Reading, TV, & More Reading: March 2021 Wrap Up

March 31, 2021March 31, 2021 fangirlfury2 Comments

March was jam-packed with school, personal things, & reading. While I’m not someone who wants to rush time and there were quite a few good moments this month, March dragged on for me and was stressful between school & my personal life. I will say that the warmer weather over the past two weeks has seriously brightened my mood and is getting me even more excited for my favorite stretch of the year, May through September aka beach season! I’m also feeling ~~a tiny bit~~ more hopeful this week because I received my covid vaccine yesterday!! I know there’s still a long way to go, but getting the vaccine makes me feel so excited about being out in the world & doing things this summer. I’ve been on spring break this week, so I’m looking forward to continuing to take some time to myself and READ as much as possible, of course.

I’m so happy with the fact that I read 11 books in March – maybe we’ll get to 12 by tonight with my current read, Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst. This was the most amount of books I’ve read in 1 month so far in 2021, and it’s making me crave summer even more, since I average anywhere from 11-16 books a month during beach reading season. I managed to read 11 books because I feel like I didn’t watch as much TV this month (ignore the two full seasons I binged and other shows below) and I dedicated hours to reading Friday-Sunday and would read anywhere from 1-2 books each weekend. This month was super stressful in almost every aspect of life, so I really looked forward to diving into a book whenever possible.

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez | 3.5/5 Stars

I enjoyed the sarcasm and heart behind the romance in The Friend Zone and liked the unique premise, but I wasn’t in loveeee as much as other readers.

You Have a Match by Emma Lord | 4.5/5

You Have a Match was one of the books that I binge-read from Friday to Saturday. I could not let go of this YA contemporary about two sisters at summer camp. It SO solidified Emma Lord as one of my favorite authors!

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand | 4.5/5

Wow, 28 Summers was SO worth the hype! I loved the storytelling, and it made me want to book a trip to Nantucket ASAP. Definitely throw in your beach bag this summer if you’re like me and slept on picking this one up (also let me know of what other Elin Hilderbrand books to read this summer!).

BOOKS & HBO Max: February 2021 Wrap Up

February 26, 2021February 25, 2021 fangirlfury2 Comments

February felt like the longest and shortest month ever – which I guess kind’ve makes sense since February is the shortest calendar month. This is was an intensely busy month for me grad school wise. Once I finish and submit a major assessment for my master’s in early March, grad life *should* get slightly more calm before I graduate in May. We also got a ton of snow where I live in the US – I actually don’t think location matters too much because everywhere in the US seems to have been slammed by snow over the past few weeks – which meant a few more remote work days and plenty of trips out to my car to clean off snow.

I am super excited though that the weather seems to be warming up, and it’s staying light out for longer at night. Going for walks and runs after school and getting fresh air to such a big stress reliever for me, so I’m really looking forward to spring weather. As you can probably tell below, the biggest stress reliever for me in February was reading and watching TV & movies. I was definitely on more of a reading kick early on in the month, but I totally admit my HBO Max subscription got to me and I leaned into TV and movies way more than usual.

I’ve so far read 8 books in February, which I’m pretty content with considering my school schedule and that I’m currently reading a certain 700+ page fantasy read. I have reviews coming or already published for all of the books below, so I’ll just be sharing my star ratings.

Love in English by Maria E. Andreu (ARC) | 4/5 Stars

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes | 4.5/5

Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure by Amy Kaufman | 4/5

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel (ARC) | 4/5

MINI LIFE UPDATES & ALL THE BOOKS: January 2021 Wrap Up

January 29, 2021January 28, 2021 fangirlfury4 Comments

I can’t be the only one shocked that the first month of 2021 is almost over. My first few days of January started out fairly relaxing, having stayed home for New Years and reading a few books & watching tons of Kara & Nate before I jumped into my full time clinical internship for my master’s program. Aside from diving into full time work life this month, I also have a mini life update – I’m living at my grad school! Being on a college campus during a pandemic is a very different experience – picture masks everywhere a and really only going into the building you live in and the campus mailroom – but it feels surprisingly more normal than expected.

Between being back at school – which means binge-watching all the shows & movies with my roommate- and having a full time academic schedule, I expected my reading life to suffer a tiny bit this month, but I still managed to read 9 books. I’m hoping to continue to carry on this reading energy throughout the rest of the semester. What’s slightly helping my reading is that since I’m on a laptop all day for my clinical and grad classes, I enjoy taking my eyes away from any screen at night and turning to a book.

Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli (ARC) | 4/5 Stars

I decided to start off my New Year with one of my most anticipated releases that I was fortunate enough to read early for review (coming in April!), Becky Albertalli’s Kate in Waiting. I loved the emphasis on self-growth, friendship, relationships, growing up, & so much more. After enjoying it so much, I may make my reread book of February as Becky’s The Upside of Unrequited, aka my favorite book of her’s!

We Came Here to Forget by Andrea Dunlop | 4.5/5

Although I am content with the books I chose in January, none of them screamed FAVORITE books of 2021 — but if I had to choose a favorite, it’d be Andrea Dunlop’s We Came Here to Forget. I loved the plot, following a former Olympic skier who relocates to Buenos Aires after a family tragedy.

Lucky Caller by Emma Mills | 4/5

I was craving a YA contemporary and decided to finally pick up the only Emma Mills book I hadn’t yet read, Lucky Caller. I ended up enjoying it more than expected – the school radio premise was done well and like Emma Mills’ other books, I liked its quiet feel and emphasis on friendship.

Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win by Jo Piazza | 4/5

Books about politics, let alone one about an election, might not be everyone’s cup of tea right now, but Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win was a really enjoyable read. I liked how much it explored what it’s like for a woman to run for government vs. a man. I’m still not sure how I feel abut the ending though.

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman | 4.5/5

If there’s one fluffy read I would recommend this month, it’s hand down The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany. I loved the plot, the setting in Italy, and the themes surrounding family and love. If you’re a fan of Chanel Cleeton’s Next Year in Havana and want something a little more lighter, I definitely recommend picking this one up. Read More »

READING, STRESS, & TV WATCHING: November 2020 Wrap Up

November 30, 2020November 29, 2020 fangirlfury6 Comments

How are you? I think the word ‘draining’ could be used to summarize 2020 overall, but November was a particularly tiring month for me. You likely know that COVID cases have risen once again in the US, including the state where I live & go to school. November was also a super stressful time grad school wise, with a ton of final projects and deadlines coming up within the next two weeks. It’s absolutely crazy to think that in less than two weeks, the fall semester will be over and I only have one semester left until I finish my degree. And once again, despite all the hectic-ness & school work, I’m actually so surprised that I still managed to read 9 books this month! These were all super solid reads for me, and I either have reviews published or reviews coming soon for all the books below.

I read some of my most anticipated books of 2020 in November, and I’m happy to report to report that they did not disappoint. While I loved some more than others, this was a great reading month overall.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab | 5/5 Stars

Snapped (Snapped #4) by Alexa Martin | 4/5

Crazy Stupid Bromance (Bromance Book Club #3) by Lyssa Kay Adams | 4/5

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd | 4/5 (reviewed in my What I Read & Watched This Weekend post)

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren | 5/5

Simmer Down by Sarah Smith | 4/5

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb | 5/5

Love & Olives (Love & Gelato #3) by Jenna Evans Welch | 4/5

The Wedding Party (The Wedding Date #3) by Jasmine Guillory | 4/5

I’m also currently reading Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory, the fourth book in The Wedding Date series, and I’m absolutely loving it! I hoping to have it finished midweek!

I talked about watching Dash & Lily (Netflix) and Clouds (Disney+) in my What I Read & Watched This Weekend post. I still found myself re-watching Gilmore Girls, but so many good shows (helloooo Virgin River S2) came out on Netflix during the week of Thanksgiving. I now feel like I’m behind on shows, even though I felt just last week I had nothing new to watch. I don’t want to complain too much though because I’m so looking forward to some serious Netflix binge-watching over winter break.

The Mandalorian S2 (Disney+) – The second season of The Mandalorian came out at the end of October. I was disappointed that Disney only puts out one episode a week… but then life happened and I’m now three episodes behind, oops. This is definitely another show I’ll be catching up on either this weekend or during winter break because I can’t be without Baby Yoda for too long.

Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (Disney+) – I thought I’d actually do school work after school on Wednesday afternoon, but Disney+ decided to drop Taylor Swift’s recording sessions for Folklore and I immediately needed to watch. I loved hearing the stories behind the songs, especially when it came to the Betty/James/August dynamic. ‘august’ and ‘illicit affairs’ were my favorite songs to listen to.

The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) – The Queen’s Gambit hype finally got to me, and I’m really enjoying it so far! There’s definitely a lot of chess talk, but you don’t need to know much at all to be enticed by the show. I’m 4 episodes into it so far.

Sugar Rush Christmas S2 (Netflix) – I originally thought I would save Sugar Rush Christmas for December, but my sister and I found ourselves binge-watching the first 5 episodes of season 2 on Saturday. Sugar Rush is seriously my favorite baking competition show. It’s definitely the only American baking show where the judges are actually nice and not too critical, and I always love the holiday twist. It was a little weird watching since the show was filmed pre-COVID and there’s a lot of hugging and little social distancing (is it me, or was I not the only one who was disappointed to learn that they film holiday shows SO early in advance??). I’ll likely watch the sixth and final episode of season 2 sometime this week – I wish there were more!

Continued watching: The Bachelorette (ABC), Below Deck (Bravo)

Reviews

MY NEW FAVORITE HOLIDAY ROMANCE: In a Holidaze Review

MOST ANTICIPATED ROMANCE OF 2020: Crazy Stupid Bromance Review

2 YA Reads & A Much-Loved Thriller: Recent Mini Reviews

Contemporary Romance Mini Reviews: November 2020 Edition

MY NEW FAVORITE V.E. SCHWAB BOOK? : The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Review

A 2020 YA FAVORITE: Chasing Lucky Review

A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea & Tomorrow Review & Inspired Recipe

A POTENTIAL FAVORITE ROMANCE AUTHOR?: Party of Two Review

Other Bookish Fun

Holiday TBR: 2020 Edition

End of Year Book Tag: 2020 Edition

What do you read & watch in November? Any recommendations for me? How are you doing? Share in the comments!

October 2020 Wrap Up

October 30, 2020September 25, 2021 fangirlfury7 Comments

It took me the first week or so of October to get my reading groove on. Even as a a mostly remote graduate student, October is the craziest month of the fall semester and things got busier in my work life as well. I decided to mostly return back to contemporary romance reads and that was the best decision I could’ve made because all I wanted to do was READ during whatever free time I had. I also found myself in a bit of a TV rut this month, which I actually didn’t mind too much because I was so happy to be reading. There are a few upcoming TV shows and movies I can’t wait to check out over the next few weeks.

I did enjoy Bookish and the Beast, but I can already tell it’s going to unfortunately be a not-so memorable read. I can’t tell if I read Bookish and the Beast at the wrong time or it just wasn’t the right book for me, but I just wasn’t too into it.

Those Who Prey by Jennifer Moffett (ARC) | 3.5/5

I do enjoy a good thriller or two in November and October, which led me to Jennifer Moffett’s upcoming Those Who Prey. This was another it was a nice read to decompress with after a long day of being on screens, but the story ended up being a little overwhelming.

Well Played (Well Met #2) by Jen DeLuca | 5/5

Well Played was the book that turned my October reading around because I LOVED this Well Met sequel so much.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager | 4/5

I feel like I was one of the few in my book blogging circle that hadn’t read a Riley Sager book before, and in the spirit of thriller reading season for the fall, I picked up Lock Every Door and enjoyed it!Read More »

September 2020 Wrap Up

September 30, 2020September 30, 2020 fangirlfury4 Comments

Is it me, or did September seriously fly by? I feel like it was just this weekend I was sitting on the beach for Labor Day- but more accurately, this weekend I was doing grad school work in between procrastinating, reading, and a few Netflix binges. September was another one of the months where while I’m happy I’m somewhat in a routine again between work, my clinical internship, and grad school classes, I just feel drained by the end of the day. Aside from blogging, I’m trying to avoid being on my laptop or screens, which is pretty difficult considering that my classes are online and 95% of my remote work and school work require me to be on my laptop.

Everyone knows that reading is my go-to way to relax, but I’ve been especially grateful for it lately because it’s such a great way to escape and also for me personally, doesn’t require a screen (sorry Kindle, but I’ll be sticking back to my physical books for a while).

I’m not only really content with the fact that I was able to read 9 books in September, but also because I enjoyed them all. While some of them weren’t exactly standouts, they were all pretty enjoyable reads, and I finally got to some books I’ve been meaning to read all year. I have reviews already published or coming for all of the books below.

The Marriage Game by Sarah Desai | Stars

They Went Left by Monica Hesse | 4/5

All This Time by Mikki Daughty & Rachel Lippincott

American Royals by Katharine McGee (reread) | 5/5

Majesty (American Royals #2) by Katharine McGee | 4.5/5

17 BOOKS 1 FANGIRL: August 2020 Wrap Up

August 31, 2020August 8, 2021 fangirlfury4 Comments

August was another one of those strange months where it felt long and short at the same time! This month, I celebrated my twenty-second birthday, had more beach & pool days, finished my first semester of grad school, and read a ton of books! I had two weeks in August in between the summer and fall semesters, so I spent so, so much time reading! I think it also helped that I didn’t have a ton of new shows coming out (aside from the 3 seasons that I did binge and my weekly reality TV schedule, oops), but I was also just genuinely in the mood to read! I knew in the back of my mind that I likely won’t be able to devour 17 books a month for the rest of 2020 or until at least December, since I just started my fall semester last Monday and have a pretty big course load.

I have reviews already published and coming for 15 of 16 out of the follow books so I’m not going to be sharing my mini thoughts on them, with the exception of the books I DNF’ed.

Anna K by Jenny Lee | 5/5 Stars

Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wien | 2.5/5

The Heir Affair (The Royal We #2) by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan | 4.75/5

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid | 4/5

BEST READING MONTH OF 2020: July 2020 Wrap Up

July 31, 2020July 18, 2021 fangirlfury3 Comments

July was a weird month. It wasn’t bad in the least bit – I had plenty of days floating around the pool, I was finally able to hang out with friends from college whom I hadn’t seen since we left campus in March, went to the beach every week, celebrated one of my best friend’s 22nd birthday, AND got a new T-Swift album! At the same time, I was really busy with grad school this month, and I feel like my uncertainty for the rest of this year really set in.

I’m really content with the amount of books I read July, having read 14 in total! I feel like I’m really in my summer reading groove now – I find that I basically binge read 2-4 books every week between Thursday through Sunday! I read books that I LOVED this month, but I also had a few misses. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read so many good books this year and a few that have become all-time favorites, but I don’t really have any big expectations for the second half of my 2020 reading year just because of the way life IRL is right now.

The Dare (Briar U #4) by Elle Kennedy | 4/5 Stars

The Dare was another fun installment in the Briar U series (review is coming in August!), but it wasn’t my absolute favorite in the series.

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee | 4.5

The Idea of You was so, so worth the read – if you need a scandalous romance this summer, pick this one up!

Playing with Matches by Hannah Orenstein | 5/5

I’ve been really excited to read Head Over Heels soon, so I figured I should try Hannah Orenstein’s debut, Playing with Matches, beforehand and I LOVED it!

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo | 4/5

I’ve made it my mission to read all of Elizabeth Acevedo’s books this year, and I started with her latest release, Clap When You Land. It was such a unique story, and I loved Elizabeth Acevedo’s writing.

Have a Little Faith in Me by Sonia Hartl | 5/5

I want to put Have a Little Faith in Me in the hands of every reader looking for a summer camp read or YA book with tons of sex positivity and discussions.

BOOKS, TV, & MY CURRENT NORMAL: June 2020 Wrap Up

July 1, 2020June 30, 2020 fangirlfury4 Comments

June was another transitional month into my new normal, with plenty of books in tow. I’ve been keeping busy, between starting my remote jobs and grad school. It’s crazy to think I finished my first round of grad school classes, and my second round started this week. I started experiencing some Zoom burnout this month, so reading and taking my eyes away from my laptop screen with books helped things. I actually have to read two YA books for my grad school classes in July, and I’m so excited to be getting to read YA for school – I read two YA books for undergrad, but that was purely because I decided to do my capstone projects on them.

My reading and TV watching were all over the place this month. I read a lot of contemporary and reread a few books, while I still dove into a reality TV this month. I often had trouble really concentrating on TV, movies especially – I had one night where I tried watching three different movies and then ended up rewatching Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and an episode of Queer Eye.

What is also improving my reading mood even more is that my local library re-opened for door side pick up! I may or may not have put 15 books on hold as soon as the online catalog re-opened. Although there are plenty of good things going on personally right now, there’s definitely still some uncertainty this summer, to say the least. While my state’s covid-19 cases have significantly decreased over the past two months, we’re seeing multiple states have huge increases in cases. Between work and school, I’m typically home Monday through Friday but these increases has made me rethink a few weekend plans and curious to see how my state moves forward with re-opening plans. I went to my first outdoor restaurant and first trip back to Barnes & Noble last week, but my family and friends and I are still being cautious and smart about where we go.

Beach Read by Emily Henry | 5/5 Stars

Like me, I’m sure you’ve seen Emily Henry’s Beach Read EVERYWHERE, but I’m here to confirm that the hype is more than worth the read! There’s such depth to this contemporary romance.

Love at First Fight by Sandhya Menon (novella) | 5/5

I’m a firm believer that Sandhya Menon is the queen of novellas, with Love at First Fight as no exception. You don’t have to read it before picking up 10 Things I Hate About Pinky this July, but it was a really fun addition to the Dimpleverse!

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell 5/5 (reread)

One of my best friends IRL is reading Fangirl, aka honestly my all-time favorite book, which led me to make the decision to reread Rainbow Rowell’s contemporary books this summer. Attachments still reigns as my favorite adult fiction novel of hers.

Slay by Brittany Morris | 4/5

If you’re looking to read more YA books by black authors, as well as books that reflect some of the conversations we’re currently having about race in the U.S., Slay is definitely worth checking out. Read More »

SUMMER READING START & NETFLIX: May 2020 Wrap Up

May 31, 2020May 31, 2020 fangirlfury6 Comments

May was another month having to adjust to the new normal we live in, with plenty of books & TV and a few more life happenings. In short, I graduated from college (virtually), read a lot of books, started grad school (virtually), and started working on my summer tan! Since my state has had one of the most severe amount of outbreaks, we’re still primarily home as some stores and business slowly start to re-open. I’ve been very fortunate to have the opportunity to work from home and take graduate school courses online, so I have a feeling I’ll be spending a lot of time still home this summer.

Since I now do monthly If We Were Having Coffee posts and Fangirl News, I’ve decided to not include the Life Happenings section in my monthly wrap ups. I’ll add some tidbits about life lately in my introduction but I’ll be getting into more detail about my life and anticipated bookish happenings in those respective posts.

The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass | 3/5 Stars

The One was actually my least favorite book in The Selection trilogy. America annoyed me the most out of all three books, and it threw in so many new elements that were too late, considering that this is the last book in the trilogy. I know The Heir and The Crown are considered sequels, but I’m not sure if I see myself picking them up.