July is over, and so is my free time (for the most part).
But seriously, July was generally a great month! 2019 is truly blowing by and that is absolutely insane to me.
I am terrified but nervously excited about everything in August, but it means a lot of things outside my comfort zone. Personal development, I suppose?
Love that for me β
EMOJI KEY:
βοΈ lead / major side characters of color
π³οΈβπ
lgbtq lead / major side characters
πΈ neurodiversity and trauma
βΏοΈ disability
β¨ New Release Challenge
π¨ Beat the Backlist
π Back to the Classics
π Library Love Challenge
π #YARC2019
π§ Audiobook Challenge 2019
In terms of reading, I read 15 books! I’m honestly really happy with that amount and I think I did fantastic! I managed to finesse my Year of the Asian challenge (and basically boosted the amount of Asian books I read). I read 5 books for the Reading Rush, which was pretty awesome. I read a wide variety of genres, which is also awesome, so.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander (J.K Rowling) β β β ββ (3.5) π¨ π π§ // This was a quick and easy read, which allowed further insight to the Potterverse. I’m truly astonished at how Rowling is able to milk a whole franchise out of this book. More thoughts here!
Kingsbane by Claire Legrand β β β β β π³οΈβπ β¨ // Truly the perfect sequel and gave me everything I was hoping for, objectively speaking. More thoughts here!
The Selection by Kiera Cass β β β β β π¨ π π§ (3.75) // A solid series starter, and an incredibly fun reading experience. More thoughts here.
Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake β β β ββπ¨ π // A solid sequel, but I was hoping for something so much better. More thoughts here.
The Elite by Kiera Cass β β β β β (3.5)π¨ π π§ // This was a good sequel, but definitely the weakest link in the trilogy. It was such a fun read though! More thoughts here.
The One by Kiera Cass β β β β β π¨ π π§ // I didn’t love this as much as I used to, but this was a pretty solid conclusion, and by far the best of the trilogy. More thoughts here.
Maybe This Time by Kasie West β β β β β (4.5) β¨ // The cutest romance with an excellent plot structure. Probably one of my favourite Kasie West novels so far. More thoughts here.
American Panda by Gloria Chao β β β β β (4.75-5) βοΈ π¨ π π π§ // Still as delightful and relatable as I remembered, with the most adorable romance. Also, college YA! More thoughts here.
All the Ways Home by Elsie Chapman β β β β β βοΈβ¨π // This was such a beautiful, deeply character driven novel, and I really need to read more Elsie Chapman books. More thoughts here.
Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi β β β β β (3.5) βοΈπ³οΈβπβ¨π π // A really fun rom-com with great writing but was a tad overdramatic and felt a little incomplete. More thoughts here.
Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber β β β ββ (3.5) πΈπ¨ π π§ // An interesting premise with a unique format and mediocre execution. A fairly forgettable thriller with pretty despicable characters. More thoughts here.
Days Past by Cassandra Clare β β β βββ¨ // So Cassie Clare is releasing a series of free flash fiction stories about the characters of Chain of Gold every month & no one is talking about this? also, Christopher Lightwood. More thoughts here!
The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu β β β β β (4.5) βοΈπΈβ¨π // Such an underrated, beautifully intoxicating read with compelling, nuanced characters and fantastic writing. More thoughts here!
Warcross by Marie Lu βοΈ π³οΈβππΈβΏοΈπ¨ π π π§ β β β β β (4.5) // I did an impulse audio reread of this and it was so great. Right now, it’s ny favourite Marie Lu book. More thoughts here.
Wildcard by Marie Lu βοΈ π³οΈβππΈβΏοΈπ¨ π π π§ β β β ββ (3.5) // A solid sequel, but it is for sure weaker than Warcross, and it had some pretty shaky footing here. More thoughts here.
Honestly, July was such a great blogging month! I managed to generate so much content (especially because it was mid-year time), do a fair bit of interaction on WordPress and Twitter, and I had the best month in terms of stats ever, nearly doubling June’s stats (which was at that point my best month ever)! I personally don’t care about stats that much, but I thought this was pretty cool, so.
And ya girl got nominated in the Third Book Blogging Awards for two categories, like, how? More specifically, for the categories of Best Teen Blogger and Best Small Book Blogger. Voting has already finished at the time this post goes up, but I’m totally crying. I can’t.
- Blog Tour Review + Aesthetic: Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim (ft. an INTL giveaway!!)
- A Very Good June Wrap Up // A Great Reading & Blogging Month (ft. diverse reads!!)
- The Third Annual Book Blogger Awards Categories: My Nominations ft. Me Boosting + Screaming About My Favourite Book Bloggers!!
- Rapid July Reading Plans ft. An Interesting June TBR Wrap Up + An Excitingly Lax TBR!
- My Very Late Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag – some stats + lots of books!
- I’m Actually Reviewing the Books I Read aka My Recent Reads (The Start of a New Feature on the Blog!)
- The Ultimate YA (Mostly) Summer Reading List ft. 50+ Fun, Diverse Summer Reads!
- Down the TBR Hole #11 – Books 86-100
- Buddy Read Chat: Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (ft. Zoe @ Sunny Chapter One + My Very First Collab Post!
- An Interesting, Very Late List of My July to December Anticipated Releases of 2019 // ft. lots of genres, intriguing concepts + more!
Even though my blog hopping wasn’t the best, I did find some pretty cool posts to read this month! I had so many more that I wanted to add, but I forgot to write them down, which SUCKS. I’m literally so annoyed at myself π
- (The delightful) May @ Forever and Everly discussed 4 things you shouldn’t feel guilty about as a blogger
- CW @ The Quiet Pond shares a phenomenal list of YA SFF recommendations with f/f romances!
- Emme @ A Literary Latte stunningly discussed guilt within the bookish community, which was so interesting and relatable! She just started her blog in June and she has quickly becoming one of my favourite bloggers, you all need to check her out ASAP!
- Pam @ Reverie Society asks whether blogging has always been this hard
- Caitlin @ Caitlin Althea writes a fantastic post on why you should never compare your blogging statistics to others
- Kaleena @ Reader Voracious discusses why she switched over to Feedly for blog hopping
- Cailin @ Rose Petal Pages has returned from her hiatus with her review + discussion of Kingsbane! (I am very happy that she is back uwu)
- For the most part life was pretty chill, and not a lot happened?
- So this means ya girl had
toomany sleep ins and lazy days and got the most blogging done! - I was incredibly social this month, and felt like I did the most? It was so much fun though and I truly appreciated spending quality time with my friends & family, as well as catching up with a bunch of people.
- I also managed to met the awesome Laura @ Laura Herondale offline for the first time when she came to Singapore! Which was … both wild and fun. (Laura, you know).
- I went back to KL to visit family and friends! I haven’t seen some of these people forever, and it was really nice to do so again & catch up.
MUSIC:
Music in July was pretty solid? I mostly listened to my summer playlist, as well as my latest music obssesion, Panic! at the Disco’s Pray for the Wicked! Seriously, I can’t stop listening to it, it slaps SO HARD. Thank you to everyone who loved this and recommended it to it, because it was incredible. Also, I found out how much I love Daniel Caesar! So please hit me up with all the Daniel Caesar recs, please.
But I found some all time fave songs, so.
Monthly Playlist
- Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran and Khalid
- Who Do You Love by the Chainsmokers and 5 Seconds of Summer
- Sweater Weather by the Neighbourhood
- (Fuck A) Silver Lining by Panic! at the Disco
- Roaring 20s by Panic! at the Disco
- King of the Clouds by Panic! at the Disco
- Dying in LA by Panic! at the Disco
- Get You (ft. Kali Uchis) by Daniel Caesar
WHAT I WATCHED:
The Lion King β
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This was actually a pretty pleasant surprise! I went into this with pretty low expectations, which ended up being a good thing. I was actually really stressed and felt a deep sense of dread throughout the first third to half of the movie (up to where you know, dies. And yes, I cried and got judged for it). The singing and cast was really great, and the visuals were really stunning. I did enjoy the examination of trauma as well. However, my main issue with this was the lack of originality & twists – it literally just retold the same story. Also, that Be Our Guest callback? I nearly screamed. That was perfection.
- Find a way to generate and schedule all the content I need to for July. ββ (I killed this goal).
- Be better at blog hopping/interaction. ββ Ish? Even though I didn’t do as well as I liked, my blog hopping was marginally better and my Twitter interaction was miles better, so I’m counting that as a win.
- Chill. β I did this for 3/4 of the month, so a definite success.
- Just read (and have some buddy reads?) ββ I did the first part, but I am starting a buddy read super late into the month, welp.
- Continue to organize my spaces/belongings. β I catalogued my savings, and completely reorganized my clothes so I am very happy uwu!!
- Spend time with people I care about and love! ββ I went on a whole bunch of outings with so many good friends and spent a whole week with family, so I super achieved this goal.
Honestly? The amount I can achieve during summer without school and commitments is truly horrifying to me. (Ignore the un-ambitiousness of the goals, but well).
- Figure out what to do about blogging in August. I’m going to be talking about this in the next section, but I’m going ti be insanely busy in August. I’m trying to get a few posts up, of course, but it seems that I might have to take some sort of break. We’ll see how much I can get scheduled before, I suppose.
- Buy and gather all supplies needed for the move. Since I’m moving to Bangkok in August, I have to ensure that I have all the supplies I need in order to be prepared and to reduce my new school, new place anxiety. Which is … not fun.
- Revamp my closet. This is a pretty self-explanatory goal, and I don’t want to get to into it right now, because I’m both not in the mood and lazy.
- Pack up! Another self-explanatory goal. I want to do this as efficiently as possible, and I’m not looking forward to it because I truly despise packing.
- Farewells. I’m going to need to wrap up things in Singapore, and I want to get all my important farewells done before I step on that plane.
August is truly such a busy month to the point where it is lowkey/highkey stressful. The biggest thing is that I’m going to be starting at my new school! It is terrifying and is making me nervous, but I am excited for the prospect of a new start.
Though I’m starting school pretty late (at the end of August!), everything leading up to that is absolutely jam packed. I’m going on a family holiday to China (my first time ever) and it’s going to be SO busy oh my god. But it will definitely be interesting!
Following that, I’m going to be back in Singapore focusing on packing and moving my stuff to Bangkok! Since I will be coming back to Singapore for the holidays, it ideally shouldn’t give me a slight breather. I’m also going to try and just tie up some loose ends, I guess?
And I’ll be trying to adjust to things in the new school, so hopefully I can hit the ground running? (Can you tell that I’m nervous?)
Since August is so busy, I’m seriously considering taking a blogging hiatus? I feel like such a bad and fake blogger for taking hiatuses every two to three months, but I don’t know whether blogging will be sustainable. I’m going to try to have some posts ready in August, but ahhh I don’t know. It’s most likely not gonna happen. At the very least, I’ll be really slow in replying to comments. I’ll probably do a more formal announcement if I do go on hiatus. We’ll see.
How was July for you? What was your favorite book that you read this month, and what did you read? Bloggers, what were some of your favorite posts this month? Feel free to share them here! Did you set goals last month, and how did you do on them?
I would love to know.
I hope August is wonderful for you all!
Okay … so I just started following you recently … and i have to say … I LOVE your review key! I think that’s such a brillliant idea! I’ve been wanting to incorporate something on my blog to help indicate diverse reads I have … I think I’m going to made a TAG page … which means I have a LOT of work to do ha-ha! AND WOW !! YOU READ SO MUCH! I’m super envious …
I’m rather nervous to see The Lion King, since it was my favourite growing up … but I told my friend I would see it so fingers crossed I love it as much as everyone else seems to love it!
Great month and happy August!
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Ahh Jenna, you’re truly too kind! I’m so happy you love my review key β€ Best of luck with the tag page & I hope everything goes well with it! I really try to read a lot, but this was one of the better months since it was summer, so. I hope you enjoy the Lion King and that it lives up to any expectations you have of it! Have an amazing August!
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You did a splendid job! And thank you … HOPEFULLY I finally get to it ha-ha! I went on a mini vacation and am now playing catch up with my blog and other elements of my life lol!
I hope so too … it’s one of my childhood favourite movies … so I hope it’s good!! Have a wonderful August as well! β€
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I hope you had a lovely vacation & enjoy the Lion King (if you haven’t seen it already). I hope you had the most wonderful August β€
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Thank you! The Lion King was … meh, in my opinion. The original’s WAY better β€
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Ah, sorry to hear you didn’t like it! I hope the films you do end up watching in the near future are great, though π
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I am so concerned that it is already August as well — I don’t understand how it is August at the minute!! ππ But yes 15 books that is amazing!!
I am SO glad to hear that you loved American Panda and I can’t wait to read it ππ It sounds great and I definitely love that it is YA college!!
I read Warcross this year and really liked it as well — probably my favourite Marie Lu book too but I still need to finish The Young Elites series!! I have yet to read Wildcard which I know isn’t as good as Warcross but I think going in with lowered expectations will help a bit π
Well done on doubling your statistics that is amazing!! And of course congratulations on your book blogger nominations– you deserve it so much!! You are so kind and your blog is incredible!! π
It is so nice that you got to spend some time with family and friends– it is always so lovely to do that!!
We have similar favourites from pray for the wicked– I love King of the Clouds and Roaring 20s!!
August sounds like it will be super busy– I hope you have a lovely holiday in China and bet of luck with the move and starting school!! I would be nervous too but I am sure it will all go well and you will meet some awesome people because that is what you deserve !! And please don’t feel bad for taking hiatuses– you have to do what is best for you and I will always be ready to read your posts when you come back!! π
Have a great month!! π
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The months truly fly by, don’t they? It’s absolutely insane. I’m really happy about 15 books, and proud of it too! I hope you love American Panda and I can’t wait to read your thoughts on it β€οΈ And of course on all the Marie Lu books! Thank you so much Sophie! You’re truly such a sweetheart & just so kind. I’m crying inside at all your kind words πβ€οΈCongratulations on your nomination, truly so happy for you! I hope you spent your July & August, ofc, with your loved ones as well! As for PftW, I suppose great minds think alike, don’t they? π Sophie, I’m crying again over your kindness – what did I do to deserve you? I can’t ππ© You deserve the world & all the love & light in the world! Your support means so, so much to me β€οΈβ€οΈ Have a fantastic August, love!
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They really do– I mean it is September now like how!?!? (also sorry for my late response) 15 books is amazing!! Yay I am excited to get to American Panda!!
You’re welcome of course– you’re really lovely and so kind to me!! You deserve every good things that comes your way and your blog is AMAZING!! I just saw today that you won best small book blogger award which made me so happy to see– it is so well deserved!! Congratulations! π And thank you so much– I couldn’t believe it!!
Yes I did thank you π!! Yes that must be it, we both have great minds!!
Aww… Taasia you deserve it, you are wonderful!! I hope starting school went well!! Thank you so much, so do you!! πThank you, I hope August was great for you!!
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Thank you so much, Sophie! I really hope you enjoy American Panda π Says the absolutely loveliest, you’re too kind π And ahhh, you keep showering me with all these compliments! Seriously, I’m not worthy ππ Just great mind things I guess? Ahahah. And overall, Sophie, thank you so much for your kind words, and forever blessed for your friendship π
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Thank you!!
Aww.. thank you, of course I really mean!! You more than deserve all good things π
Yes absolutely!! haha!!
Thank you so much— I feel very lucky to have your friendship as well!! π
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You’re just the sweetest, Sophie! π
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taasia, i’m wishing you all the luck on your move & new school! i know how stressful changes can be, but i’m sure everything will work out in the end. i think it’s understandable if you have to take a hiatus, after all, a lot is happening, but i’m sending you a lot of positive vibes so you can manage everything in the best possible way!
i have never been much of a panic! at the disco person and legit the only song i can probably name from them is that ancient, iconic one with a super long title. (wow, that was really helpful, i’m going to search it. I WRITE SINS NOT TRAGEDIES!!(#!( that’s right). i used to watch this music video on a regular basis on MTV and was low-key terrified of it. but yeah, that’s my overall knowledge on the band. i’ll make a mental note to check out this most recent album and see how i feel about their sound.
i’m glad you enjoyed the lion king so much! i’ve seen so many polarizing comments about it. my best friend watched it and really didn’t like it, but i also think he went with high expectations, being such a huge fan of the lion king story. i haven’t watched it and i don’t think i will because there are just some other movies in my radar atm, but when it’s available online, i’m sure i’ll give it a try. i’m not a huge lion king fan, so i think i’ll be pleasantly surprised!
once again, wishing you an amazing august! π
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Lais, you are truly too kind! Your words were really reassuring & validating, and something I really needed β€οΈ Sending all the positive vibes back to you! I definitely need to give I Write Sins Not Tragedies another go & I hope you like it! As well as PftW, of course. I hope you enjoy the Lion King Andy that it might be a pleasant surprise! Wishing you’d he most amazing August, and sending you allows the love & light! π
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It seems like you had such a great July Taasia! 15 BOOKS WOW?!
American Panda, The Selection and Warcross have been on my tbr since forever so Iβm so excited to get to them and glad to see you liked them! Iβve heard so many positive things about them (apart from selection which seems to be pretty hit and miss haha).
Thanks so much for mentioning my post thatβs so kind of you!!π€§π
Best of luck with your move and the new school, hope all goes really well for you & your family!
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I’m really proud of myself as well, honestly! I assure you this is far from the norm, though π I hope you love all three novels when you get around to them, and I can’t wait to see what you think of them! Your post was amazing, so of course I had to boost it! β€οΈ Thank you so much for your kind words, Emme! So grateful & appreciative π
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I’m glad you were able to read so many amazing books – and so many books in general! – in July π Sounds like it was a good month!! Ahh all those new changes coming in August are understandably intimidating, but I know you’ll have the best time! Hope everything goes smoothly π
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Thank you, Margaret! I hope you had a fantastic July β€οΈ You’re truly too kind, and I appreciate your words & kindness, again, thank you so much! I hope you are having a wonderful August!
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OH MY GOSH I LOVE THE NEIGHBOURHOOD SO MUCH SWEATER WEATHER HAS BEEN ONE OF MY FAV SONGS SINCE LIKE 6TH GRADE (lol i got excited) and oh my gosh 15 books is INCREDIBLE!! I read 9 books in July which I’m super happy with for me because I’ve barely been managing to read 5 a month up until this point, haha. Also thank you so much for featuring my post it means so much *cries* And omg I always forget to write down my favorite posts to feature in wrap-ups and it’s so!! frustrating!! but I am DETERMINED to do better this month and get a decent-sized list of all my faves. I hope everything goes well for you in August with packing + moving + school and all!
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CAILIN I GOT INTO SWEATER WEATHER SO LATE BUT I’M SO HAPPY I LOVE IT NOW. You’re too sweet and ily β€οΈβ€οΈ 9 books is incredible too & I’m so proud of you! I love you & your blog, and I loved your post so ofc I had to boost it β€οΈ And about the blog post thing – same. I always get so annoyed about it smh. Thank you for being such an amazing & supportive human, I’m just crying in the corner here ππ I hope you are having the most amazing August!!
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So glad that you liked the post Taasia, and I’m so jealous of people who don’t care about stats haha. I hope you have a lot of fun in China, plus at your new school!! that must be so scary yet exciting ahhhh
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Your post was fantastic so OFC I had to boost it!! So much love for you & your blog ahh β€οΈ It’s something that I had to train myself for, but I’m so grateful that I don’t care about my stats as much as I used to! Everyone’s on their own journey so you do you β€οΈ Thank you so much for all your kind words, incredibly grateful β€οΈ I hope you are having an amazing August!
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I just got into the book blogging community so I’m just getting a feel for things but my favorite book I read this month was How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow. I thought it was really great.
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That’s absolutely awesome! I’ve heard some pretty solid things about it, so I’ll have to look into it more. Happy reading!
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So glad to hear that you’ve had such a fantastic blogging and reading month! π Things slowed down in July for me as well, as I was able to go on vacation and the semester finished π Oh and Panic! at the Disco is fantastic π I hope that August will turn out okay, even if it’s really busy π
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Thank you, Caro! I’m so glad to hear that you were able to go on vacation – I hope you had an incredible time! Panic! at the Disco really is fantastic and I need to check out more of their albums. Thank you for your kind words, and I hope your August is amazing β€οΈ
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omg you reread so many books last month!!! also, yeah life was super chill for me and I slept in… a LOT. and I’m still sleeping in. So. Also I’m glad that the Lion King was good!! I’ve actually seen a lot of people talk about it positively and I haven’t really seen many negative reviews, which is interesting! I don’t think I’ll go see it in theaters, bc I’m not a huge fan of this whole retelling phase we have rn, but like. YAY.
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Yeah, July really was the month of mood rereading all the things?? Idk lmaooo. Sleeping in was a lot of my summer Mood ngl, and kind of still is. As for the Lion King, I’ve been seeing a lot of mixed reviews, especially from those with high expectations. I hope you enjoy it if you see it though!
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sis, youre killing it at the reading & blogging game!! 15 books!! look at you GOOOO. the reading rush really saves book lives, it is an amazing time
it looks like you really had an amazing month and im so happy for youuu ππ you totally deserve it just like how you totally deserve those 2 nominations in the book blogger awards
good luck on your august goals and i hope youre having a great trip, and YES YOURE ALLOWED TO TAKE BREAKS YOURE AN AMAZING BLOGGER DONT SAY SUCH LIES
hope august is going amazing for youπ
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Says you, the ultimate Queen! Ahahaha I tried, but look at you go, 20 books in a month! Readathons save lives, really, as well as my GR Challenge π© YOU ARE SO SWEET I LOVE YOU SO MUCH WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE YOU? You so deserve your nomination as well & I’m so proud of you! Thank you so much fav, so so grateful for youuu ππ Idk whether I’ll take a full break, but we will see! I hope you are having the amazing august you deserve and an amazing day in general β€οΈ
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Great wrap up, love!!! β€ Ah, congrats on reading so much in July! And so many Asian reads too! Yay!! I'm so happy you loved American Panda! It was one of my favorite reads last year. Mei is the cutest, and that book gave me all the happy feels. I was pleasantly surprised by the Lion King as well! My expectations for that one were painfully low, so it was nice to see that it was better than I thought it would be! And, if you need to take a hiatus, I'm sure we all understand, and will support your decision! You don't need to feel guilty for taking time to focus on yourself and everything else in your life! β€
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Thank you so much, Kelly! You’re so sweet ahhh β€οΈ We love reading all the Asian things, ofc! I love and will continue to love American Panda, and I’m so glad you did too! It just makes me so happy. I’m glad that the Lion King was also a pleasant surprise for you! Thank you for supporting me, I’m truly so grateful and blessed to know you π
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Look at all the reading and awesomeness you had in July!!! I am so glad you loved Kingsbane too, I swear I am still traumatized from that book and I read it months ago, lol. Thanks so much for linking to my post, and I hope you are having a good August (not a month to be feared!)
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Kingsbane was so good, oh my goodness! I still haven’t recovered from it. Your post was brilliant so I had to link to it. And thank you so much for your kind words! They are extremely appreciated π
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