Hi guys, I've got my November Wrap Up today and November was definitely a
month of highs and lows reading wise. I read a couple of books
that I absolutely loved and then I also read a couple of books that I didn't
love quite so much. So I'm just going to get straight on into it because the light
is very quickly fading and honestly so is my energy. I started November with a
bit of a confusing low and that was '13 Minutes' by Sarah Pinborough. This is a
psychological thriller, told through multiple perspectives. Following the
investigation of a girl who was dead for 13 minutes, after being found in a
freezing cold river. I just don't know how to feel about this. On the one hand
it was incredibly addictive, incredibly gripping. I couldn't really put it down
but on the other hand, there is not one single character that I warmed to or
liked reading about or like reading their perspective and there's unlikable
characters and then there's just characters that you don't like. And to be
honest there were multiple points during this book that I was very close to just
deciding not to finish it. There was also a lot of ableist language used in this
and also some homophobic language and a lot of other things like slut-shaming
and body shaming and I just didn't enjoy any of those things. Having said that, I
had to know what happened because my brain is just very frustrating and I
need to know everything when it comes to books. So I couldn't give up on this not
knowing what happened in the end but I didn't enjoy it. I just needed to know
what was going on and I ended up giving it a 2.5 out of 5 stars
and I don't think I would necessarily recommend it.
After that I read 'Alex & Eliza' by Melissa De La Cruz and this is a YA historical fiction, following the
story and the love story of Alex and Eliza and is inspired by the love story
that inspired Hamilton. I've not watched 'Hamilton: The Musical' but I have
listened to it a lot and that is why I was so intrigued by this because
although I've listened to the music, I don't necessarily know the story. Also I
don't really know much about this time period because it isn't something that I
ever learnt about at school. So I was really intrigued by that aspect of it
but because of that a lot of the things that happened in it, I wasn't entirely
sure whether it was creative liberties or whether it was factual but whatever
it was I really, really enjoyed it. I loved all of the characters. I thought
they were written really well. I loved Eliza's guts and I thought the romance
was really lovely. I really enjoyed historical aspects of it and learning
the bits that I did know were factually correct and we're historically accurate.
I thought it had a really good balance of being informative but not info dumpy
at all and I ended up giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Next I read 'There's Someone Inside Your House' by Stephanie Perkins and I don't
really know the best way to describe it but it is basically a YA horror/thriller,
that is following a serial killer, who is very very gruesomely
murdering high school kids in this small town but it also follows the everyday life
of the main character and her relationships and her family and her
friendships and things like that. I was very apprehensive going into this
because I have absolutely loved everything that I have read from
Stephanie Perkins and I hadn't heard great things about this. So I was a
little bit nervous that I was going to be disappointed but I was not
disappointed in the slightest. I absolutely loved this book. I had heard a
few people being disappointed with this because they described it as being a
contemporary with murders in it and they weren't happy with that. For me, I read it
and I was just like, this is a contemporary where the romance, with murders in it and
it was just so much fun. It was everything I love in a book. There was an
adorable romance but also there were murders and it was incredibly gruesome,
incredibly thrilling and page turning and I just enjoyed it so much.
Stephanie Perkins has a way of making me fall in love with all of her characters instantly
and I did with this as well. I just warmed to every single one of them.
I loved the storyline, I loved the writing. There wasn't really anything
about this that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. I do think if you're going into it
expecting an incredibly gruesome, nail-biting, intense thriller, then you
probably will be disappointed in it because although it is very gruesome, it
also does have this adorable romance. Also if you're going into it just hoping
for it to be a fluffy romance, you're going to be a little bit shocked because it
is very gruesome at times but as I said I thoroughly enjoyed it
and I ended up giving it a 4.75 out of 5 stars.
I then read 'A Perfect Proposal' by Katie Fforde and I'm gonna put this down because it keeps turning my
camera very, very strange but this is an adult romance. It was basically girl goes
to New York, meets super rich woman, meets super rich woman's grandson, they have
this whole Mr. Darcy thing "oh I don't like you"
but obviously very clearly do like each other and then everything that you
expected to happen, happens and it was a fun read. It was a very, very
stereotypical, very run-of-the-mill romance. I will say that there was a lot
of language in it that just was very questionable and I think that is because
it was written seven years ago and I think the language used in it wasn't
really called out as much but if you wrote it in a book now, you definitely
would not get away with it. There was a lot of sexist comments in it, a lot of
homophobic comments in it and it just it wasn't great in that respect and it was
a fun read but as I said, it was nothing special and I ended up giving it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Next I picked up 'Ramona Blue' by Julie Murphy
and this follows Ramona, who is one of the only two out lesbians in her small
town and her family was very badly affected by Hurricane Katrina and it
follows her after a childhood friend comes back into her life and it sets off
some very confusing feelings because her childhood friend is a guy and she is
always considered herself only being attracted to women. And it basically
follows her everyday life, whilst she is trying to figure out her money problems
and also figure out her sexuality, whilst also juggling her friendships and her
jobs and things like that and I adored this book. I loved every
single character in it. I really enjoyed the writing. I absolutely flew
through it and honestly there wasn't any aspect of this book that I didn't love wholeheartedly.
There was so much representation in this, from things like
body diversity and sexuality and race and class and it was just brilliant.
I loved it so, so much. It's definitely one of my favourite contemporaries that I've
read this year and I ended up giving it a 5 out of 5 stars and I would most
definitely recommend it. After so, so many months and numerous TBR's saying that I
wanted to read it I finally read 'Six of Crows' by Leigh Bardugo.
I now completely understand why so many people love this book so much because it was fantastic.
If you don't know what this book is about, I'm not gonna say too much just because I feel as though going
into this not really knowing anything, is such a great way to go and that is what
I did and all I knew about this before going into it, is that it is set in the
Grisha world and is about a heist that this gang of outcast teens have to take part
in and it was just so great. There wasn't a single point of view that I didn't absolutely love.
Jesper and Wylan were adorable. Nina Zenik is just the coolest person ever.
Kaz Brekker is basically, how I read him, as being like a baby Tommy Shelby
from 'Peaky Blinders'. He was great and Inej was just everything I want to be.
She was so cool and I think I may have pronounced her name wrong but I
absolutely adored every single character. I really enjoyed it. It kind of reminded
me a lot of 'Peaky Blinders'. It had that kind of vibe of this gang of people that
are doing really bad things but also you kind of want them to win all the time.
It was just really great and I loved the fact that there wasn't a huge amount of
magic in it. There was definitely magic there but it wasn't the full focus of it
so it definitely kind of tread the line of being fantasy and reality, which
made it for me so much fun to read and I ended up
giving it a 4.5 out of 5 stars and I'm very much looking forward to continuing
with this series because I love all of the characters and I'm really excited to
see where it goes because I just I really enjoyed the characters the
characters were fantastic. Next I read the first two volumes of 'Lumberjanes'
by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis and Brooke Allen and this follows five girls
at a summer camp, where basically a lot of strange things are going on.
There's mythology, there's dinosaurs, there are monsters, there's a bear lady.
There's just so much random stuff happening in this book, that honestly I have no idea
what was going on. It was just so bizarre and so strange and probably one of the
most random series I have ever read but I really, really enjoyed it. It was so
much fun. The artwork in it is gorgeous. I'm hoping we get to know a
little bit more about each of the individual characters in it because they
are all very different, very interesting but I don't feel as though there has
been much depth to them yet but I'm absolutely loving it. It is so ridiculous
but so much fun and I ended up giving them both a 4 out of 5 stars and
I'm most definitely going to be continuing with this series because I
don't know how I couldn't. The last book I read in November was 'Dreamology' by Lucy Keating
and this is a contemporary kind of sci-fi fantasy but mainly a
contemporary. Following a girl called Alice, who has been in love with this guy
called Max for as long as she can remember but he is literally her dream guy
because he is not real and she only ever knows him
in her dreams and then one day she moves school and he turns up in her classroom
and it basically follows on from there and follows Alice trying to work out
what is going on. I enjoyed this. It was very cute. It's a very easy read but for me
it wasn't necessarily anything special. It was very far-fetched and I didn't
personally feel all that connected to the characters or the plot but having
said that, it was adorable, it was fun and I did like the writing. So I'm definitely
interested to read more from Lucy Keating in the future but it wasn't
anything major for me and I ended up giving it a 3 out of 5 stars.
In November, TV wise, I watched a lot and it was kind of ridiculous but I haven't
been very well but I'm continuing watching 'Jane the Virgin' and loving it.
I finished 'The Good Place' and 'How To Get Away With Murder' at the same time and
was heartbroken because I didn't realise that they were going on midseason hiatuses.
So that was soul destroying and then I started 'Peaky Blinders' and have gotten
totally addicted to it and binge watched the first two seasons
in two days and then I continued watching it and am now completely
caught up with it and I'm absolutely loving that. Which I
think is why 'Six of Crows' reminded me of it so much because it was so fresh in my
mind and then I also just started watching 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' and I am so
incredibly in love with the show. I am on season two I think. Actually no, I think I
just finished season two. I started it a week ago and I've already binge watched
the first two seasons but as I said, I haven't been very well so I've had a lot
of time on my hands but I absolutely love this show. I think Jake and Rosa are
my two favourites but I just love every single character. They are fantastic.
So I'm definitely going to be continuing binge watching that in December. I can't
believe it's December next month. I'm sure properly finish it to be completely honest.
So yeah, that is what I've been watching 'Jane the Virgin',
having my heart broken by 'The Good Place' and How to Get Away With Murder' because
they've finished and I have to wait 'till January. 'Peaky Blinders' is fantastic.
I now know why so many people have constantly been telling me that I need
to watch it. 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine', I think is now
probably one of my favourite shows ever. So yeah, that is everything that I've
been reading and watching in November and I would genuinely absolutely love to
know what you've been reading and watching in November
and what you were hoping to read and watch in December. I will leave the links
to my Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Goodreads, Blog and Snapchat in the description box
below, so feel free to follow me on any of those if you would like and I just
hope you had the most wonderful November and I hope you are having the most
fantastic start to December. Bye!
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