Tag: March

March Favorites & Book Haul

fangirlfury8 Comments

While I’ll sometimes discuss my book hauls and non-bookish favorites in my monthly wrap-ups, I wanted to use another space to discuss my favorites and the books I picked up in March. The books that I read and TV shows and movies that I watched in March will be in m wrap-up on Sunday.

Favorites 

IMG_7157.jpg

Anastasia on Broadway– My college hosts about 1-2 Broadway trips every semester, and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to attend at least one show! I had heard fairly positive things about Anastasia, based on the 1997 animated film,but I didn’t really have any expectations. In short, I enjoyed Anastasia so much! I particularly loved the set and costume design (so many jewels!) and I loved the music. I had forgotten that Cody Simpson played one of the lead roles, Dmitry, and I was honestly blown away by his

performance. I don’t really remember listening to his music growing up, but nonetheless, my pre-teen friends and I would probably have been screaming! My favorite songs are “Journey to the Past,” “Once Upon a December,” and “In a Crowd of Thousands.”

I’m really happy that I had the opportunity to see the show before it closes on March 31. My roommates are seeing The Prom (my school’s other spring Broadway trip that I really can’t miss class for) this week, so I’m excited to hear their thoughts.

Zoella x ColourPop Brunch Date 

Zoe Sugg of Zoella is my favorite non-bookish YouTuber, although I do love her collaborations with WHSmith and when she does discuss her reading life. Since her beauty and lifestyle ranges are less available here in the US than in the UK, I was beyond excited by her Brunch Date collaboration with ColourPop! One of my co-workers highly recommended ColourPop, so I was very excited to try their product collab with Zoella.

IMG_2924.jpg

Read More »

Give Me More Spring Breaks: March 2018 Wrap Up

fangirlfury4 Comments

March is a lovely time for most college students here in the US because we get to embark on this lovely concept that is spring break. While some of my friends traveled to warmer climates, I had the best time staying home reading, eating food that didn’t come from my school’s dining hall, and catching up on some TV and movies. Yes, I did read 5 books over my spring break and yes I did quite a lot of reading for classes this month, but I still can’t wrap my head around how I read 14 books this month!?!

whatireadnew

I have reviews already posted or coming to the blog (RTC) for many of the books below.

Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel | 3.5/5 Stars

All of This Is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor (ARC) |4.5/5 Stars | RTC

the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace | 4/5 Stars

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline | 4.5/5 Stars

American Panda by Gloria Chao | 4/5 Stars

I Hate Everyone But You by Allison Raskin & Gaby Dunn| 3.5/5 Stars

A Pslam for Lost Girls by Katie Bateryl | 3/5 Stars

Irmina by Barbara Yelin | 4/5 Stars

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang | 5/5 Stars | RTC

We Are Still Tornadoes by Michael Kun & Susan Mullen | 5/5 Stars | RTC

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #4) | 5/5 Stars | RTC

The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long and Jim Demonakos | 4/5 Stars

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout | 4.5/5 Stars

The Little French Bistro by Nina George | 2.5/5 Stars | RTC

IMG_0578.jpg

whatiwrote

Book Reviews

COLLEGE YA ALL DAY, EVERYDAY: I Hate Everyone But You

Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel

I LOVE COLLEGE YA & HERE’S WHY: American Panda by Gloria Chao

The Librarian of Auschwitz Review & Recommendations

Amanda Lovelace & Cyrus Parker Event + the princess saves herself in this one

I’m Ready to Play More than the Wii: Ready Player One Review

The Fae Have Landed: Heir of Fire Reread Discussion

TV & Movies

Love, Fangirl Fury: Love, Simon Review

I Sense a New Favorite TV Show: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 1 Discussion

I Like Words on Screen: What I Watched Winter 2018

Misc.

A POST ABOUT MY FAVORITE PLACE: Library Lovers Book Tag

Mystery Blogger Award Round 3

Monthly Recommendations: LET’S DISCUSS *EVERY* DUOLOGY I’VE READ

Top Five Wednesday: Most Anticipated 2018 Movies

Top Five Wednesday: Favorite Mentors

IT’S TIME TO BUY ANOTHER BOOK SHELF: Most Anticipated Spring 2018 Releases

whatiwatched

Mona Lisa Smile and Mystic Pizza– Post spring break, I took advantage of the fact that it was not yet April (aka I wasn’t drowning in papers just yet) and found myself watching a few movies during the week. I’ve been in the mood to watch “older”/more classic films lately, so I watched Mona Lisa Smile and Mystic Pizza, both featuring Julia Roberts & both included on Amazon Prime. I adored Mystic Pizza for its relationships and humor (I may or many not be trying to plan a summer trip to Mystic, Connecticut), and I loved basically everything about Mona Lisa Smile, especially its message. I’ll definitely be revisiting both films in the future.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Seasons 1 & 2)– My Parks & Recreation heart had me craving a similar style of show, so I decided to start the much loved Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I have a discussion about the first season, linked above in the previous section, but just know that I am in love with this show and Jake Peralta, and I cant wait to continue on this summer.

Love, Simon– Love, Simon met my expectations and more! The film based on Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is one of the best YA book-to-film adaptations out there, and I’m even more excited for Becky Albertalli’s latest book, Leaf on the Offbeat, to come out in April. I have a Love, Simon review post also linked above if you want more of my non-spoilery thoughts, including my fascination over Simon’s bedroom! MINI PSA TO ALSO CHECK OUT THE LOVE, SIMON SOUNDTRACK, YOUR EARS WILL THANK YOU!

 lifehappenings

Amanda Lovelace & Cyrus Parker Event- During my spring break, my best friends and I attend a launch event for Amanda Lovelace’s the witch doesn’t burn in this one and Cyrus Parker’s DROPKICKromance. The event included Amanda and Cyrus reading from their latest collections, a Q& A where the married couple talked about their love for Leigh Bardugo, and a signing. I also have a post about this event and my princess saves herself in this one review in that lovely What I Wrote section above.

Working on my bookstagram game- One of my blogging goals for 2018 is to create better quality photos and an overall aesthetic for my blog’s Instagram. My mom and I went to our local craft stores, where I picked up some props, like flowers and chalkboards. Taking bookstagram photo definitely isn’t easy as it seems and setting up photos does take some time, but I’m really enjoying it so far. I’ve been fortunate enough to be using a Canon from my school’s art department lately and I will soon be transitioning back to my iPhone for photos.  Follow me on Instagram here!

Since I didn’t attend too many bookish events this month, I figured that I’d list some amazing bookish news that came out in March:

  • Grab your favorite pajamas and a plate of chocolate chip cookies! The film adaptation of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is coming to Netflix this summer!
  • The sequel to Marie Lu’s Warcross has a title and release date! Wildcard will be the second book in the Warcross duology, coming out on September 18th.
  • Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses is making its way to the big screen.
  • Little, Brown for Young Readers is publishing a YA novel based on Dear Evan Hansen, coming out on October 9.

IMG_0531.jpg

newfireborder

What did you read or watch in March? Did you do anything bookish?? Share in the comments!

Monthly Recommendations: LET’S DISCUSS *EVERY* DUOLOGY I’VE READ

fangirlfury20 Comments

In a world filled with standalones, trilogies, and more, duologies are considerably rare. Today, I’m going to be discussing my duology recommendations, which has basically formed into a list of almost every duology I’ve ever read. Please give me more duologies and less trilogies where the second books act as plot fillers (and if someone can do this, can they also get me more bookshelf space???)!

andy pr.gif

Monthly Recommendations is a group on Goodreads and each month, there’s a new theme for recommendations. The group is for Booktubers and bloggers alike, and I discovered Monthly Recommendations through Cece of Problems of a Book Nerd.

newfireborder.jpg

Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo– A duology that I’m sure will deservingly top everyone’s list, Six of Crows is a perfect example of a series that just needed two books to both break and warm our hearts forever wrap up this story in the Grishaverse. However,  if Leigh Bardugo wants to write a third book, I would be the first in line. Honestly, I’d read a whole book of Wylan and Jesper living together or Inej and Kaz just staring at each other or Nina kicking butt.

This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab–This Savage Song was my first Victoria Schwab book and it made me understand why everyone loves her books.. little did I know then what Vicious would have in store. While I still enjoyed Our Dark Duet, I wasn’t completely crazy Our Dark Duet. I think my feelings would have differed if I read TSS and ODD back-to-back.

 Just One Day and Just One Year by Gayle Forman– While I have fuzzy memories of Gayle Forman’s Just One Day duology, having read it back in 2014, I remember loving its travel and self-discovery aspects.. I’d say Gayle Forman is better known for her If I Stay duology, a series I also loved at the time of reading it and I definitely don’t have fuzzy memories of me sobbing in my backyard while doing so.

Warcross by Marie Lu- While we don’t yet have the second book, I’m including Marie Lu’s Warcross because I don’t think I’ve ever anticipated a duololgy conclusion so much. As of right now, Warcross is set to be a duology, but Marie Lu has said that she will write a third book if she thinks it’s needed (she talked about this in an Instagram story Q&A in February). I’m interested to see if Warcross will stay a duology, especially since her other series are all trilogies.

Prisoner of Night and Fog and Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman – Definitely the least talked about on my list, I loved Anne Blankman’s Prisoner of Night and Fog duology for its unique story during the rise of the Third Reich, as Gretchen questions everything she’s ever known growing up in the National Socialist Party. While the plot is not entirely historically accurate, you can easily tell how much research Anne Blankman put into these books and it was interesting to see how she intertwines historical accuracy with her own spin.

Wolf by Wolf and Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin– Another historical fiction-esque duology, I adored and I admit was a bit freaked out by, is Ryan Graudin’s alternate history and genre-bending take on what would have happen if the Axis Powers won World War II.

The Monthly Recommendations Group can be found here on Goodreads

newfireborder.jpg

Have you read any of the duologies above? What are some of your favorite duologies? Share in the comments!