colleen hoover
• regretting you by colleen hoover
• six of crows by leigh bardugo

-

-Six of Crows; Leigh Bardugo -Crooked Kingdom; Leigh Bardugo -Red Queen; Victoria Aveyard -When Breath Comes to Air; Paul Kalanthi -The Courage to be Disliked; Koga and Ichiro Kirishimi

start date: 29/07/2021 | end date: 30/07/2021

summary: call me by your name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliff-side mansion on the italian riviera. unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. but during the restless summer weeks that follow, unrelenting buried currents of obsession and fear, fascination and desire, intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them. what grows from the depths of their spirits is a romance of scarcely six weeks' duration and an experience that marks them for a lifetime. for what the two discover on the riviera and during a sultry evening in rome is the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.

anecdote: i have absolutely memed the shit out of this franchise. initially i swore to myse...

_start date: _ 27/07/2021 | end date: 29/07/2021

genre/tropes: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Angst

summary: It follows the story of the Mum and Daughter, you can see the similarities between them and their lives. The Mum tries to be the perfect Mum but it hinders her own personal feelings as she always puts others before her until one day she's pushed to her limits with a series of unfortunate events. The Mum relives her life with regrets and lives through her daughter.

_Favourite Quotes:

“think it’s time I figure out who I was meant to become before I started living my life for everyone else.”

“I wonder if humans are the only living creatures that ever feel hollow inside.”

"I’m content with the direction in which my life is headed, and I know if I obsess over the past, that obsession will only serve to anchor me in a place I am more...

start date : 11/08/2021 | end date : 20/08/2021

• This shouldn't have taken me this long tbh but I was trying to fit in this book during lectures

genre : fantasy, romance

summary : Based in a victorian (?) society where books were made solely for the purpose of "binding" someone's truth. If a person had something they wanted to forget completely, they could have this truth bound into a book and they would forget. However, the consequence of binding a truth is that it takes apart of the person with it.

memorable moments : I tagged a few quotes within this book but this one stuck with me.

• 'One misplaced word' he says, with a sigh 'can be the difference between victory and failure'

I think this stuck with me just because I know that at times I never think before ...

Start Date: 30/06/21 End Date: 07/08/21

Genre/Tropes: Self help, philosophy, psychology, religion, politics

Summary: Quite literally the title

Thoughts: This book was also quite hard to read. I could only get to 30 pages per reading session before I got overloaded with information and had to take a break so I only reserved 30 pages a day to reading this. But when reading this I had a lot of realizations about everyday life including work dynamics and family. I don't know why Jordan Peterson gets a lot of shit from everyone cuz I think he has a really deep understanding of the world and history. I think a lot of people could learn a lot and improve their lives if they listened to what Jordan says.

Memorable Moments: One of the first rules that he teaches is to sit with your back straight. And you may think well why? but he goes into detail about how not only ...

start date: 30/05/2021 | end date: 01/06/2021

genre/tropes: action, fantasy, magic, world building, friendship, fake dating, goth girl + himbo jock trope, rivals-to-frends

summary: el attends a magic school that has no teachers, no holidays and low chances of survival. the school is filled with danger and el must find a way to survive through strategic alliances and the use of her dark power.

thoughts: THIS IS PROBABLY MY FAVOURITE BOOK OF WHAT I'VE READ SO FAR !! i very much like the dynamic between the main character and the love interest and their interactions got me giddy tbh. it's a very diverse book, with the point of the magic school being open to people all around the world. i genuinely enjoyed this book so much to the point that i'm scared for the future ones because this was so good i'm scared that the next few wont be able to live up to it or the storyline will be ruined so...

• After many attempts of me struggling to make this - here's my first review on listography :)

start date : 10/08/2021 | end date : 11/08/2021

Genre : fantasy, friendship, supernatural, horror

Summary : story based on two characters who resemble good v bad, highlighting dark themes present even in today's society (age, morality, friendship).

Memorable moment :

• "The trouble with Jim was he looked at the world and could not look away. And when you never look away all your life, by the time you are thirteen you have done twenty years taking in the laundry of the world"

This quote stuck with me because sometimes in life we can get so wrapped up in things we forget to just /live/ and I think ...

start date: 15/07/2021 | end date: 15/07/2021

summary: follow damen, Laurent and the supporting characters of captive prince on a series of adventures set in and around the events of the novels - and beyond, to learn what happens after the final page in the trilogy is turned

thoughts: THESE BITCHES GAY!

• throne of glass series by sarah j. maas
  • throne of glass
  • crown of midnight
• uprooted by naomi novik
• the folk of the air series by holly black
  • the cruel prince
• the scholomance series by naomi novik
  • a deadly education

start date: 15/07/2021 | end date: 15/07/2021 (roughly 3.5 hours reading time)

summary: his identity now revealed, damen must face his master prince laurent as damianos of akielos, the man laurent has sworn to kill

thoughts:

good god.

i do actually have a lot of thoughts about the conclusion of the trilogy, but i fee like i can't really put it into words. i was more or less satisfied with the ending. there were things that played out the way i thought they would -- whilst i was also mildly surprised at others.

damen was really -- just a good guy. i really enjoyed his character, although he wasn't my favourite . i also do feel kinda sad when i think about nicaise

there was something fulfilling about seeing laurent be so vulnerable -- the ice-cold prince of vere -- needing someone. despire laurent knowing who dam...