Happy (almost) June, friends ☀️ I’m so happy summer’s right around the corner, you all know by now I thrive during summer time. Let’s see what happened this past month, shall we?
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May has been an okay month, overall. It has felt a bit more relaxed than usual, I’d say. Thanks to the bank holidays we have here in France, the work weeks weren’t that long, even if there still was a bit of anxiety and stress every now and then.
The highlight of the month definitely was seeing my sister again. She came to visit mid-May and we went to Amsterdam for a couple of days. It was a fantastic little getaway. Obviously, we bought books, ate waffles and, even if we were a bit cold, had a lot of fun.
You know me, I adore summer and I’m excited for more of it. I already have some plans for the upcoming month and I can’t wait!
Monthly Reading Wrap-Up
I feel like this is my new reading rhythm: 4 books a month. I think that’s quite alright!
There are so many books waiting for me on my TBR and so many books I want to read, but I don’t feel like I can do more than 4 at the moment. I just hope I can prioritize the books that I really, really want to read.
THE STAND-IN ☂️ I really enjoyed that one, where a normal woman is a famous actress’ stand-in for a little while. A fun, heartwarming and entertaining adult contemporary read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS ☂️ I love Jen Wilde’ YA contemporary books. Her first YA mystery was thrilling, fast-paced and a whole lot of fun, but I still prefer her in the contemporary genre. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
You can read my full review here!
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER MIDNIGHT ☂️ I really enjoyed K.L Walther’s the Summer of Broken Rules, and this one didn’t disappoint. It was fun, fast-paced and I loved how most of the action was over one night. Perfect for YA contemporary fans! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
THE DAVENPORTS ☂️ This book reminded me of the kind of stories I used to love, back when I was younger. All the drama, the romance, the big dresses and historical setting. I had a lot of fun reading this! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book Discoveries of The Month
I haven’t added many books to my TBR in May. Actually, I added like, one, I think. Oops. It’s a book I saw in passing on Instagram and, since I’ve been into YA thrillers lately, there you go!
LIE UNTIL IT’S TRUE ☂️ Amanda turned her sister in for murder, only to realize she was wrong all along. In order to redeem herself, she hopes to help solve the murder of an eccentric billionaire… this sounds super fun and I’m here for it! Find it on Goodreads.
Goodreads challenge: 20/50 books
Still on track, but well.. not really ahead. Oh, well!
I feel like I’m still on a rollercoaster going up (see the reference, aerm) at the moment with my writing, so I’m glad. I’m at the last 3rd of this current WIP I like calling the REVENGE WIP.
It feels a bit messy, I’ll admit it. I already have a ton of things I’ll need to revise, character arcs to tighten and relationships I need to develop more, I know it. I’m making a mess, for now and hoping that, with this, I’ll be able to build some beautiful sandcastles, someday.
I’m still hoping to finish this WIP by the summer…after all, summer lasts until September here on my side of the world, so. Ideally, I’d like to have this first draft done before August, but we’ll see what happens. I’ll do my best, no pressure, no strict deadline. Just, trying to enjoy myself!
The dreaded blogging slump continues a little bit, here. Funny, because I still managed to post a couple times this month, but… I haven’t had the same energy, the inspiration or simply, the will, do to more.
I don’t want to dwell on it for too long, things are what they are and I’ll continue to treat this upcoming month like I’ve been treating the past months, on the blog. With kindness towards myself -even if I get a bit angry about my lack of inspiration.
Anyway. Thank you for being here, as always, for those of you still here to leave kind comments, I see you and appreciate you SO much more than words can say.
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Let’s see what June brings on and if inspiration comes back. Fingers crossed!
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On the blog this month: book reviews
On the blog this month: blogging, books & more
May’s Mental Health Awareness month and to celebrate, I really wanted to put together a blog post with some of my favorite YA books dealing with mental health.
My sister & co-blogger wrote about the things that influences her to read a book!
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On instagram
I’m still doing my own thing on instagram, which is apparently a mix of book recs and (flopping) travel reels, whenever I have the time. I’m struggling with finding my rhythm and place, nothing new under the sun here, but well! If you’re still curious about what I share, you can always…
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I didn’t take much time this past month to stop by your blogs, so please, if you wrote a blog post you’d like to share, feel free to do so in the comments below! 💛
How was your April? What were the highlights of the month, for you? What were your favorite reads?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
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I will never get over the fact that you can just hop onto a train and be in another country. Definitely one of the best and coolest things about Europe. As someone who lives in the states, while you can hop on a train, we’ll still be in the same country (unless you’re traveling to Canada), aha. I hope your June goes amazingly xxx
Agree, I feel lucky to be able to do that and explore easily that way, too. <3 I hope that June has been wonderful to you so far, Melina! xx
awh, you and your sisters date sounds so cute! I’m glad you both enjoy your time! And being relaxed once in a while is okay! Also, have I mentioned your wrapped up is amazing?! Love it!
Oh thank you so, so much, you’re too kind!! I hope June will be good to you! xx
Glad you had a good time in Amsterdam. Hope June is a great month for you ❤️
Thank you so, so much! I hope you’ll have a lovely month, as well <3
It sounds like you had a pretty good month, Marie! Your trip to Amsterdam looked like so much fun! Now that I’ve gone out on vacation, all I want to do is keep traveling! I have been bitten by the travel bug 😂
I hope you find your blogging inspiration! 💜 I had to take a step back the end of this month because I just can’t do it all. I’m excited to get back to it soon! Happy June!
Oh how I get the feeling, I never want to stop traveling 😂😂 thank you so, so much <3 sometimes, we just can't do it all. I hope that June has been lovely to you so far! xx
Right?! Why do we have to stop travelling? Why couldn’t it be endless?! June has been pretty good so far, I hope it’s been good to you too! 😊💞
I don’t want to ever stop ahah that’d be the dream!😂
Lovely wrap up Marie! Looks like u read some great books this month! The Davenport looks really good 😍 great post!
Thank you so much!! I hope you’ll have a lovely month <3
All the bank holidays have been really wonderful as well (even though they have also been a great excuse for me to skip uni classes more than I probably should lol). May was over so quickly and I was so hopeful it would be a better month than April…but it wasn’t lol. I am also still in a massive blogging slump but something really must be in the air because I was approved for a bunch of ARCs and even had multiple publicists reach out to me with various opportunities?? That has never happened before but I guess the third year of my blog is the charm even though I have barely posted this year 😂
I immediately went and added Lie Until It’s True because we all know I love a good YA thriller/mystery! And I’m always really happy to see writing updates from you, the Revenge WIP owns my heart already! I was also hoping to finish my first draft before August but I have to accept that I am simply a slow writer so I doubt that’s going to happen so I am aiming for the end of August now. My thought is that I can then hopefully set that draft aside and maybe for once in my life actually spend time preparing and outlining whatever story I decide to write this NaNoWriMo! Knowing myself, that’s not going to happen but I am nothing if not overly ambitious and slightly delusional 😂
I hope you have a wonderful June!
So so sorry for my very late reply! And I’m so sorry May wasn’t the best month for you, truly hoping that June has been off to a better start! <3 <3
I love your love for mysteries/thrillers! I've been so into that genre lately and I'm always looking for new recommendations, so... if you have any, you know where to find me 😂
I so understand being a slow writer! It feels painful, at times, but we do our best. I'm always looking forward to hearing more about your work and, if you ever want to talk about it, you know I'm there!! <3
I’m glad you got to enjoy some sister time in Amsterdam! I went to the Netherlands last year and fell in love with the city, so I’m definitely slighly envious 🤩
Four books a month seems like my new normal as well, unfortunately 😭 Sometimes, work can really get in the way! But I’m glad you found some good reads!
Anyway, good luck with your WIP, and hopefully June will be at least as amazing as May!
I’m sooo late to reply, sorry!! And thank you so, so much for your sweet comment <3 I hope that June has been wonderful to you so far <3
No worries! 💙 I’ve basically gone completely radio silent for the past two weeks anyway, so I didn’t even notice! 😂 But now that I’ve finally gotten the stressful part of June over with, I hope that wonderfulness is just around the corner! 🤗
Oh I’m so so glad to hear the stressful part is over, I hope that June will be fantastic from now on!! <3 <3
I really enjoyed The Stand-In too, a fun entertaining rom-com! It is also nice to find a sweet, supportive romance!
I feel like I am having a bit of a blogging slump too~~ I have not been wanting to write posts but like you say, one day at a time. No point forcing it 💛💛
Glad you had a lovely time in Amsterdam! Wishing you a fab June 🥰
Sophie thank you so much!! You’re so right, there’s no point in forcing it… which is why I’m really late at replying to this, I’m so sorry! <3 I hope June has been really kind to you so far <3
Glad you had a good time in Amsterdam. Looked like so much fun!
Thank you so much! It was so wonderful! <3