Happy August, friends ☀️ This year’s flying by, really. Let’s wrap-up the past month together!
I don’t know what happened to July. I feel like the month flew by and nothing and everything happened all at once.
This month, I got lucky enough to travel back home to see my family for a couple of days, as well as my old colleagues and friends. It’s been so good to see them all and to spend some time with them again.
I also spent my last month at my current job, which has been a little weird and a little stressful, too. I’m hoping to enjoy the little break and holidays in August before heading to new, hopefully exciting and good, new adventures professionally.
Other than that, nothing much to add personally. It still doesn’t feel like summer at ALL with the weather here as cold as October and this hasn’t been good to me mentally, at all, but well.
I hope you’re all taking care of yourselves, friends.
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I read a little more this month and I have no idea how that happened, but yay, I guess? It was a great reading month overall!
BETWEEN PERFECT AND REAL ☂️ This book was such a lovely surprise! I really enjoyed the character’s journey and it was such an emotional, important read. Definitely recommending this.
💧 Read my review – Buy the book on: Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
Q ☂️ This book… well. Isn’t for the faint-hearted. It’s an excellent yet terrifying story and I couldn’t stop reading it. I really enjoyed it!
Read my review 💧 Buy the book on: Book Depository – Blackwell’s
LIKE A LOVE SONG ☂️ Ah this was one of my favorite books this month! It was one of my most anticipated ya books of 2021 and it didn’t disappoint. The swoon, the characters, the friendships, I loved it!
💧 Buy the book on: Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
MALIBU RISING ☂️ Taylor Jenkins Reid never, ever disappoints. If I found this one a little slow to start, I ended up being… unable to stop reading afterwards. Such a good read.
💧 Buy the book on: Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT ☂️ Morgan Matson never ever disappoints me and this one was another win for me. I loved the New York adventures, the emphasis on friendship and the characters’ growth, too. Such a fun read!
💧 Buy the book on: Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
Goodreads challenge: 31/60 books
A little behind, but still going, so yay?
It’s been a complicated writing month for me. After finishing writing a new book in June, I wanted to head into a contemporary story that matters a lot to me and start the second draft.
Obviously, things didn’t go as planned and I ended up not writing that much.
Between brainstorming and thinking of the story, having breakdowns about it all and writing at a snail’s pace, I feel like I didn’t make much progress. But you know what? Looking back, I think I actually did. I may not have written a lot, but second drafting is about revising, about really putting it all together (or trying, for the first time), so… I guess it’s okay to take my time. I’ve never been one to finish writing a book quickly, anyway, no matter its stage.
In case you’re curious, I actually decided to talk about my writing a tiny bit more on my instagram account, starting with sharing my first reel of this story I’m currently working on!
Written in July: 5661 words.
It’s been an okay blogging month overall, I’d say. I’ve been feeling inspired and scheduling a whole lot of blog posts ahead, which is great!
I’m also trying to learn to relax and thought back a lot about my feelings changed with my years of blogging. For now, I just want to keep on writing blog posts that make me happy and try not to stress out too much about it. Better said than done, but well, I’m trying and that’s what matters!
I’ve been having fun writing my newsletter this month and sending a book to my first newsletter giveaway winner, just as well. I’m hoping to be hosting international giveaways every now and then through this new medium, so if you want to subscribe to enter next time, you can below:
On the blog this month: book reviews
On the blog this month: blogging, books & more
The highlight of the month, blogging-wise, was probably our best books of 2021 so far blog post. There are SO many books my sister and I devoured this year already and it was, as we do every year, lovely to scream about them all. Spoiler alert: there’s one book we both can’t shut up about. Like, ever.
It felt very therapeutic for me to write my blog post about the things that have changed since I started blogging, especially how I view blogging as a whole. It’s not always for the best, but it felt good to recognize that in this blog post that took me 7 hours more or less to write. Oops.
In other news, my sister Nyx shared a GREAT post about reader stereotypes and whether or not they’re actually true and I ranted about some of my favorite enemies to lovers romances. I hope you enjoyed all of these posts, we had lots of fun writing them all!
As you know, I’m always reading all of your comments, so if you have any blog posts you’d like to see from me, please feel free to let me know!
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I’m still trying my very best to blog hop every now and then because supporting book bloggers matters so much 🥺 Here’s my small selection of blog posts I read and enjoyed this month!
Reading, Books, Recommendations
- Birdie shared some of her most anticipated reads for August in this fantastic list!
- Kat shared her second post in her fantastic series and wonders if Chris Evans and her are compatible readers!
Blogging
- Malka wrote an excellent blog post about burn out and wonders if the blogger burnout is inevitable.
- Kal talks about affiliate programs for book bloggers.
- May shared her book review writing process.
Writing, Miscellanous
- Nicole wrote a fantastic post about social media and its boundaries.
How was your month? Did you find a new favorite book this past month? If it feels like summer where you are, care to send me some sunshine??
I’d love to from you in the comments!
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*passes you the ridiculous heat we’ve been having here* I’d take October weather over this heat, so I propose a swapsies hehe. I am so looking forward to eventually reading XOXO and Take Me Home Tonight; Malibu Rising’s cover is simply gorgeous. I don’t know much about the book other than I love it’s cover hehe.
I think the world has done a great job at conditioning us to feel like we aren’t making any progress, if we can’t ‘see’ the progress. Progress isn’t always tangible immediately, sometimes the baby steps we make towards something whether it’s writing or a project seem small and insignificant. Only later when the thing is completed do we realise, how significant the almost invisible steps were. You’re doing your best and you are making progress even if it’s just one word a day, or figuring out that plot hole or revising one paragraph. In the end, it all adds up towards the same end goal <3
My July was mostly me working and being a puddle because of said heat *sobs* Although in the last few weeks of July, I watched 70 episodes across 2 dramas and uhm…I think I have a problem xD They were great dramas though! I've not finished any books though, which on the one hand makes me feel like a bad book blogger and book lover but on the other hand, I'm not in a rush and I know I'll finish them eventually haha.
Sending you so much love, sunshine and hugs <3
YES please I’ll take your warm weather any day!
I so agree with you, I feel like there’s so much pressure to take these big steps, but you’re so right. Any little step towards our goal is something that should be celebrated, too. Thank you so much for all of your support, I appreciate you so much!! I hope August has been kind to you so far <3
We’ve read the same amount of books this year so far! I think I’m reading more than usual, so you’re totally on track and fine and will be able to meet your goal. And I’ll definitely meet mine, cause I only set it to 35 hahaha
Thanks for sharing my post again! That series means so much to me, so I really appreciate the support <3 <3 <3
You did great, I should have set my goal lower to just… lower my expectations, now I feel stressed out 😂😂 Of course! I love your series so much and it deserves to be shared with more people! <3
I really love how personal your blog feels!
Oh thank you so much!!
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed Take Me Home Tonight! I keep eyeing it at the bookstore since I’ve read all of Morgan Matson’s other books, but haven’t heard many people talking about it! Definitely going to pick it up next time though 🙂 I hope you have an amazing start to your August!
Ahhhh I hope you’ll pick it up and will love it! Morgan Matson is a must-read for me, I love her books soooooooooooo much! 😍 Thank you so much, I hope you’ll have a lovely month as well!
omg I agree about July not feeling like summer at all- it’s been all downpour here and I can’t wait to see the sun again ☀ Honestly, I felt like nothing actually happened in this month too, but I did read many lovely books, so that’s something. Malibu Rising and Take Me Home Tonight are both on my tbr, so i’m happy you ended up liking them both. I love reading your newsletter and I’m glad you’re enjoying writing it!! Thank you for all the awesome content and hosting those giveaways <33 And ahh I hope your new professional adventures go well!
Take care, Marie 💕 I hope August is amazing for you and we both get some sunshine!!
Same here! I miss the sunshine and real summer weather and am still hoping it will come by soon. I need it badly!
I can’t wait for you to read Malibu Rising and Take me Home Tonight, I hope you will love both, they were lovely! Thank you so, so much for your sweet words and I hope August has been kind to you so far <3
I’m actually gonna cry ahh, thank you so much for including my post!! You’re the best!!
Don’t worry about writing too much love, you are doing amazingly!! Everything at your own pace, okay? I hope you have a lovely August!!!
Of course, it was a great post! <3 Thank you, you're so kind! I hope August will be kind to you <3
the weather has been super moody here so unfortunately there isn’t much sunshine I could send your way 😂 I’m honestly quite glad it’s not very summer-y right now because I have a lot of uni work to do and don’t have time to go on holiday or just chill in the park, so at least it doesn’t hurt as much to be stuck inside when the weather isn’t great. I only found out about Like a Love Song recently but immediately bought the ebook because I love fake dating stories so much, they always cheer me up!
I hope you have a wonderful August 🌻✨
Oh yeah, that’s good for you then! It always feels unfair when you’re stuck inside working and the weather’s too beautiful and summmery, ahah. <3 I can't wait for you to read Like a Love Song! I hope you will love it.
Thank you so much, I hope August will be kind to you! <3
A bit late, but I hope you’re having a great August, Marie!! ❤ I’m happy to see that you liked Between Perfect and Real & Like a Love Song, I have been super excited for them 🥰 Now that I have my semester break I’m eager to read all the things this month!!
Thank you, Caro, I hope you’re having a great month as well and enjoying your semester break, finally! 😀
New York definitely has sunshine to spare! Most days it’s quite hot and muggy out and it definitely feels like summer! I’ll try to send some of the summertime feeling to you in France!
I’m so glad you had a better blogging experience this month! I’m still working on getting my energy back for blogging and blog hopping, but I think I’m slowly getting there. Right now my priority is catching up on comments on pings and such, so I don’t feel overwhelmed when I return to the blog. So hopefully I can be back in a greater capacity in the next month or two! I’ve really missed being a fully involved member of the book blogging community!
Thank you so much for sharing my post on blogger burnout! It was a very personal one for me to write, and knowing that my posts are still enjoyed even when I don’t blog hop and interact as much as I’d like means the world to me. I can’t wait to catch up on all of your posts again, no matter how long it takes me to get back into the swing of things!
I hope you’re having a fantastic end to your August! 💕
Oh yes please do, I’m looking forward to the sunshine ahah, it’s just so terrible here.
Take your time with everything, as always do what’s best for you! I hope that August has been kind to you, take care of yourself always! <3