Hi everybody, and welcome to my November wrap up!
November was actually quite a great month for me. Personally, some really exciting things happened (see below) and books, music, tv and movie-wise I had some great discoveries! So definitely a pretty solid month š Here’s what I’ve been up to!
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
After reading Kingdom of Ash, I needed a book which could get me out of the book hangover-induced slump I was falling into, and The Kiss Quotient was the perfect slump buster.Ā Ā Itās hard to miss all the hype surrounding The Kiss Quotient. For the past few months, itās been highlighted by many reviewers as THE romance book of the year, as an amazing #ownvoices book, and as a perfect read if you want to bust a nasty reading slump. So with all that hype, naturally I was super intriguedā¦ and didnāt pick it up for months. Until I finally did and, as often is the case, I regret not picking it up any sooner because the hype is real yāall!
Rating:Ā 4 stars | Read my full review
Dark Arts And A Daiquiri by Annette Marie
Annette Marie has done it again. Scratch that, Annette Marie has outdone herself. AGAIN. Now, I loved the first book in this series, Three Mages and A Margarita. But I wasnāt IN LOVE with it either. Three Mages took me for a fun ride. It was a humor-filled, fast-paced and sexy urban fantasy that I rated a solid four stars. It definitely outdid my expectations, but I still wasnāt expecting to be as obsessed with the series as I am with Annetteās other series. And then along came Dark Arts and a Daiquiri, the second book, and BAM. Out come the five star ratings. Because oh my, am I obsessed now! Why? Because Dark Arts took everything I liked in Three Mages and added MORE of it. More humor. More worldbuilding. More intriguing characters. LOVE!
Rating: 5 stars | Read my full review
Wildcard by Marie Lu
I’m a bit torn about Wildcard. Warcross was one of my favorite reads of the year and I was highly anticipating Wildcard. And on one hand, I loved this book while I read it, I couldn’t stop reading and was super intrigued by the story, but on the other hand, after finishing the book it was like the story amost immediately left my brain. It was fun and addictive, but not memorable, if that makes sense? Also, could have used just a tad more Phoenix Riders.
Rating:Ā 3,5 stars
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
V.E. Schwab is amazing! I loved Vicious and Vengeful was more of the same amazingness. We learn more about Eli, we meet interesting new characters and we revisit some old favorites. This was another masterpiece, but I do have to say I wished we had some more Victor-Mitch-Sydney moments. Also, I want another sequel, please?
Rating: 4,5 stars
Book Blitz
Dark Arts and a Daiquiri by Annette Marie Book Blitz
COVER REVEAL
Two Witches and a Whiskey by Annette Marie Cover Reveal
TOP TEN TUESDAY
- 6 November 2018: The Books From My 2018 TBR I Haven’t Read Yet
- 13 November 2018: Bookish Merchandise To Gift The Bookworm In Your Life
- 20 November 2018: Books, Music and More I’m Thankful For in 2018
- 27 November 2018: Books With Epic BFF’s & Friend Groups
Quote It Wednesday
On hiatus in November…
CALENDAR GIRLS
Not Quite The End: Favorite Middle Book In A Series
Kpop, Kpop, Kpop. #sorrynotsorry
SOME OF MY FAVES THIS MONTH:
Stray Kids – Get Cool
Though I love Stray Kids’ darker music, this goofy, extra side of them is adorable and I am so here for it.
Jennie – Solo
Talk about a solo premiere! I LOVE this song so much and the choreo is so fun.
Ateez – Pirate King
Thanks Jolien for the recommendation! I listen to this song daily, it’s energetic and I can’t stop watching the choreo.
Twice – Yes or Yes
I’m not usually into the more cutesy concepts of kpop, but Twice is the exception to the rule!
NCT 127 – Simon Says
Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of Regular, but Simon Says is again something completely new and different and though it took me a few listens, I’m now in love.
What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?
LOOOVED this kdrama! I’ve seen it hyped a lot in the last few months, so when I finally decided to binge-watch this, it’s no surprise I flew through and watched the entire season in a week. What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim is the story of a narcissistic, distant CEO who gets competely thrown back when his secretary of 9 years tells him she wants to quit. It’s adorable, fluffy, funny and I loved the company setting.Ā I loved the chemistry between the main couple, I adored the side couples and I enjoyed the mystery element to it. Highly recommend!
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
I started watching this on Halloween (cause duh, it’s perfect) and watched the rest of the season throughout the month and gradually grew to love it more and more. It’s the kind of show I love, dark but with a fun and emotional aspect at the same time. I LOVE Sabrina, she is the heart of the show of course but all the side characters are amazing too. The family aspect! The friendship aspect! And OMG isn’t Harvey Kinkle the sweetest?
The Good Place
I binged seasons 1 and 2 earlier this year so naturally I couldn’t resist too long when season 3 started. I admit that at first I was really skeptical about this show and thought they couldn’t really do that much with the premise, but it just keeps getting more and more intriguing and hilarious. Definitely one of my all-time favorite shows right now.
Ā 
The Darkest Minds
Eh. The Darkest Minds was okay. I thought it was a good adaptation and am hoping we’ll see the sequels as well. But I’m also not in love with it. Come to think of it, though I like the books, I’m not really in love with them either, so maybe that’s why.
Crazy Rich Asians
Definitely worth all the hype. This was funny and romantic and I need more desperately. Awkwafina was my favorite part of the movie. I’m also especially intrigued now by Harry Shum Jr.’s character and want to see his story play out. Guess I should really read all the books now.
A Christmas Prince
The weirdest thing is happening this year. I’m not usually one with a ton of Christmas spirit. I mean, I like it, but it’s no Halloween right? But this year I am craving all things Christmassy. Among others, I am craving syrupy sweet and clichĆ© Christmas movies. So I started with A Christmas Prince and honestly, I did not like it. It was everything I wanted and was expecting, but I just could not get into it. I’m sorry, you do not fall in love with someone you talked to 2 or 3 times and ask them to marry you and become Queen of your country. Not even on Christmas. If this was a drama with 10-15 episodes, I would have been all for it. But in movie format, there was not enough development and I lost interest. However, I’m still craving Christmas fluff. Any recommendations?
Things that made me happy this month:
- I got a new job! I’m starting in January and I couldn’t be more excited. It’ll be a job where I get to do more marketing again, which I’ve been really missing, and the people there seem so nice and I just have such a good feeling about it.
- I got to eat at a Korean restaurant, finally! For some reason, there are hardly any Korean restaurants in Belgium but we found one in Brussels and went with the family and IT WAS DELICIOUS! We had Japche and Bulgogi and Kimchi and yummy sugary sweet desserts and I already can’t wait to go back and try more food.
- House renovations are moving along. We hope to be able to move in in March, which is later than expected, but hopefully it won’t be delayed any further.
- I almost got back to a regular blogging schedule. I’m not completely there yet, because with the renovations, job preparations and everything else that’s been going on, it’s still been super busy, but I managed to get my Top Ten Tuesday posts up every week and I even got some bloghopping in, so yay me!
THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:
- Re-reading Lady Midnight and then binge-reading Lord of Shadows and Queen of Air and Darkness.Ā
- A few days off to catch up on blog stuff and relax a bit hopefully.
- Quality time with friends!
- Quality time with family!
Congrats on the new job! That’s exciting. I really liked Crazy Rich Asians too, and I can’t wait for the sequel. I’m not that interested in reading the actual books though. LOL I still need to watch the new Sabrina series, so hopefully soon. And I’m loving all the Christmas movies. I tend to be okay with all the cheese of Hallmark type of films if it’s holiday themed. š
-Lauren
Thanks so much! <3
Honestly, I wasn't interested in reading the Crazy Rich Asians books either, but I'm also really curious to see what happens next with some characters and I don't have the patience to wait for another movie š And yeah, for some reason Holiday themed movies get more permission from me to be cheesy too, haha.
I also started watching Sabrina and it’s so much better than I thought it would be! Currently on episode 8 and I’m slowing down just to try and stretch it out until the next season is out (although, is there going to be another season?? I don’t even know…). I’m so glad they’re toning down the whole ‘blurring when there’s magic’ thing. It’s great, but it was used SO much in the first two episodes. Also, hahahaha yeah The Christmas Prince is really something… Personally, on Netflix I’d recommend The Holiday Calendar. It’s VERY Hallmarky without being strange (at least, for the most part). I hope you have a wonderful December, Lindsey!
Laura @BlueEyeBooks
The second season of Sabrina is coming in April, so the wait isn’t that long thankfully š AND there will be a special Christmas episode in December as well, so we have some things to keep us satisfied until then!
Oh, I’ll have to try The Holiday Calendar, thanks for the rec š
I wasn’t planning on reading The Kiss Quotient because romance is not my genre, but I’ve heard so many amazing things about it I caved and added it to my TBR ? I’ve really need to watch The Darkest Minds movie. I’m super curious to see how I feel because I LOVED the books when I read them back in the day, haha. Huge congrats on the new job too ā„ Sending all the good vibes!!!
Haha, I have to say I’m really curious to hear what you’ll think about The Kiss Quotient! š I hope you’ll love The Darkest Minds movie! I thought it was a good adaptation, I just didn’t fall IN LOVE with it… Thanks so much Lauren! Hope you’ll have an amazing December!
I loved The Kiss Quotient! It got me out of a reading slump too š
I’m so glad to hear you’ve been loving Pirate King too. I’ve been replaying it so often in the past month. As far as debuts go, I think it’s really good. And I was the same with Simon Says! I had to listen to it a few times before I really loved it. I find that’s often the case with NCT 127’s songs.
Congratulations on the new job!! I’m currently looking for a marketing job, so I know how hard it is to find one in Belgium. Oh, can you let me know which Korean restaurant it was? I’ve been missing the cuisine since coming back from my trip, and while I do cook it at times, I just want to go to a restaurant again.
Happy December!
The Kiss Quotient is an amazing slump-buster!
Pirate King is awesome, though I must admit I STILL haven’t checked out their other songs… And yes, I do love that NCT has so many different sounds, and the songs you grow to love usually don’t stick at first anyway š
Thanks so much! Yes, it definitely wasn’t easy, marketing is such a wide field, so to find something you’re specialized in is very tricky… I hope you’ll find something you love soon!
We had dinner at Hana Restaurant: http://www.hana-resto.be/ I can’t compare since it’s the first real Korean I had, but I thought it was delicious and I hope to go back some day and try some other dishes! Definitely do make a reservation before going, because it was full when we were there and they had to turn people down who came in without a reservation. Feel free to let me know what you thought when you get the chance to go š
Congrats on the new job! That’s wonderful!
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed Vengeful. That’s one I’m really hoping to get to before the end of the year.
And I’m right there with you on being obsessed with all things Christmassy this year. My TV has stayed on the Hallmark Channel ever since Black Friday since they’re playing nonstop Christmas movies. I don’t usually watch any of those so no idea what has gotten into me, lol.
Thanks so much! <3
I hope you'll enjoy Vengeful as much as I did š
Haha, glad to hear I'm not the only one who is hit with a sudden craving for Christmassy movies! š
Congrats on the new job! Iām glad you had a good month. I loved Vengeful, too, and badly want another sequel. I hope you have a great December.
Thanks so much! Here’s hoping for another Vicious sequel and hope you’ll have a great December too!
Yay congrats on the job!! So happy for you and so happy it’s something you really want! <3
I understand what you mean about The Darkest Minds. I haven't watched the movie yet, but I didn't love the books so I'm not sure if it's worth trying the movie. It also just looks like a typical YA film flick – nothing particularly new of the genre. It doesn't seem to have done all that well either?
Ugh I am really dying for some fluffy Christmas movies too! I've tried A Holiday Calendar, The Christmas Planner, and The Princess Switch, and all have been rubbish. I've been debating about A Christmas Prince (and I see there's a sequel now too!) but after hearing your thoughts, I think that'll fall flat for me as well! Sigh š Hopefully there'll be some new festive movies before Christmas š
Have a wonderful December! ā¤
Thanks so much Amy! <3
If you didn't love The Darkest Minds books then I don't think the movie will change your mind. I thought it was an okay adaptation, but it didn't hook me either. I haven't heard anything about a possible sequel yet, but I honestly doubt it'll happen.
If you didn't enjoy those other Christmas movies, I don't think you'll like The Christmas Prince, because it was SUPER cringey and predictable. Though you never know, because I just watched The Princess Switch, and though it has all the same flaws as The Christmas Prince, for some weird reason I did enjoy the cheese and tropes this time (except for the last 5 minutes, which were too much for me, haha š )
Congrats on the new job, that’s awesome!! My husband loves cheesy Christmas movies, but I find most of them to be really predictable. And yeah, the romances are generally insta-love!
P.S. There is a sequel to The Christmas Prince, and it is just as cringey!
Thanks so much!
Haha yeah, I was expecting it to be cringey and predictable, but for some reason I still wanted to watch it anyway… I don’t think I’ll be watching the sequel to The Christmas Prince, but I am still open to try some other cheese Christmas movies š
Congrats on the new job š That is exciting!!
Thanks so much! It really is š
I haven’t heard great things about wildcard. š Sorry it made you feel conflicted.
I really want to see The Darkest Minds. I need to get it on dvd. I loved the first book.