Always and Forever Lara Jean by Jenny Han- Book talk

“Nothing good happens after two a.m. Unless you happen to be a fan of watching people play flip cup for hours on end. Not me. No, I’d much prefer to be in my flannel pajamas with a cup of Night-Night tea and a book, thank you very much.”

-Lara Jean Convey Song in Always and Forever Lara Jean

It’s not new news that i am IN LOVE with Jenny Han’s “To all the boys i’ve loved before” trilogy. So this past school break when my family and i went to Sri Lanka for tonne of family weddings i of course HAD to read Jenny Han’s newest book “Always and Forever Lara Jean” (despite the fact that there wasn’t much time to read) which i ADORED OBVIOUSLY. Along with the others, this book is a quick read and you can easily finish it in one day (making it a perfect summer read). I will say that the order in which i like the books is in the order that they came out because i just REALLY REALLY enjoyed the first time i fell in love the story and the characters *ehm* Peter Kavinsky. So, if you haven’t read this trilogy yet i suggest you purchase or borrow all three of them and cozy up and read them because you are seriously missing out, and then come back to discuss.

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Lara Jean is having the best senior year a girl could ever hope for. She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her dad’s finally getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms. Rothschild; and Margot’s coming home for the summer just in time for the wedding.

But change is looming on the horizon. And while Lara Jean is having fun and keeping busy helping plan her father’s wedding, she can’t ignore the big life decisions she has to make. Most pressingly, where she wants to go to college and what that means for her relationship with Peter. She watched her sister Margot go through these growing pains. Now Lara Jean’s the one who’ll be graduating high school and leaving for college and leaving her family—and possibly the boy she loves—behind.

When your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to?

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*SPOILERS*

There is SOO much that i want to say but i’m going to cut it down because then i’d be writing forever, so i’m going to start with how much i ADORED Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship as a whole. It’s so rare to see couples in this stage of their relationship in contemporary books and we are always left with wanting more, so i’m glad i got to see the growth of  their relationship of the course of the three books. I adored the part when Peter thew her a surprise birthday party by enacting her favourite scene from ‘Sixteen Candles’ and when he woke her up in New York so they could watch the sunset together and how supportive and loving he is AND how well he gets along with her family especially Kitty (it makes my heart so happy to read those scenes) Peter is the ULTIMATE PERFECT boyfriend.

“I like the way he looks at me, like I am a wood nymph that he happened upon one day and just had to take home to keep”.

-Lara Jean Covey Song in Always and Forever Lara Jean

From the very beginning i knew she was never going to get into UVA because of how much she wanted to go there, of course there was going to be a complication. But then she got into UNC and i was so proud of her and i was glad she wasn’t going to William and Mary anymore because going there was just going to be a waste of a year because it was just going to be ‘temporary’. When Chris was like “let’s go visit the campus right now” and Lara Jean agreed i was so happy that she was going and she was going with Chris whom we didn’t see enough of until this scene.

Once again i really enjoyed the family dynamic and the newest addition to the family, Trina. She was just amazing and the kind of mum that Kitty needed in her life especially since Lara Jean and Margo would no longer be at home for her. My favourite aspect of the book and basically all the entire trilogy are the very real family moments they have, simple things like Trina calling margo out on leaving her hair in the drain, and Margo’s boyfriend not being allowed to stay in her room and Margo feeling uncomfortable with Trina around all the time in her childhood home. It’s the little things like those that made me fall in love with this book. Kitty as always was the cutest and the sassiest and her sarcastic remarks were my favourite thing to read. Lara Jean’s love for planning the wedding kind of reminded me of myself and of how much i love to design and decorate parties and events and anything really. I loved reading Lara Jean trying to find the ‘perfect choc-chip cookie recipe’  those scenes were so cute, especially the one with Kitty and Peter waiting impatiently to eat the cookies

“I could never be with someone who didn’t understand how important my family is to me”.

-Lara Jean Covey Song in Always and Forever Lara Jean

I rate this book and trilogy a 5/5 because it was just that good!

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Taraana
xx

My favourite things in the month/s : april and may

Although over the past two months i’ve been really busy with school a.k.a LOTS OF ASSESSMENTS but of course i have been obsessed with a few things, mainly to de-stress myself this month and i thought i’d share them with you guys.

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books i read/started to read

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett– i read this one in April and it was EVERYTHING I NEEDED. I found that it gave off Anna and the French Kiss vibes which i looove and i totally added it to my ‘favourite contemporary books” list.
Geekerella by Ashley Posten – I have only started this book but i have a feeling i will like it ALOT since it is based on Cinderella and fandoms.
A Court of Wings and Ruin– I’m currently reading ACOWAR and i’m ALREADY IN LOVE obviously and i hope that i can do a review soon.

youtubers

Arden rose– I really enjoy watching her relaxed videos. They are just really calming and real and i have basically watched all of her videos so far *guilty*

podcasts (a new thing)

Lately, i have gained a new obsession, podcasts. I was introduced to a good podcast by Arden Rose that i really looked forward to listen every week called Crash on My Couch. From there i’ve been on the hunt for more good podcasts. These are my two favourites.
Crash on My Couch– This one is really interesting, Arden Rose and Will Darbyshire are the hosts and they talk about the most random topics which i love and have a question session at the end that i look forward to the most. I definitely recommend it especially for bus/train rides (which i take on the way to school and it definitely makes my trip better when i cannot read a book because of the crowd) this goes for both podcasts.
A Novel Chat– I’m listening to this podcast as i type up this post and i looove every single podcast i’ve listened to so far. It is hosted by Aneeqah, Willa, and Emily. They talk about all things YA books and i think any book lover would love listening to it.

What have you been obsessed with this month, anything new? Let me know in the comments.

xx
Taraana

 

 

 

 

 

Most anticipated: April & May releases

The months April and May are my favourite months to buy new books because usually that’s when my most anticipated books are on the shelves in bookstores. I knows April is nearly over but i’m still going to gush about my most anticipated releases of both April and May.

No. 1 : Always and Forever Lara Jean by Jenny Han

I ADORE ALL of Jenny Han’s book and i’m sure this one will be no exception. I love everything about this trilogy, and i’m pretty sure i’ve read To All the boys I’ve Before at least and four times already because i love it so much. And can we just talk about how amazing Jenny Han’s cover’s are? this one is by far my favourite, it’s just sooo pretty ahhh.

No. 2 : Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

FINALLY IT’S NEAR. probably my most anticipated fantasy book this year. I CANNOT wait for the next instalment in this trilogy. Cassandra Clare never fails to leave me in awe and in the BIGGEST reading slump (which is not a good thing but it shows how amazing that last book was).

No. 3: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah. J. Maas

MINOR SPOILERS. The last book in a trilogy, and since it is Sarah.J.Maas i’m pretty sure this last book will not disappoint or i’m hoping it won’t because i’m so excited for this last book. I’m excited for everything, the relationships, RHYS, and definitely the squad and hopefully new couples forming *cough cough* Cassian and Nesta.

No.4 : Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

I’ve already started reading this one, so i can say i’m already in love with it. Jenn Bennett is my next “waiting for a Stephanie Perkins book, author” (if that makes sense). Her book just gives me an Anna and the French Kiss vibe which in my head means it soo cute and adorable and is funny at times too AND has the cutest male lead.

No. 5: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

I don’t know much about this one except that it’s kinda a Cinderella retelling with fandom stuff? I don’t want to know much because i want to go into this book blind. But i’ve seen really good reviews on it since people are loving it right now so i’m VERY EXCITED about this one.

 

 

 

 

What books are you excited to get your hands on in May? Let me know in the comments  below.

xx
Taraana

 

 

New favourite author? Where have i been?

Okay so i’ll start by apologising because i haven’t posted in the past three months, but i do have reasons, maybe not good ones but i do have them.
1. I just started year 11 and it’s really kicking my butt and i’ve felt like i couldn’t write good posts since i wasn’t in the right headspace because of school work.
2. I have just had a lot of writer’s block and honestly i had no motivation to write anything or even post on my instagram, probably because i was waayy tooo stressed about school.

BUT it Autumn break and i’m back. I’m hoping that through this school break i can get back into the swing of things, so here i am.

Now on to the main to topic of this post, my new favourite author, Kasie West. Okay so calling her my favourite author is a far stretch but i REALLY REALLY LIKE her books. Her books are the kind that make you soo happy and you smile the entire tie you read them which is why i like them so much. These past couple of months whenever i was feeling overwhelmed and stressed out i would always come back to one of Kasie West’s books which is why at this moment in time i have finished reading every one of her books except for “On the Fence” i’m in the middle of reading that one. All her books have the cutest love story which will put the biggest smile on your face. Yes, most of her stories have a lot of cliché elements and predicable story lines but i guess that’s what makes her books so stress free and addicting. I would recommend her books to anyone looking for a cute, carefree romance to read that you can read in one sitting (at least that’s what i did). These are my top three favourite books of hers.

No. 1 : By your side

When Autumn Collins finds herself accidentally locked in the library for an entire weekend, she doesn’t think things could get any worse. But that’s before she realizes that Dax Miller is locked in with her. Autumn doesn’t know much about Dax except that he’s trouble. Between the rumors about the fight he was in (and that brief stint in juvie that followed it) and his reputation as a loner, he’s not exactly the ideal person to be stuck with. Still, she just keeps reminding herself that it is only a matter of time before Jeff, her almost-boyfriend, realizes he left her in the library and comes to rescue her.
Only he doesn’t come. No one does.
Instead it becomes clear that Autumn is going to have to spend the next couple of days living off vending-machine food and making conversation with a boy who clearly wants nothing to do with her. Except there is more to Dax than meets the eye. As he and Autumn first grudgingly, and then not so grudgingly, open up to each other, Autumn is struck by their surprising connection. But can their feelings for each other survive once the weekend is over and Autumn’s old life, and old love interest, threaten to pull her from Dax’s side?

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By your side is my favourite Kasie West book so far. I really enjoyed the premise of the book, being stuck in a library? count me in! And i really enjoyed the dynamic between Dax and Autumn, i thought it was very real and not forced at all. But the aspect that made it my very favourite Kasie West book was how connected i felt with Autumn. I have anxiety similar to Autumn and i think Kasie West described it really well which allowed me to relate to her character on a deeper level.

No. 2: P.S I Like You

While spacing out in chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk and added a message to her. Intrigue!
Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters—sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she’s kind of falling for this letter writer. Only, who is he? As Lily attempts to unravel the mystery and juggle school, friends, crushes, and her crazy family, she discovers that matters of the heart can’t always be spelled out…

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This book is juts pure cuteness and it definitely makes it to the “books you need to read, if you like fluff list” because it is too adorable. Although i have to say, i hoped there would be a better more fulfilling ending but there wasn’t. Which is probably expected because Kasie West does end her books abruptly but i wish she had just added in at least one more chapter. Nevertheless, i loved the cute letters that they would send to each other, i would look forward to reading them just as Lily did every Chemistry class.

No. 3: Split second

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier…
Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

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This is the second book in the Pivot Point duology, which is why the summary above is from the first because i am a firm believer in NO SPOILERS. So i’m not going to say much about this book except that i did enjoy more than the first one and although it does have the paranormal genre, it still reads like a contemporary which is why i love it. The paranormal aspect is more like the background music of the book while the character relationships are the main focus of the book which i really enjoy.

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Have you read any of Kasie West’s books? Let me know which one is your favourite if you have.

xx
Taraana

Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz – Booktalk

Having just read The Sun is also a Star Nicola Yoon which is a story about a family getting deported back to Jamaica, Something in Between was almost like the happier version of The Sun is also a Star. I don’t want to spoil Nicola Yoon’s book but i do want to say that if you liked The Sun is Also a Star then you might enjoy Something in Between and they share similar plot points and family struggles.

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It feels like there’s no ground beneath me, like everything I’ve ever done has been a lie. Like I’m breaking apart, shattering. Who am I? Where do I belong?

Jasmine de los Santos has always done what’s expected of her. Pretty and popular, she’s studied hard, made her Filipino immigrant parents proud and is ready to reap the rewards in the form of a full college scholarship.

And then everything shatters. A national scholar award invitation compels her parents to reveal the truth: their visas expired years ago. Her entire family is illegal. That means no scholarships, maybe no college at all and the very real threat of deportation.

For the first time, Jasmine rebels, trying all those teen things she never had time for in the past. Even as she’s trying to make sense of her new world, it’s turned upside down by Royce Blakely, the charming son of a high-ranking congressman. Jasmine no longer has any idea where—or if—she fits into the American Dream. All she knows is that she’s not giving up. Because when the rules you lived by no longer apply, the only thing to do is make up your own.

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After reading Something in Between i came to the realisation that there are so many people that are struggling with the same thing that Jasmine and her family are struggling with and that this issue should come up more often in our topics of discussion. I enjoyed the concept of the book immensely and the story but obviously i had a few issues with the book since i gave it a 4/5 stars but otherwise it was amazing.

SPOILER DISCUSSION

The were multiple times in the book where i was almost in tears like the time when she received her scholarship and told her parents and instead of being happy for her they gave her devastating news that they were undocumented citizens and that she couldn’t accept the scholarship. I felt so unbelievably bad for her because she had been working so hard her whole life to get into a university but it backfires and she is at a loss.

I was in happy tears when she told her cheer team about her situation and they were all their for her, hugging her and telling her that they were going to be there for her. It made me realise how important it is so have a supportive group of friends that we love you no matter what.

My least favourite aspect of the book was probably her relationship with Royce especially the beginning, i don’t know why but it felt too cheesy. I wasn’t a fan of his cheesy pick up lines our texts but as their relationship progressed he grew on me and i didn’t mind him at all.

I have to say the most shocking part of the book for me was when Royce proposed to her. And although it made sense that if they got married she could stay in America i was like NO NO NO. They just got together and NO girl wants to get married for some legal reason, and i was super stressed while reading the part where that went to the courthouse but i was sooo relived when she came to her senses and said no to him. In the end she did accept Royce’s help from his father and i was so glad that they didn’t get deported after all and the Jasmine got the life she wanted.

xx
Taraana

 

 

The best books of 2016

The time has come, where everyone is frantically posting their favourite books of 2016 and after hours of deciding and changing my favourite books of this year i have finally come up with a list that i’m pretty happy with. I have to say, this year i read a lot of books that i throughly enjoyed and gave a five stars on goodreads but there were only a few books that i believed were the best of the best for this year. I’m 3 books behind my goodreads schedule of 35 books but i’m really happy with all the books that i did read this year. Although i know next year will be a hectic one for me (because i’m starting to prepare for the HSC) i hope that i’ll be able to do read more of a variety of books and venture out to read different authors and genres. I’d also just like to say thank you to all you who have followed, commented or liked my blog because it means the word to me. Only this year i started to post more regularly and i have put more effort into my blog and i’m glad i did it because it makes me so happy that other people are enjoying reading just as much as i love creating my posts.

*I have taken inspiration from Alexandra from twirlingpages to come up with my list because it was hard to just randomly pick my favourites of this year.

favourite first in a series: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Lady Midnight was exactly the book i needed at the start of this year. It was SOO GOOD. I loved how much Cassandra Clare’s writing improved in Lady Midnight and this is my favourite first book of all her series. I especially loved the glimpses of other characters from her previous series that got cameos in Lady Midnight. If you’ve read ALL of Cassie’s other books (i mean ALL of them because then you’ll get the full experience of Lady Midnight) then you must read Lady Midnight!

favourite conclusion of a series: Winter by Marissa Meyer

I started this series in 2014 and every single book from this series had been on my favourite’s list because this books are just so compelling and the characters are just so delightful. I read Winter at the very beginning of this year and i STILL talk about it so i guess that explains how much i love it.

favourite standalone: Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

I’ve read a tonne of standalone’s this year because i love reading contemporary’s and most of them are standalones but i have to say Finding Audrey was the one that made this list because i adored the writing and especially the small moments where we got a script of the video that Audrey was taking because that script constantly had me laughing.

favourite cover: Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

Everything Everything was one of the many gorgeous cover’s of 2016. I wish i had a physical copy of the book because it sooo pretty. I love the small flowers drawn around the writing and the white background just makes it look so aesthetically pleasing *sighs*.

favourite friendship: Six of Crows by                                          Leigh Bardugo

The entire crew from Six of Crows were what most people would say as #squad goals because they really are. I love the unexpectedness of their friendship and i love the journey of the friendship too. I freaking LOVED their dynamic and the dialogue was just soo good! I really recommend Six of Crows, not only for the friendship but also for the amazing world and plot that Leigh Bardugo had created.

              favourite new author: Sabba Tahir (An Ember in the Ashes)

Everything about Sabaa Tahir’s writing style had me in awe. I loved her writing style, her characters and especially the amazing word she created. An Ember in the Ashes was one of those books that had me captivated for the entirely of the book and i cannot wait to read the rest of the books in this series!

favourite book if the year: A court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Mass

Sarah J Mass is the QUEEN of writing fae. I’ve never read a book dedicated to fae’s and all that comes with but my god does Sarah write them to be your favourite fantasy creatures. I read Empire of Storms this year too but i didn’t love it as much as ACOMF which is why it didn’t make t on my favourites list. I love ACOMF so much because of how much Feyre’s character developed and how confident she became and not to mention how much i love Ryhs now after learning so much about him. And cannot wait for the final book in this trilogy!

What were your favourite books of 2016? Let Me know in the comments!

xx
Taraana

 

 

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies – A recipe

One of my all time favourite books is ‘To all the boy’s i’ve loved before’ by Jenny Han and the second book in the series ‘P.s I love you’ and in those books the main character Lara Jean Covey bakes ALOT. And just the other day i was scrolling through tumblr and saw a post about these books and it SOMEHOW made me want to bake cookies. And i thought since it is the holiday sesaon it would be fit to make a post on my all time favourite cookies so here it is, i hope you enjoy them! (p.s they are not even close to healthy cookies)

This is the recipe that my Aunty uses all the time and i LOVE these cookies so that’s the recipe i’ll be using today.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves : 40 cookies (estimate depending on how big you make them)
Pre-heat: 150*

Ingredients

• 2 cups of margarine
• 2 cups of brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups of white sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tbs vanilla essence
• 6 cups of plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp sodium bi-carb
• 4 cups of choc-chips

Method

• Cream margarine, brown sugar and white sugar together thoroughly.
• Add vanilla essence and the eggs to the mixture and beat well.
• Mix in salt, sodium bi-carb and flour gently into the liquid mixture.
• Add choc-chips and mix in gently.
• Prepare a baking tray with baking paper
• Drop spoonfuls of batter on to the baking tray and space them out evenly.
• Bake them in the oven at 150* for 15-17 minutes.
• Take them out when they look fully cooked and leave them out to cool.
• Enjoy them with a glass of milk or tea!

I hope you enjoy the cookies, be sure to let me know if you try them!

xx
Taraana

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo-Book Talk

Six of Crows is one of those books that you start reading and you feel like you could read FOREVER because its just SO SO GOOD. This book was everything EVER. It was one of those books that reminded me of why i love reading, and i one hundred percent recommend it to everyone.

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Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…
A convict with a thirst for revenge
A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager
A runaway with a privileged past
A spy known as the Wraith
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes
Kaz’s crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

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The plot of this book is so unbelievably perfect. It kept me on my toes at ALL times and made me keep reading until my eyes had to rest. But if i had to be honest it took me about 25 pages to properly get into the story because of the new world and different writing style but that was the ONLY problem i had with this book and it’s not even a proper problem, so if this doesn’t persuade you to read the book i’m not sure what will.

“No mourners. No funerals. Among them, it passed for ‘good luck.”

The characters that Leigh Bardugo created are so incredible. Even though there are six different characters, each with a different point of view, Leigh Bardugo was able to give all her characters a fully developed personality that makes you beleive you’ve known these characters forever. My favourite aspect of this book has to be the friendship between all the characters, their conversations and interactions were what i LIVED for. And i can’t forget to mention Bardugo’s phenomenal writing style. Her writing style is the kind that you wonder HOW DOES ONE WRITE THIS PERFECT? It’s magical, hilarious and absolutley beautiful. Definitely a 5/5 book.

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SPOILERS

Okay so where should i start?  (the rest of this book talk is basically incoherent fangirling talk) 

The Raven King by Maggie Steifvator-Book Talk + The Raven Cycle series discussion

A couple of days ago i finished The Raven Cycle series and i loved it to pieces. This is one one the most unique series that i’ve ever written from the plot to the writing style, it’s sooo different but sooo amazing and i’m really glad i read this series. And although a lot of people thought the ending was rushed or needed more pages, i think that it was written so we feel as though the characters live on after the book is over and not just to the last page of the book. I also loved how it tied a lot of lose ends together but left us questioning some things too.

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All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love’s death. She doesn’t believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

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I didn’t looove every single book in this series but i have to say The Raven King was by FAR my favourite of the series. Mainly because we got more information as to what was happening and i LOVED the dynamic and the dialogue between everyone soooo much. The dialogue has to be my favourite aspect of these books especially everything Ronan Lynch says.

“To think you could have been dreaming the cure for cancer,” Blue said. “Look, Sargent,” Ronan retorted, “I was gonna dream you some eye cream last night since clearly modern medicine’s doing jack shit for you, but I nearly had my ass handed to me by a death snake from the fourth circle of dream hell, so you’re welcome.”
Blue was appropriately touched. “Ah, thanks, man.”
“No problem, bro.”

SPOILER SECTION

When we were first introduced to Henry Cheng i didn’t like him. I was so wary of him, constantly thinking that he was going to ruin the gang’s friendship or SOMETHING. But it turned out that he was just trying to help and that he was an amazing guy and understood Gansey just like Ronan, Adam , Noah and Blue. The scene where Henry was trying to help Gansey’s fear of hornets and told him his secret was the moment i knew i loved him as much as the other’s. I loved how he easily slid into their group and that Toga party was the best.

“But it wasn’t that Henry was less himself in English. He was less himself out loud. His native language was thought.

And we HAVE to talk about Ronan and Adam. I knew from the second book that there was something going on between them and then in this book they finally addressed it and it was amazing. I loved how Adam went to talk to Gansey afterwards and how happy Gansey was that Adam spoke to him about it. And everything about them just made me happy. I also adored the entire time they were in the Barns revealing all their truths to each other especially when Ronan FINALLY told them that he was the one who made Cabeswater.

“He was a book, and he was holding his final pages, and he wanted to get to the end to find out how it went, and he didn’t want it to be over.”

Obviously there are a hundred other things that i would love to say but that would mean that i would be writing forever and you would be reading until your laptop battery ran out.

So, i want you know who is your favourite character, mine is Ronan Lynch and let me know in the comments below!

xx
Taraana

Why i started blogging and what it means to me.

For a really long time, blogging was one of those things that i watched other people do (and really wanted to do myself) but never got the courage to do it myself. It was always one of those things that i thought ‘that’s not for me’ ‘people like me don’t do that’ ‘i don’t have the courage and TIME to do that’. And i made up a hundred other excuses on my ‘why i shouldn’t blog list'(in my head of course) when i realised that all the reasons were invalid. Deep down i wanted to do it, i needed an outlet to discuss my favourite books, obsessions and just WRITE. So that’s when i decided to stop just being a reader of content but also to become a creator of content online.

The thought of blogging first came to me when i read Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armenrout. The main character ‘Katy’ was a book blogger and i felt inspired to try and do it myself. I’d only watched booktubers and i’d never heard of a book blogger so went online and found an entire community of book bloggers, people i could relate to. So i guess you could say that’s where it all began, my love for blogging.

Booktube was another factor, because i watched it ALL the time and loved the content but i wasn’t courageous enough to put myself out there on the interwebs and edit those videos  so came back to the idea of blogging. I knew then that if i didn’t do it now i’d never start my own blog. And then one day on the tenth on January 2015, i decided to create my very own website, wrote up a post and hit publish and that felt AMAZING, i was sooo glad i did it. Since then i have changed my blog from blogger to wordpress which is MUCH better and i have enjoyed every step of the way.

I know i’m not the best or the most regular blogger, but i try and the most important thing is that i love it. I love creating new posts, taking the pictures for it, writing it and hitting the publish. It is so satisfying and gives me a feeling of accomplishment and i don’t regret it at all.

Do you blog? if so, why did you start and what does it mean to you? Let me know in the comments below.

xx
Taraana

btw. IF ANYONE HAS WATCHED THE NEW GILMORE GIRLS LET ME KNOW BECAUSE I’M IN DESPERATE NEED OF A GILMORE BUDDY ABOUT RIGHT NOW and also how GOOD and EMOTIONAL were those 6 hours?