Romance A Day🌹

Enigma, Laramie Briscoe

My kind of me time.

Do what makes your heart and soul flourish 💕

-DGPS

My Book Rating Scale

An explanation that literally no one asked for.

5/5:

A five star book cannot be described. It is a feeling that cannot be put into words. The connection you feel towards a book is so strong that words cannot do it justice. The very fibres of your being are forever altered due to the magnificence of those pages.

4.5/5

An amazing, absolutely incredible book. No cons, but it doesn't touch your soul the same way a 5/5 book does. However, these books shouldn't be discounted, becaude what's to say that it won't touch someone else's soul?

4/5

There were maybe one or two aspects you didn't love, but nothing that took away from the experience. If you had written it, you would have changed somethings, but that's just personal preference 🤷‍♀️

3.5/5

This is kind of a wishy-washy inbetween. Maybe there were more than a couple aspects you just couldn't overlook and it just wasn't quite a 4/5. Maybe it mostly wasn't for you, but there were a couple of aspects you liked and 3/5 didn't feel right. I guess 3.5/5 it is - a nice, happy medium.

3/5

Personally wasn't a fan. It didn't tickle your fancy, maintain your interest, or however you want to describe it. But, if you look at the book through an objective lense, it could be a really good book for someone else's sensibilities.

2.5/5

A 2.5/5 ratings are given to books that just don't live up to the hype. You read this and wonder why it was someone else's 5/5. What did they gain from it? Is there some depth you didn't reach? Was your soul not right for the message? These books leave you with more questions than answers.

2/5

These books can go two ways; either you finish and throw the book across the room in anger, or you cannot bring yourself to finish it. Eitherway, the reaction is very visceral.

1/5

Honestly, I don't think I've ever read a book and rated it this low. sooooo, a 1/5 is a book I would never, under any circumstances, would read or recommend to someone. These books are absolutely judged by their covers.

Books cure my loneliness.

Okay, hot take (with MAJOR ACOTAR, TOG, SAB, and Carry On spoilers).

I'm serious about the spoilers part.

I think part of the reason we see so much of the 'woman loses her powers in a great sacrifice to save the world' trope is because we're reading a lot of female-centered stories.

Like in the ACOTAR series, for instance. Nesta and Amren sacrifice their powers. Sure, great. Is it sexist? Or is it simply a plot device that usually follows when a character has an exorbitant amount of power? Amren was a god. She had a shit ton of power, and shotty morals. She was a Deus ex machina waiting to happen. Hell, she WAS a deus ex machina in acowar. Nesta too, had a shit ton of power. Power that simply wasn't in the scope of the ACOTAR universe (what can truly be a threat to her, or anyone she cares about, if she's as powerful as she was?) In order to keep the stakes reasonable and the books from getting too plotty (they're still mostly avenues for erotica), yeah, she had to give up her powers.

My point is, no male in the ACOTAR series has enough power that giving it up even could save the world. Rhys is 'the most powerful high lord in history' but he's still in the scope of power understandable within the universe. He's not a god, like Amren, and not a bundle of magic in flesh, like Nesta.

Honestly, I don't know anything about TOG or SAB trilogy, but I do know that both Aelin and Alina are the main characters in their books, and extraordinarily powerful ones. If I knew anything about the stories, I'd probably argue for them what I already argued for Amren and Nesta. But I don't want to get yelled at, so I wont.

Point is, there are stories where men with a shit ton of power lose it all in the end. Look at Carry On by Rainbow Rowell.

I'm sure if I read more fantasy with male MCs, i'd find more examples. But i'm gay, so I don't want to

anyways. hot take over

— 2am business: candle on, book begun

[I finished graevale and we three heroes in one day so its time to begin the end of the series! I'm scared, lynette pls hold me<3]

Thinking about my favorite book 🥺 (Mechanique, a tale of the circus tresaulti)

we all just want someone as reliable as that goodreads email when you’ve finished a book ❤️

Hamburg ⚓️

You know what would be really fun? Reading a book from a villain's point of view, only we don't realise they are villains at first.

every day i wake up and wait for bryn greenwood to announce her new book and every day i go to sleep in tears and disappointed

Happy Monday, y’all!

Welcome to another It’s Monday! What are you reading? Today is the start of another read along with my book club, the second out of three for this month. Read below the cut to find out what it is and what else I’ve been reading!

What are you currently reading?

I started The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller today. For the second time. The first time, I couldn’t make myself finish reading it. This time, I’m reading it with with my book club and I hope that will ease the pain that I know is coming. I already get emotional over Achilles and Patroclus without having read this. We read Circe by Miller recently in the book club and I really enjoyed it but I like the writing better in SoA.

What have you read recently?

I finished The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black yesterday. I have a lot of feelings and don’t know what to do with myself now. I loved the series so much and I’m so glad I read it. I also finished reading Neon Gods by Katee Robert this week. It’s a modern retelling of Hades and Persephone from Greek mythos. Although I was expecting more fantasy, I still really enjoyed the book. It was well written and the spice was perfect. I don’t know if I’ll read any of the other from the series but we’ll see.

What do you plan on reading next?

After Song of Achilles, I’m going to start Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, also a read along with my book club. I’m really excited about this one because Leigh Bardugo is one of my favourite authors. I know the writing and story is going to be different from the Grishaverse books but still, can’t wait! I’m not sure what I’m going to read after that. Maybe I’ll take a break for a couple weeks since I’ve been reading so much and am behind on writing reviews.

What have y’all been reading recently?

sat down to make some Legs and Maddy from Foxfire stickers for myself (now all I need is some sticker paper..!)

06.12.2021 | Back to the museums. Legion of Honor's Last Supper in Pompeii: From the Table to the Grave (through August 29). It could be just me, but I thought this exhibit was a bit...cheeky & I loved it. The section entitled "Naughty Art" was especially smirk-inducing. So much smirk.

It was a quaint and curious pastime, wandering through this old silent city of the dead—lounging through utterly deserted streets where thousands and thousands of human beings once bought and sold, and walked and rode, and made the place resound with the noise and confusion of traffic and pleasure.

Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad, 1869

The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter

Mind chilling and disturbing

As a photographer myself, I was interested in this from the get-go. However, it did not live up to my expectations. I don't really know what I truly expected, but I felt underwhelmed, and felt more terror should have been done. Delta (as of Delta Dawn) is a certified photographer and likes to photograph people. After a birthday shoot with a family's daughter, she becomes obsessed with them. I couldn't really connect with a lot of the characters and it felt very forced to how exactly it played out. But I can appreciate how creepily well Delta managed to control and twist the situation to her benefit. I did like how we were told the story from Delta's point of view, so we mostly knew what she was lying about and her way of thinking. Overall, the story and how it plays out in the end is very creepy and a bit disturbing, but I appreciate how chilling it was. I did like the fast pace, but felt things were moving a bit too fast, as the mom takes a complete 180 in the span of two seconds. A good debut novel by Mary Dixie Carter. Thank you to NetGalley, Mary Dixie Carter and Minotaur Books for the chance to review an ARC copy.

3/5

“Metamorphosis”. Franz Kafka. Chas 2021