tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89700873973096304102024-02-22T05:08:28.206+13:00Novelly Ellaliterature meets lifestyleElla @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-42363755184652179682020-10-03T20:08:00.003+13:002020-10-03T20:22:28.155+13:00A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik succeded all my monstrous magic school dreams<p> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRC7Spc5Gw8g-pU9mxDB4bFctm2yYjb7udzmuRQ9oWUfyzw5i-ozAa3GlkMrIEz2bQaUys5lYSgzHzFkCa2qIu4SFzoOwwkZ1d8B5-xRzkX-3UnbJW2WVXcVSwPRwtK7rb8Rq9gyMm6Y/s2048/ADE+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRC7Spc5Gw8g-pU9mxDB4bFctm2yYjb7udzmuRQ9oWUfyzw5i-ozAa3GlkMrIEz2bQaUys5lYSgzHzFkCa2qIu4SFzoOwwkZ1d8B5-xRzkX-3UnbJW2WVXcVSwPRwtK7rb8Rq9gyMm6Y/w480-h640/ADE+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><i> *Thank you <a href="https://www.penguin.co.nz/">Penguin NZ</a> for the review copy!</i><br /></p><p> </p><p><b>If you can't get enough of dark academia, magic schools, spiky heroines and fucked up monsters, A DEADLY EDUCATION has been crafted just for you. </b></p><p> </p><p>I felt like A DEADLY EDUCATION was stuffed to bursting with all the things I love and adore about fantasy and it was absolutely HEAVENLY to get completely swept away every time I picked it up. I loved every single word. Well, maybe not the cliffhanger ending that made my jaw pop from clenching so hard but besides that I had no complaints. Definitely going on my fav books of 2020 list! </p><p> </p><p>A DEADLY EDUCATION has a very different tone from Novik's previous books and I couldn't get enough of it. I'll be keen to see what other readers think of it as it think it'll be polarizing among some readers. For me, the light tone made the book a lot easier and more fun to read. It's quite a dark tale with extremely high stakes so I was relieved the writing style was light and sarcastic as otherwise I don't think I could've handled the tension in the book at times! </p><p> </p><p>I love me some epic magical world building and Novik delivered another fascinating world I could easily spend hours reading about how it works. I was impressed with all the different kinds of spells and monsters that were described in fascinating detail. I adore a truly terrifying beastie and Novik's are so well imagined that they all felt like they were going to jump off the page and eat me.</p><p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XQrNRm5lXgum21AyhqK_2Ph09jRS1bZhw4I9Hbt8BeOm0mJ5pYN-r5g7OMSXMJf29FTbEknO5SBn5KjG8EhStrzoJB9lxBzKDJR8s5HWoek5f3P_Y6W6IVWx3OaiHMNcTezHSrIxbhI/s2048/ADE+4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XQrNRm5lXgum21AyhqK_2Ph09jRS1bZhw4I9Hbt8BeOm0mJ5pYN-r5g7OMSXMJf29FTbEknO5SBn5KjG8EhStrzoJB9lxBzKDJR8s5HWoek5f3P_Y6W6IVWx3OaiHMNcTezHSrIxbhI/w640-h480/ADE+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p> </p><p>Another thing I loved was the magic school setting and how bleak and desperate it was. I thought it was great how it distanced itself away from more traditional imaginings of magic schools and is something I need more of in my life in the future! </p><p> </p><p>Character wise, I thought El was wonderfully spiky and interesting to follow - she's a 'Chosen One' type except she'd rather be anything but. She's also got a bit of the anti-hero in her as well which I'm hoping will be developed further in the next book.
I am surprised this series is being marketed as an adult series considering how young El's voice was. Although I can tell both adults and young adults will enjoy this book, it'll definitely be the YA aged readers that will click with El's character more. </p><p> </p><p>I found A DEADLY EDUCATION such a blast to read and really appreciated that the book was more focused on being a delight to read than a super heavy fantasy. More like this, please!</p><p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Buy this book:</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/product/9781529100860">Whitcoulls</a> / <a href="https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/a-deadly-education/33338805">Mighty Ape</a> <br /></p>Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-11132386990829243482020-07-05T19:00:00.004+12:002020-07-05T19:00:13.763+12:00What did I do before Libby?
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPTs-BKL5KQdR9kpKbzMIVmGNOPZ2zub0uzUehXF3ZWHSvrdhn-U-1AokNX-kBK2dfcbcmjc6KLD2gv7udzbBPC32FKtoIxW6UYxz1E9uR3sQ48uAZ3300KhrabF72tSgfRYh7jShLcg/s3072/IMG_20200415_091104_954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="3072" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPTs-BKL5KQdR9kpKbzMIVmGNOPZ2zub0uzUehXF3ZWHSvrdhn-U-1AokNX-kBK2dfcbcmjc6KLD2gv7udzbBPC32FKtoIxW6UYxz1E9uR3sQ48uAZ3300KhrabF72tSgfRYh7jShLcg/w640-h640/IMG_20200415_091104_954.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4CSByWGbl2-x4H4HzOMupQAew7mCYUe1Hf3M9NyDFLf6oCdVmiMBKXYHVJc8cIix9cgcIuD-pgQXdMFvPFNrcKyBgP_0-2WrvAUkKp2eKlTuZZv-HTm28Kxcy1Lr6tRLbpNzaVeI80k/s3072/IMG_20200409_125051_491.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="5">PROS:</font><br /></div>
<br />
<b>It's saved me SO much money.</b> Instead of buying books on kindle, I just get them out on Libby now!<br />
<br />
<b>It's made me read waaaaay more broadly.</b> I've read way more recipe
books, memoirs and general nonfiction than I normally do when I'm
reading purely from my kindle and my physical TBR which I think is
great.<br />
<br />
<b>Audiobooks!</b> I am the pickiest person you've ever met when it
comes to audiobooks but I've found a few that I've ACTUALLY really
enjoyed and which have been really useful when I'm doing mind numbingly
boring tasks like scraping three tons of blue tac off my bedroom wall.<br />
<br />
<b>It's such a time-waste curer.</b> Walking to uni? Read on Libby. Driving? Listen to an audiobook on Libby. Got a spare ten minutes somewhere? Read on Libby.<br />
<br />
<b>I read SO much faster on Libby than a physical book.</b> I'm a fast
reader anyway but my god there's something about Libby that just lets
me zoom through books on there. Magic or just my annoying
competitiveness to try and finish a book more quickly than Libby
estimates I will? We'll never know... <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><font size="5">CONS:</font><br /></div>
<br />
<b>Poor Montgomery, my beloved kindle has been collecting a bit of dust over the last few months.</b> I keep meaning to pick him up and read some stuff on my kindle, but Libby keeps distracting me!<br />
<br />
<b>I don't love doing so much reading on a phone screen.</b> I spend a
lot of time with my face in a screen already and although I love how
flexible it is to have Libby on my phone, I miss reading physical books
and my kindle as well (my kindle doesn't feel as 'screeny' as a phone
screen...yes I am aware that sentence probably made zero sense, MOVING
ON).<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Why do you only get ten holds and ten loans at a time?</b> Thankfully
I've got my sister's card on my phone as well so I can put some of my
holds and loans on her card, but I find it annoying that you've only got
such a small number of stuff out when there's SO many books available
on Libby.<br />
<br />
<b>Libby has definitely cut down my trips to the library.</b> Which is
something I'm trying to rectify this year as libraries are incredible
and good for your health and we must support them!<br />
<font size="5"><br />
</font><div style="text-align: center;">
<font size="5">do you use libby? what do you think of it?</font></div></div>Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-29891140469616751192020-06-28T19:00:00.002+12:002020-06-28T19:00:02.748+12:0021 bookish things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjof3Jo8L2-ZvMbLuhLqojG8r1eHYS_j33aoSadcnMlF2pJv6FVh3uXgplLR35R-99IWnNIyWTFFGpPJseLgfLam3lXks_XWETUMJYEvMxaKMm6EgUo-8LloPPCQllQwuDOGtsJU0Hp1z0/s3072/IMG_20200504_201316_067.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="3072" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjof3Jo8L2-ZvMbLuhLqojG8r1eHYS_j33aoSadcnMlF2pJv6FVh3uXgplLR35R-99IWnNIyWTFFGpPJseLgfLam3lXks_XWETUMJYEvMxaKMm6EgUo-8LloPPCQllQwuDOGtsJU0Hp1z0/w640-h640/IMG_20200504_201316_067.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>1)</b> I'm ever so slowly becoming keener on audiobooks...I've successfully listened to two audiobooks (don't judge me!!) all the way through and really enjoyed them so let's see if I can listen to another two before the end of the year!<br /></div>
<br />
<b>2)</b> Historical fiction has claimed its place as my favourite genre once again! Fantasy got the top spot for a few years but it's nice to feel like I'm going back to my 'first bookish love' which was historical fiction.<br />
<br />
<b>3)</b> I am quickly becoming the biggest memoir freak EVER. The genre is taking over my life, send help! The weirder the person's life is/has been, the quicker I eat that shit up.<br />
<br />
<div><b>4)</b> I'm currently remaking my book page wall and I HATE IT HERE; I never want to do it again, lol.<br /></div><div><br /></div>
<b>5)</b> I still hate reading anything with ghost shit in it. Anything above MG and it's a MASSIVE no from me. I don't understand how I'm completely fine with blood, gore and general murder/psychopathic stuff but ghost books make me never want to come out from under my bed ever again.<br />
<br />
<b>6)</b> Murder mysteries set in boarding schools are SO ADDICTIVE. I've become obsessed with them in the last year and I can't get enough of them!<br />
<br />
<b>7)</b> I am now shockingly not such a hardback fan?? Like I still think hardbacks are gorgeous but when I buy books now I'm starting to turn to buying paperbacks instead of hardbacks which is something I've NEVER wanted to do in the past?<br />
<b><br />
8)</b> It took me until the grand age of 21, to realize what a MASSIVE mood reader I am. I always thought I was in control of what I wanted to read but....NO. Ohhhh no I am not. I don't know how some readers stick to monthly TBRs as it's just impossible for me!<br />
<br />
<b>9)</b> I didn't think I was in a reading slump because I've been reading so much this year but I realized the other day that I've actually enjoyed so little of what I've read this year. So maybe a 'reading a lot but not enjoying anything' slump? Which is sad!<br />
<br />
<b>10)</b> On a happier note, here are some books I HAVE read and loved this year: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35530507-a-murderous-relation">A MURDEROUS RELATION by Deanna Raybourn</a>; <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49519916-to-have-and-to-hoax">TO HAVE AND TO HOAX by Martha Waters</a>; <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17165593-mortal-arts">MORTAL ARTS by Anna Lee Huber</a>; <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23617709-the-rogue-not-taken">THE ROGUE NOT TAKEN by Sarah MacLean</a>; and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34594037-magic-for-liars">MAGIC FOR LIARS by Sarah Gailey</a>!<br />
<br />
<b>11)</b> I just want the New Adult genre to make a proper comeback lmao.<br />
<br />
<div><b>12)</b> Something that's been giving me so much bookish joy over the last few months is Bookstagram! <a href="https://www.instagram.com/novellyella/">You can check out my account here if you like!</a> I find it so positive, lovely and uplifting, plus so many pretty book photos!</div><div><br /></div>
<b>13)</b> I'm never found it so hard to make room for reading then this year. My second year of uni is asking so much more of me then my first year plus trying to do uni work among Covid-19 worries and lockdown has been such a struggle.<br />
<br />
<b>14)</b> Really want to try and up my classics game a bit more as the few classics I've read so far this year I've really enjoyed! Any recs?<br />
<br />
<b>15)</b> I feel like in the last year my favourite genres have moved around a bit, but my least-favourite genre has stayed exactly the same and won't be budging from that spot and that is SCI-FI. I used to actually like sci-fi when I was younger but now, I can't stand it.<br />
<br /><div>
<b>16)</b> My favourite bookish blogs at the moment: <a href="http://wordswithlara.com/">Words With Lara</a>, <a href="http://www.happyindulgencebooks.com/">Happy Indulgence</a> and <a href="https://www.thebooksatchel.com/">The Book Satchel</a>!<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>17)</b> My favourite booktube channels at the moment: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoNWs9UYusJ9lHtGuxP1q0g">Zoe's All Booked</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwt-et9oTmEfmNzjSAWxw5g">fictionalfates</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcZATqh3imkoFBQPlZiL1xA">chanelletime</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqV6GHOn3gKCacCHJzhKSQQ">A Frolic Through Fiction</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCamkpihJtPvMuH49D6FejEw">The Artisan Geek</a>!<br /></div>
<br />
<b>18)</b> I've read over 100 books so far this year! Hope I can hit 150 before the end of the year!<br />
<br />
<b>19)</b> April 2020 marked 6!!!!! years of <i>Novelly Ella</i>!! Oh my god I can't believe I've been blogging for so long and that the people of the internet have been putting up with my bookish shitposting for so long!!!<br />
<br />
<b>20)</b> I just finished reading...<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36586697-queenie?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Rx0xvdWHu6&rank=1">QUEENIE by Candice Carty-Williams</a> (really good, definitely recommend!!).<br />
<br />
<div><b>21)</b> I'm currently reading...<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40275288-the-priory-of-the-orange-tree?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=c4nPAdDaxN&rank=1">THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE </a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40275288-the-priory-of-the-orange-tree?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=c4nPAdDaxN&rank=1">by Samantha Shannon</a> (YES, I am finally reading this for real after putting it off for 18 months!!).</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="5">tell me something bookish about yourself!</font><br /></div>Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-5233640788066100582020-06-21T20:00:00.006+12:002020-06-21T20:11:29.654+12:00All the things I loved about The Switch by Beth O'Leary<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTavGNRSe5PXaEsrJckj9BNqfXEIcsScQaBzZbb0hKgw3qMhCGY3HgK1iB5YeX-ilyUYmTs8c1yeCygNZWRybqsdTU9epKjtZPjpPr98SWF7ZNWqTP3E6NRAGpUnEdLr9uRbg_Cue2U9Y/s2048/Shared+from+Lightroom+mobile%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTavGNRSe5PXaEsrJckj9BNqfXEIcsScQaBzZbb0hKgw3qMhCGY3HgK1iB5YeX-ilyUYmTs8c1yeCygNZWRybqsdTU9epKjtZPjpPr98SWF7ZNWqTP3E6NRAGpUnEdLr9uRbg_Cue2U9Y/w600-h800/Shared+from+Lightroom+mobile%25281%2529.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45134200-the-switch?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=iqIjdWG0V6&rank=1"><i>The Switch</i> by Beth O'Leary</a> landed in my letterbox mid-May and and oh my god, can I just say the book truly got me through the last few weeks of my uni semester and exams. It was the perfect blend of wonderfully crafted characters, snappy dialogue and an intertwining storyline that pulled on my heart strings so hard, I was a weepy mess at the end! I went into <i>The Switch</i> with high expectations as I'd recently read O'Leary's debut novel,<i> The Flatshare</i> and loved it so much and I'm SO over the moon <i>The Switch</i> more than delivered. And in fact, after thinking about it for a few days, I think <i>The Switch</i> has stolen the top spot over O'Leary's books so far (so bloody excited for her next release, I know it's literally a year away, but I can't waaaait!). <br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>
One thing I've been blown away by in both of O'Leary's books is her expertise in weaving two completely different perspectives and POVs in one story. There is nothing more I begrudge when reading a book then having to trudge through two or more POV's that either sound exactly the same or one of the character's voice and/or storyline is so boring that you either skim or skip to the more interesting charter's chapter (<i>Eragon</i>, anyone??). That's never the case in O'Leary's books however, and <i>The Switch</i> is a perfect example of that. The great grandmother and granddaughter combo, Eileen and Leena are interwoven so well together in shared chapters but also stood out as individual characters in their own chapters and personal arcs throughout the book as well. I was really impressed how clearly different and engaging Eileen and Lena were from their stories to their characters to their voices and Eileen was my faaaaavourite (of course!). Look, I would go to the ends of the earth for Eileen...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I also LOVE how well O'Leary can flesh out all her characters, not just her main characters! Is there anything more annoying when the main characters are fleshed out to perfection in a book but all the secondary characters feel like bits of cardboard that suck?? Because I know I do! All of the characters in this book, not just the main characters felt so incredibly real and fleshed out. I instantly fell for all of them (except some people who shall not be named...) and felt like I knew them SO well by the end of the book. I wanted them all to have their own spinoff books/stories, dammit! Would 10/10 buy a novella/short story collection about all the secondary characters... <br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>
The sneaky and snappy humour that O'Leary is so good at writing that had me cackling so much while I was reading <i>The Switch</i>! All the characters had some really good lines but OF COURSE Eileen was full of the best ones. Honestly, I'm surprised she didn't give stand up a go while she was in London, because she would've KILLED IT. Also, I normally never cry when reading romance/uplifting fiction but phewww Beth O’Leary knows how to get my tear ducts GOING and they didn’t stop once they did. The way grief was written hit me hard in the heart and done so well. And then that ending??? The last page??? I WAS SOBBING and messaged my friend <a href="http://wordswithlara.com/">Lara @ Words With Lara</a> as soon as I finished the book literally telling her how much the book had messed with my feelings/emotions URGHHHH, I’m still a soggy mess!<br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>*A review copy of The Switch by Beth O'Leary was kindly provided for review by <a href="https://www.hachette.co.nz/">Hachette New Zealand</a>. Thank you, Hachette!*</i><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><font size="5">buy this book!</font></b></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/the-switch/29768996">MightyApe</a> / <a href="https://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/p/the-switch-by-beth-oleary/R2662783.html">The Warehouse</a> / <a href="https://www.paperplus.co.nz/shop/books/fiction/romance/the-switch-515723"> Paper Plus</a> / <a href="https://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/product/the-switch-6538031">Whitcoulls</a></b></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="51023454" height="200" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580997545l/51023454.jpg" width="129" /></div><div></div><div></div><div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen. <br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Once Leena learns of Eileen's romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another's shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected. <br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn't as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect - and distractingly handsome - school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?</i></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="5">have you read anything by beth o'leary? if you haven't, what's your favourite romantic feel-good 'all the emotions' book rec that you love recommending to people?? i need more books like beth o'leary's in my life!!</font><br /></div>Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-48190014783149779772020-05-03T13:00:00.000+12:002020-05-03T13:00:09.876+12:00Lately Life: January to April 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-MbkfB5PoWIhWS3kghjVrLXBYmY_eYbryXGQ6GmNOX6C6mis4JMSxSa3S-29jA5WAri2lrvAAviM2btdNFg7fCediI2R4DTLCoOrW6KV4a-3WNi8OKhjFnN0SB95gRR2WQ2wzYtRiqw/s1600/IMG_20200407_082126_692.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-MbkfB5PoWIhWS3kghjVrLXBYmY_eYbryXGQ6GmNOX6C6mis4JMSxSa3S-29jA5WAri2lrvAAviM2btdNFg7fCediI2R4DTLCoOrW6KV4a-3WNi8OKhjFnN0SB95gRR2WQ2wzYtRiqw/s640/IMG_20200407_082126_692.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Oh, hello! How are you? I hope you're well and safe and doing as okay as
you currently can in this current hellfire at the moment. This year I
really wanted to start posting more personal 'lifey' posts on here so
I'd like to introduce you to<i> 'Lately Life'</i>. A four-monthly update
of my year so far, taking you from my monthly updates to the highs and
low of my reading life and beyond. Hope you enjoy!<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>What have I been doing?</b></h3>
<br />
I don't even know! 2020 has been such a weird blur so far. <b>January</b> was spent job hunting (fml), enjoying summer and the last of the uni holiday freedom. <b>February</b> was spent getting reluctantly ready to start my second year of uni, trying to get my shit together for both uni and my holiday to Australia for my sister's wedding (!!!). I then spent the last few days of February in Australia and it was AMAZINGGG. Oh, and I got a copywriting job in February as well which is exciting as I've never been paid to write before!<br />
<br />
I spent the first few days of <b>March</b> in Australia as well before coming back home to catch up on a ton of uni and the beginning of the world as we know it changing forever. AKA Covid19 starting to get really serious in New Zealand and the rest of the world. Fast forward a few weeks and NZ was put into lockdown which has been an experience that's hard to explain but a lot of you probably can relate to although unless you live in NZ it might not have been as strict and intense (for good reasons!). <b>April</b> was spent in lockdown, obsessing over news and trudging my way through SO many awful uni assignments skskskskskskskkk. Honestly, my two brain cells so done, please send any spare my way.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>What I have been reading?</b></h3>
<br />
A lot! I've read 79 books so far this year! Unfortunately a lot of them were crappy reads but I think it's mostly my fault as I've been in a bit of a reading slump since January. <b>Some favourites:</b> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52498909-a-murderous-relation?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=QkZrApJcPa&rank=1"><i>A Murderous Relation</i> by Deanna Raybourn</a> (!!!my heart!!!), <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13542496-the-anatomist-s-wife?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=b7I4DOq3Bu&rank=1">the <i>Lady Darby</i> series by Anna Lee Huber</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17259690-the-foxhole-court?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=M42b96h57v&rank=1"><i>The Foxhole Court </i>trilogy by Nora Sakavic</a>, and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44307972-magic-for-liars-sneak-peek?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=iItS4UG3ix&rank=2"><i>Magic For Liars</i> by Sarah Gailey.</a> <b>Some disappointments:</b> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26032912-the-queen-of-nothing?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=tmoDU8VZFV&rank=1"><i>The Queen of Nothing </i>by Holly Black</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41957551-faker?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=4Gb7UMhCN7&rank=9"><i>Faker</i> by Sarah Smith</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43263486-the-widow-of-rose-house?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Gy1FbDCbzb&rank=1"><i>The Widow of Rose House</i> by Diana Biller</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38244358-in-an-absent-dream?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=RTv1Lx22Gs&rank=1"><i>In An Absent Dream</i> by Seanan McGuire</a>.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>What I have been writing?</b></h3>
Oh, only thousands of words of painful uni assignments that made me question how or <i>when</i> I will ever will see the end of them. I've neglected the poor blog because I have just no energy to write anything else but uni work. I was also hoping to start rewriting my novel AND start writing another new one this year but uni + Covid has eaten all my energy or motivation.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Media consumed?</b></h3>
<b>So. Much. News.</b> Especially from <a href="http://Lucifer and the biscuit hammer">The Spinoff</a> (my absolute fav, I want to work for them one day) and <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/">RNZ</a>. Trying to keep my news to a healthy minimum now as at the beginning of the lockdown I was just refreshing dozens of news sites all day every day and that shit is NOT HEALTHY. <br />
<br />
<b>TV Love:</b> Miss Scarlet and the Duke is giving me LIFE right now as its the most ridiculous fun to watch. I just finished season 6 of Friday night Dinner AND MY HEARTTTT. Killing Eve season 3 is currently not impressing me which I'm GUTTED about but surely it's going to improve? Surely??<br />
<br />
<h3>
On my mind?</h3>
<br />
I appreciate the lengths my uni is trying to go to make online uni as smooth as possible but should I really be paying full fees when I'm having to do uni from home?? Also while I'm appreciative of the fact that I have the opportunity to carry on my university education, I am so fucking not in the mindspace or mood to do uni right now. Counting down the minutes until this semester is overrrrr.<br />
<br />
I've been tossing up the move to Wordpress for years and <a href="https://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2020/02/discussing-headliners-by-lucy-parker.html">Lara's move to Wordpress</a> is definitely tempting me! I'm only worried about losing content in the move.<br />
<br />
<h3>
What's been on the blog?</h3>
Um, hello empty silence since February. I talked about <a href="https://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2020/02/2020-reading-and-blogging-goals.html">my 2020 readings goals</a>, <a href="https://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2020/02/all-books-that-climbed-into-my-heart.html">my favourite books of 2019</a> and discussed <a href="https://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2020/02/discussing-headliners-by-lucy-parker.html">Headliners by Lucy Parker with Lara from Words With Lara</a> in February and apart from that it's been radio silence on here. Hopefully it can only get better from here?<br />
<br />
<h3>
What's been going on on Instagram and Twitter? </h3>
I BLOODY LOVE BOOKSTAGRAM!!! <a href="https://www.instagram.com/novellyella/">Come and say hello!</a> I'm barely existent on <a href="https://twitter.com/novellyella">Twitter</a> as usual but that's because I always feel shy on there (on a constant cycle of trying to get better and always failing lmao) but I LOVE bookstagram and I'm waaaaay more active on there! Although saying that, I haven't posted since last week as uni assignments are eating my brain.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Books I'm looking forward to reading?</h3>
I started reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13542496-the-anatomist-s-wife?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=b7I4DOq3Bu&rank=1">the <i>Lady Darby</i> series</a> last week and I AM SO OBSESSED. The series is the best thing my brain could ask for at the moment and I'm so thrilled that I've got books 4--8 in the series to work my way through in the next few weeks! What will I do to fill the gaping hole in my life after I'm finished?? Tune in to find out...<br />
<br />
<h3>
What's coming up on the blog, socials, life, etc?</h3>
<br />
<b>My birthday is coming up! </b>I'm turning 21! Oh my god! At this point I don't know how I'm going to be spending it because no one knows what the level of restriction NZ will be under by then but I've decided to live it up and take the day completely off anything to do with uni. Hold me back, guys, hold me back!<br />
<b><br />
</b> <b>On the blog:</b> Um, anything I can dredge up from the sludge that is my brain. Have got a '21 bookish things' post coming your way after my birthday, I can promise that! Who knew how bloody long it would take to think of 21 slightly interesting bookish things about myself??<br />
<br />
<b>On the socials:</b> start posting actual proper reviews on Goodreads. Y'know, actual words strung together to create sentences and not just "omgggg loved this!!!", "this was shit", "never getting back the hours of my life i wasted on this book". Also posting at least 3 times per week on Instagram because it makes me so happy! Twitter? We don't know her.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> tell me about your year so far! what's the best book you read and of course i need to hear the worst book you've read as well!</span></i></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-80266224207651116382020-02-17T19:00:00.000+13:002020-02-17T19:00:04.836+13:00Discussing Headliners by Lucy Parker with Lara from Words With Lara + giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_-FyalraWLGRE_6HaM1FRbmyln5k62KsCSUsWmNwqDMyt6BF7VF3CJzOKoillw3Uij5lXzT7hktvIDZ7CCr5spMaS5snFSOSlV_ZMRS_gdeC6oS1whdr68v-eCLHadMeIKkCMl9xm5U/s1600/Headliners+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="1" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_-FyalraWLGRE_6HaM1FRbmyln5k62KsCSUsWmNwqDMyt6BF7VF3CJzOKoillw3Uij5lXzT7hktvIDZ7CCr5spMaS5snFSOSlV_ZMRS_gdeC6oS1whdr68v-eCLHadMeIKkCMl9xm5U/s1600/Headliners+photo.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Very excited to be discussing one of my favourite books of 2019 with <a href="http://wordswithlara.blogspot.com/">Lara from Words With Lara</a>! It made sense seeing how obsessed we both are with all of Lucy Parker's books that I ask Lara to come and discuss Lucy's latest release, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Headliners-Enemies-Lovers-Romance-Celebrities-ebook/dp/B07WMQ6K77/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=headliners&qid=1581834956&s=digital-text&sr=1-1">Headliners</a> in all its glory with me. <b>Also, I loved Headliners so much that I'm giving away a copy of it! More info at the bottom of this post!</b></i><b><br />
</b></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Find Headliners:</span></h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
/ <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47826382-headliners?from_search=true&qid=B9WRIRVBTR&rank=1">Goodreads</a> / <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Headliners-Enemies-Lovers-Romance-Celebrities-ebook/dp/B07WMQ6K77/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=headliners+by+lucy+parker&qid=1581836039&s=digital-text&sr=1-1">Amazon</a> / <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Headliners-Lucy-Parker/9781335215994?ref=grid-view&qid=1581835926843&sr=1-1">Book Depository</a> /</div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">
</span> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>ELLA:</b> Hey Lara! I am so excited to chat everything Headliners with you! We’re both such fangirls of Lucy Parker’s books and I know you were just as excited as I was for Headliners. There are so many things I want to talk/scream about but the first thing I’m really eager to discuss is the TV setting in this book! I was OBSESSED with how much fun it was to read about and now want a million books set in this setting. What did you think?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><b>LARA:</b> Lucy Parker is definitely one of my favourite authors and I was SO excited for Headliners (sidenote: thank you for introducing me to her). I LOVED the TV setting. I really wasn’t sure of how I’d feel about it (I’m not good at change and this was a bit different from the other books in the series), but it worked out so well and really provided an awesome setting for the two main characters to interact.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>ELLA:</b> Couldn’t agree more, Lucy managed to pull it off with such effortless flair. What did you think of the “mystery” element and how it fit into the story/book? I personally enjoyed the mystery in Headliners more than I did the one in Lucy’s previous book, The Austen Playbook, but that’s just me. I really enjoyed how the mystery added an interesting plot element (although I knew who the person was behind the accidents pretty early on haha).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><b>LARA:</b> I think I preferred the mystery in The Austin Playbook, but I totally agree that the one in Headliners fitted both the story and the genre a lot better. Honestly, I had no idea until right before the reveal who the person was behind the sabotaging, but I’m pretty useless when it comes to predicting things like that. I’ll blame the fact that I was too tied up in obsessing over the romance to pay any attention to anything else.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>ELLA: </b>I think the mystery in Headliners was so much smaller compared to the one in The Austen Playbook which is why I preferred it as it didn’t take over or take anything away from the romance, but I can totally understand your point! Talking romance, let’s move onto the most important part of the whole book! I bloody love how good Lucy is at writing enemies to lovers and it was perfection in Headliners.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><b>LARA:</b> Lucy Parker is the best. She is the reason that romance was my most read genre last year (coming from someone who used to avoid contemporary and romance like it was the plague). And if it’s done well the enemies to lovers trope is SO much fun to read… Needless to say, Lucy Parker absolutely smashed it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>ELLA: </b>Yeah, I think romance might’ve been my most read genre of 2019 as well! I’ve still yet to find contemporary romances as good as Lucy Parker’s, though not for lack of trying. (She’s just too good!) I’m also not the biggest fan of contemporary but now that I’m officially in my twenties (ahhhh), I think I’m reaching for it a bit more. But one of the reasons I’m such a big fan of Lucy Parker’s work is how FUNNY every one of her books are! It’s one of the reasons why her books work so well for me as the humour is so cheerful and uplifting. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><b>LARA:</b> One thing I love about Lucy Parker is how good she is at writing in hilarious, snarky and sassy leads without making it seem forced or annoying. Sabrina and Nick had the best banter (that’s the only way I can think to describe it?) and reading their dialogue was so much fun.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white;"><b>ELLA:</b> YES! I really, really loved Sabrina. And Nick and Sabrina’s dialogue was A+++. I felt genuinely really sad when I got to the last page of the book and knew that that was the end of their story! I really would like to see a novella about these two as I think their story could definitely be carried on for a bit longer (or maybe that’s just wishful thinking). </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white;">Also, I just LOVE how Lucy Parker writes her grumpy heroes! They never go into abusive or mean/unkind territory which is something that I come across a lot in romance, especially with the enemies to lovers trope. I hate when it goes down that track as horrible behaviour should never be framed as sexy or heroic or like part of a hero’s/love interest’s personality, y’know? Anyway, I really love how Lucy Parker avoids going down that track.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><b>LARA:</b> Ugh I totally understand what you mean, I can’t stand characters like that and it’s made me DNF books in the past. Give me a soft grumpy hero anyday over the ones that just turn out to be assholes and that’s their entire personality.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>ELLA:</b> I’m trying to nail down my *favourite* parts and moments in the book and it’s so hard! I don’t want to spoil anything for people that haven’t read it yet but one of my fav moments of the whole book was the Thames dip. I knew as soon as I got to that part of the book that HEADLINERS was going to go on my favourite books of 2019 list!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><b>LARA:</b> Honestly I don’t even know where to start with my favourite parts, but I think you’re probably absolutely spot on! If you want to know what Ella’s talking about you’re going to have to read the book.</span><br />
<br />
Thanks <a href="http://wordswithlara.blogspot.com/">Lara</a> for discussing <i>Headliners</i> with me!<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Giveaway!</span></h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/novellyella/status/1229279092773535745">CLICK HERE</a> to follow the giveaway I'm holding for one of Lucy's books on Twitter! Good luck!</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>What was your fav romance you read in 2019?</i></span></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-68367185004617038782020-02-10T19:00:00.000+13:002020-02-14T22:45:41.257+13:00All the books that climbed into my heart and will never leave aka my favourite books of 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qnGg75OvdeTaA2zzeKPDVBQrbNpNlosE85ddK4rlrEEm2txnuijI9GDmCGf4S6dLSM6diZWRbQDH9pZhtZXYEzSwEuR2X_0ETvkDHtP_FBA5tjejcZp-6-Bt-0tJ8RM2gr7rxyUl4Hg/s1600/P1150002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qnGg75OvdeTaA2zzeKPDVBQrbNpNlosE85ddK4rlrEEm2txnuijI9GDmCGf4S6dLSM6diZWRbQDH9pZhtZXYEzSwEuR2X_0ETvkDHtP_FBA5tjejcZp-6-Bt-0tJ8RM2gr7rxyUl4Hg/s640/P1150002.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<br />
When is it considered not cool to post your list of your favourite books of 2019? Absolutely asking for me because it's now FEBRUARY. But I did want to take some time to blather on about my favourite books of 2019 because I felt like I had a really successful reading year! I'm still not sure if I had so many 5-star reads because I stopped being such a critical shit over every. single. thing. in books or I was just super lucky but I'm not complaining either way, more 5-star reads this year, please universe/bookish gods! <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b>(Honourable mentions that are all 5 stars and I would deffo recommend checking out:</b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39863498-the-gilded-wolves"> The Gilded Wolves</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45044785-the-silvered-serpents">The Silvered Serpents</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26032825-the-cruel-prince?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Y1Yz7TJOPf&rank=1">The Cruel Prince</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26032887-the-wicked-king">The Wicked King</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38819868-my-sister-the-serial-killer?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=5YTQofdnXp&rank=2">My Sister The Serial Killer</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35356380-people-like-us?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=NuYZyM6oXc&rank=1">People Like Us</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1943742.Silent_in_the_Sanctuary?from_search=true&qid=dTB6aU60zf&rank=1">Silent in the Sanctuary</a>.<b>)</b></div><br />
<br />
<i><b>TIED NUMBER 1 FAV OF 2019:</b></i> <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30518319-a-dangerous-collaboration?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=xxHjCZvZ4z&rank=1">A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn.</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Why I loved it:</b> I was so worried this was going to be a bit average like the last book in the series was but A Dangerous Collaboration was PERFECTION. I got to the end of the book and couldn't actually think of a single thing that could've been done to make it even better?? WITCH CRAFT.<br />
<br />
<i><b>TIED NUMBER ONE FAV OF 2019:</b></i> <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40597810-daisy-jones-the-six?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=JqiiHVEm0x&rank=1">Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Why I loved it:</b> On the subject of witchcraft, TJR is a word witch. The expert skill and precision with how she writes, my god. Reading Daisy Jones was akin to having my brain vigorously vacuumed and when I got to the last page and resurfaced back into the real world, I wanted to go back immediately and just live within the book's pages forever.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47826382-headliners?from_search=true&qid=279qK4Bi7U&rank=1">Headliners by Lucy Parker. </a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Why I loved it:</b> I feel like Lucy's books are best described as pure sunshine compressed into words and expertly turned into beautiful books. I ADORE them. I got to read Headliners at a time I really, really needed a bit of bookish sunshine in my life and I loved every second of reading it.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43869647-the-wallflower-wager">The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare.</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Why I loved it:</b> Honestly, Tessa's stories are a balm to my heart and I will never ever get enough of them. I loved every single thing about TWW and I'm so excited to see where the last installment of the series goes this year although I'm so not ready for it to be over. <br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42643787-when-it-all-went-to-custard?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=JL9eTWdwpj&rank=1">When It All Went To Custard by Danielle Hawkins.</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Why I loved it:</b> I read so few books by NZ authors but Danielle Hawkins is one of my favourites. All her books are set in rural New Zealand and reading them makes me feel so at home.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18775359-after-i-do?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=PsBuBl6xDf&rank=1">After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid.</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Why I loved it:</b> I have really conflicting thoughts on marriage and I found this book so interesting in the way it delved into relationships. It's also hard to describe what else I loved about it so much without spoiling it but I loved it so much that I was a weepy mess by the end of the book.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32075671-the-hate-u-give?from_search=true&qid=EWfASLninl&rank=1">The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Why I loved it:</b> About two years late to the hype but oh my godddddd this book was devastating and incredible. I've made so many people pick it up since I've read it and can't wait to avidly read every single thing that Angie Thomas writes from now on.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34810320-sadie">Sadie by Courtney Summers.</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Why I loved it:</b> Okay, so if you've been reading this blog for a long time you'll know that I used to never cry over books EVER but in the last couple of years I've definitely teared up in places over books. I didn't just tear up while reading Sadie, I got to the end and I was BAWLING. I had to go back and reread the ending because I couldn't see through my tears I was crying so hard. I still think about this book now and then and every time I do I can feel myself tearing up. EMOTIONS URGH.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">what was your favourite book of 2019 and why?</span></i></div>Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-55572958432971024572020-02-07T19:00:00.000+13:002020-02-11T21:12:58.863+13:002020 Reading and Blogging Goals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaNRMNO8qwUODgGKs0lU-7MgLtNJrtpmVBWwTtHpVKeuoZJS2fjv47mCa6o8RUfKQaJYWglsVWurcuTNURXwJ_Gfxqpwu6nrQR_4i-TVDGJnr398qhSEIqq0pdrwbExfSFVmrextYyLk/s1600/P1130610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaNRMNO8qwUODgGKs0lU-7MgLtNJrtpmVBWwTtHpVKeuoZJS2fjv47mCa6o8RUfKQaJYWglsVWurcuTNURXwJ_Gfxqpwu6nrQR_4i-TVDGJnr398qhSEIqq0pdrwbExfSFVmrextYyLk/s640/P1130610.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I know it's been a few months of radio silence on here but finishing my first year of uni, summer school, Christmas and other life things meant I just didn't have the brain space to think about blogging until now (and ironically I start my second year of uni in less than two weeks so I've got to make the most of the days before uni sucks my life force away ahahaha). And I know it's now February but I really wanted to post my blogging and reading goals for 2020 to hold myself accountable. <br />
<br />
<b>BLOGGING GOALS:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Install a new blog design.</b> Something's not quite working for me with this current theme and it doesn't feel like me anymore. With a new year (and decade!) I want a wee bit of a fresh start.<br />
<br />
<b>Explore becoming a.com.</b> I've dithered with this for awhile but want to take serious steps at researching if it's worth it for me or not.<br />
<br />
<b>Make every bit of the blog up to date.</b> Yes, I'm talking about rolling up my sleeves and doing DIRTY work here, updating and rewriting all my pages and information, sidebars, social media, checking and labeling blog posts correctly, etc, etc, etc. I can't put into words how much I DO NOT want to do this. Like, I'd rather read my least favourite books than do it but it has to be done. Please send strength because I have NONE/NOTHING.<br />
<br />
<b>Post more lifestyle content.</b> I really like reading about the people behind the blog but I don't know if that's something people are interested in reading on here? I'm planning to start some sort of monthly life/books recap so BABY STEPS. I physically recoil at the thought of sharing my face and lots of my life on the internet but I feel like if you put up with all my bookish nonsense, some unbookish stuff might spice the blog up a bit. Plus it's good to share! I'm just not good at it, lol.<br />
<br />
<b>Bring out two blog series!</b> I have a bookish baking series planned out and the first one is inspired by P.S. I Still Love You! <a href="https://wordswithlara.blogspot.com/">Lara from @ Words With Lara</a> and I are also coming out with our next installment of <a href="http://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2019/01/introducing-keeping-up-with-classics.html">Keeping Up With The Classics</a> sometime this month so that will also be fun! (Only took us a year to get our shit together and bring out another installment lmao, DISORGANIZED WHO?? Not us.) I also want to bring out a reading-vlog-but-it's-a-reading blog-post series thing, still haven't quite figured out the logistics of it yet as if that wasn't completely obvious.<br />
<br />
<b>Interview two authors.</b> I got to interview two amazing authors last year, the incredible <a href="http://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2019/04/chit-chat-withcg-drews-aka-paper-fury.html">Cait aka C.G. Drews </a>and the ever so lovely<a href="http://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2019/05/chit-chat-withdanielle-hawkins-on.html"> Danielle Hawkins</a>! This year, I would loooove to interview Chloe Gong, Ellie Marney and Dana Mele.<br />
<br />
<b>Interview two bloggers.</b> I really enjoyed interviewing <a href="http://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2019/10/chit-chat-withlara-words-with-lara.html">Lara last year </a>and I want to carry on interviewing as many NZ book bloggers that I can to raise awareness of them. We're a small community but we've got some real gems.<br />
<br />
<b>Make a commenting/connecting routine.</b> It's time to shake off the dust and dive back into commenting on people's blogs instead of just reading their posts diligently for years and never making my presence known like an antisocial ghost. I don't want to be a blogging ghost in 2020! <br />
<br />
<b>Up my Goodreads game.</b> My Goodreads game in 2019 was so shit. I reviewed barely anything and didn't even make comments on most of the books I read! Think I'm going to try and review every book in quick list style to a longer review whenever I can. just so I can keep better track and memory of what I read. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/26801470-ella">You can friend or follow me on Goodreads here if you're interested!</a><br />
<br />
<b>Make content I love writing. </b>This year I particularly want to focus on not giving so much of a shit on what I *feel* like I should be posting and just post whatever the hell I want. I feel like so much of my ALMOST SIX YEARS on this blogging planet has been trying to make content that I think *other* people will enjoy, regardless of what I think. And I really want to chuck this sort of thinking right in the bin in 2020.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>READING GOALS:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Read three classics. </b>Most likely going to be Wuthering Heights which I started last year and was loving before I got distracted; Emma, because the new adaptation of it coming out in February and it's supposed to be a fun read; and then maybe Jane Eyre, 1984 or something else that takes my fancy. Any recs? <br />
<br />
<b>Explore different genres.</b> I'm going through such a memoir kick at the moment and I can't get enough of them as it's so fascinating reading about people's lives. I'm noticing that the more I stretch the genres I read, the less likely I am to get taken out by a reading slump. This year in 2020 I want to delve into more adult fantasy and not only find new favs but finish the ADSOM trilogy, The Dragon Republic and carry on with the Locke Lamora books.<br />
<br />
<b>Try reading The Luminaries again.</b> Yes, add me to the list of terrible Kiwis that have tried valiantly to attack this tome and gotten absolutely nowhere. Even in my secondhand copy of the book, the tiny bit of creased spine shows that no previous owner/reader had managed to get a third of the way through. I will attempt though! Also the BBC adaptation of our is coming out sometime this year so I HAVE to try and get at least partly the way through it to understand what tf is happening and going on in the TV series. <br />
<br />
<b>Catch up on Lore Olympus and Miss Abbott.</b> I stopped reading both these webtoons early last year because I HATED waiting week by week for their episodes to come out. But I miss all the cuteness so much so I'm going to pick them both up again! Highly recommend.<br />
<br />
<b>Have a reading day.</b> *shakes finger at the sky* I just want ONE day this year, ONE, where I do absolutely nothing other than wake up, read and read, read, READ for the whole day. No phone, no work, no uni, no distractions, no thought spirals, NOTHING BUT READING.<br />
<br />
<b>Keep a reading genre chart.</b> This is going really well so far and it's really interesting seeing where my reading is going this year!<br />
<br />
<b>Read at least 50 books.</b> I'd really like to reach 100 because I've read over 100 books every year since forever but I'm setting my reading goal at 50 again this year just like last year as I want to put as little stress on myself as possible when it comes to reading around uni, work, life, etc.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">what are your 2020 reading and blogging goals? </span></i></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-16886068755555444072019-10-31T16:10:00.000+13:002019-11-18T15:26:19.832+13:00Chit Chat With...Lara @ Words With Lara about balancing blogging with university, bookworm beginnings and letting people IRL read your blog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmQqURsirs11KhyphenhyphenaWYu_ZuOZ0uIV927_XMFNXgqjDfKHe54926T8mDbmbOdT6EZLPuSYFUban2F6_1HgmJsAEbx8fqgZ_Bbp9St2e9WRwrL1DWPs9XYD6PaNwa-lKlibgOSZvLsdMoCKo/s1600/P1140126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmQqURsirs11KhyphenhyphenaWYu_ZuOZ0uIV927_XMFNXgqjDfKHe54926T8mDbmbOdT6EZLPuSYFUban2F6_1HgmJsAEbx8fqgZ_Bbp9St2e9WRwrL1DWPs9XYD6PaNwa-lKlibgOSZvLsdMoCKo/s640/P1140126.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
One of my blogging resolutions for 2019 was to start interviewing more authors and and start interviewing book bloggers as well. I've ticked the author interview box a couple of times this year but this is my first interview with another blogger! I couldn't think of a better blogger to start off with than <a href="https://wordswithlara.blogspot.com/">Lara @ Words With Lara</a> who I've been friends with since shortly after I started blogging! Without Lara having my back and always being the most supportive friend whenever I'm going through blogging woes, blogging would've been such a struggle at times. She's on a bit of a blog hiatus at the moment, but pleeeeeeeease go and check out her blog! Lara's an expert in mystery and thriller recommendations so definitely her blog out if you're looking for recs!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Hey, hello, Lara! Thank you so much for coming on the blog today! Would you mind introducing yourself and your blog?</b><br />
<br />
Hey, Ella! And hey everyone else! My name’s Lara and I blog over at Words With Lara. I’ve been blogging on and off for probably around seven(ish) years now and I’m still going, although at the moment I’m struggling to balance it in with university and life so I’ve been a little MIA.<br />
<br />
<b>I can relate with trying to balance uni, life and blogging...it's a struggle! You've been given a time machine! What's something you wish you'd known before you started blogging and that if you could, you'd go back in time to tell Baby Blogger Lara?</b><br />
<br />
Oh gosh, stop deleting posts!!! I’m a serial deleter. About once a year I look at my blog, hate everything about it and go on a rampage where I delete everything and start again… and then I regret it COMPLETELY about two days later. Somebody needs to take my password off me when this happens because even though some of those older posts were probably crap and a tad cringey, it would be cool to be able to look back and see how far I’ve come.<br />
<br />
<b>Oh my god, YES, I'm seriously going to steal your password and lock you out of your dashboard next time you start talking about this! What was the best book you’ve read this year and why? Did it give you chills, make you scream from all the cuteness or it was just an all-round good read?</b><br />
<br />
Eeek, so I’ve read a grand total of five books this year (Goodreads is telling me that I’m thirty books behind schedules, whoops). BUT out of those, Fahrenheit 451 was my favourite. It was my first read of the year and I’m not quite sure what struck me about it… It’s one of those books that got me because of the general vibe/feeling it had rather than the storyline. Does that make sense? It just made me feel something.<br />
<br />
<b>I feel like I'm the only person that hasn't read Fahrenheit 451...I love books that you just *get* you. What's the most interesting or exciting experience you’ve had thanks to or through blogging?</b><br />
<br />
Getting to the point where I got sent actual books from publishers was a pretty insane moment for me. I mean, that’s why I started blogging in the first place, so to get something back for doing something I love is pretty exciting.<br />
<br />
<b>That's one of the most exciting experiences I've had through blogging too! What was the book or series of books that made you go “OMG BOOKS ARE AMAZING” and turned you into a bookworm?</b><br />
<br />
I come from a family of readers so books have always been quite a big part of my life, but I think what really kick started it was the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton. There’s like twenty books in the series and I devoured them and then moved onto all her other series. I’m pretty sure there was a year of my life where all I read was Enid Blyton.<br />
<br />
<b>Enid Blyton brings back so many memories, I loved the Famous Five SO much! What do you reckon is the hardest thing about being a NZ-based book blogger (for me it’s FOMO over international bookish events like BEA or YALLFest and wishing there were more Kiwi book bloggers/tubers/grammers out there)? </b><br />
<br />
FOMO is so real. I think we just have less of a community compared to some other countries. We’re so small and out of the way that it just makes everything a little bit more difficult. We’re growing though and it’s crazy how much the NZ bookish community has developed since I started blogging and only knew you.<br />
<br />
<b>I completely agree and it is lovely to see the tiny NZ bookish community grow just a *bit* bigger every year! Do people IRL know about your blog? Are you quite open about it or do you (like me ahahaaa) want to hide under a rock forever if it comes up in conversation?</b><br />
<br />
Ha! My parents do, and I think my mum has very likely split the beans to a few people, but I keep my blog pretty quiet at the moment. My boyfriend knows about it, but I still won’t let him see it. I’m not totally sure why? I’m semi embarrassed for some weird reason and also he hasn’t really seen full book nerd Lara, but I’m probably going to have to cave soon and show him.<br />
<br />
<b>My mum used to tell every person she met about my blog which always made me want to burn my blog off the internet...ah, sweet memories! One thing in the next year that you’d like to do more of or start on your blog?</b><br />
<br />
There’s a couple of features/series I want to either start or get back into (*ahem* Keeping up with the Classics), but the biggest thing is probably just staying consistent with my posting and being proud of the content I put out there. Lately I’ve been thinking about booktube a bit, but also that’s very scary and I’m not sure if I want my face out there hahah.<br />
<br />
Thank you for having me, Ella!!<br />
<br />
<b>Thank you so much for being here, Lara! We will definitely get Keeping Up With the Classics back up over the summer and I'll make sure not to let you delete anymore posts!</b>Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-60522822208191531322019-10-14T20:00:00.000+13:002019-10-21T08:45:45.871+13:00Things I've Learnt From My First Year of University<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqRbwcJNIuUX-uqqpBtnPQKiKJNKucvZTsNOrLJCiQvwHVymLnphtDHNk94PQA9MNLvAILfdZ9SBrzCSmAfWocKuXSp6TVgg2DSUWmN6Wc9gs2RrO_CDq89bliqPCjjVnm7DeuWOdcsw/s1600/P1130585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqRbwcJNIuUX-uqqpBtnPQKiKJNKucvZTsNOrLJCiQvwHVymLnphtDHNk94PQA9MNLvAILfdZ9SBrzCSmAfWocKuXSp6TVgg2DSUWmN6Wc9gs2RrO_CDq89bliqPCjjVnm7DeuWOdcsw/s640/P1130585.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I can't believe that my first year of university has now come to an end! In some ways it feels like the whole year has flown by and in other ways it feels like it's dragged on forever. I wanted to write down some things that I've learnt from my first year of uni that I can remember going into next year and also because I thought it might be helpful for any uni freshers out there (or not, haha)!<br />
<br />
<b>~*~ The first semester was harder than the second semester.</b> Although I found my second semester emotionally taxing and tiring at times, I felt way more settled and confident than I did in my first semester which of course made my second semester a better experience. <br />
<br />
<b>~*~</b> <b>It's completely OK to question your degree and even change it if it doesn't feel right or comfortable!</b> I changed to a different degree in my second semester and I'm so much happier at uni because of it.<br />
<br />
<b>~*~ It's better to do courses that you enjoy than courses that seem more sensible</b> but you don't like (or in my case hate so much, end up failing it).<br />
<br />
<b>~*~ Just because you love a subject, doesn't mean that you'll enjoy it at university.</b> This is probably the biggest thing I learnt this year. I took history and marketing in my first semester because I've always been a history nut and I've been interested in marketing ever since I started blogging. But both courses were so boring and I wish I'd dropped them!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUsNRi1e5d2sShAoeGW9HPhR3IHUhQ929-vlKXvjLZQHzroZ-OgNbk2-o73-HmeMWGmjuMLyuh763U6BcOn4tu0mAtZiOVZQI3yodoKPB6ZJL1dzszTUljptOifitaT6XkP0SLBVw-5eA/s1600/P1130584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUsNRi1e5d2sShAoeGW9HPhR3IHUhQ929-vlKXvjLZQHzroZ-OgNbk2-o73-HmeMWGmjuMLyuh763U6BcOn4tu0mAtZiOVZQI3yodoKPB6ZJL1dzszTUljptOifitaT6XkP0SLBVw-5eA/s640/P1130584.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>~*~ Try and hold onto some form of enjoyment and appreciation of your learning even when it feels like the least enjoyable thing in the world. </b>Honestly, it does help put things in perspective, plus makes you feel a bit more grateful at having the access to the education even if you're feverishly trying to finish an essay at 2AM in the morning.<br />
<br />
<b>~*~ ASK FOR THINGS!</b> You've paid a university institution a hell of a lot of money and you have a right to every free service they offer! So ask questions about things you're not sure about, email lecturers and visit them in their office hours, seek out librarians, take advantage of academic skills and help, pester student advisors, grab any work experience opportunities, make the most of student benefits/discounts and library cards, etc <br />
<br />
<b>~*~ Don't buy textbooks unless your library has zero physical or ebook copies.</b> I've spent SO MUCH money on textbooks I didn't need this year. Always look for second hand copies online. If you're desperate for new or can't get them second hand, check out <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/">Book Depository</a>!<br />
<br />
<b>~*~ The most important thing I learnt this year: find something you enjoy that has nothing to do with uni at all.</b> For me, that was blogging, reading and writing for myself. It honestly helps so much to have something that's just for yourself.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">what are some things that you learnt in your first year of uni that you really wish you'd known beforehand??</span>Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-66544989099550011292019-10-07T20:00:00.000+13:002019-10-21T08:45:48.014+13:00March Sisters reminded me of my love for Jo and how much I hate Amy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibee1U7k_GPrrOqUwmD5sv4V8i49ymJ_wNVWWm0dzAxmrVGhpjijGoZndTFpCyJujux9GnSnhuYqvoyjorEZrATmY757kYgq-wo8Lbb8fnClPAtOQni5x5d615eMFnkz3qXxxH2-oXEss/s1600/P1150609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibee1U7k_GPrrOqUwmD5sv4V8i49ymJ_wNVWWm0dzAxmrVGhpjijGoZndTFpCyJujux9GnSnhuYqvoyjorEZrATmY757kYgq-wo8Lbb8fnClPAtOQni5x5d615eMFnkz3qXxxH2-oXEss/s640/P1150609.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>MEG'S FROCK SHOCK by Kate Bolick</b>- Sadly, my least favourite of the essays in here. It wasn't necessarily terrible but I was never interested in Meg in LITTLE WOMEN and this essay's pace was lagging and writing style the least engaging to me out of all the essays in here. Interesting points on women and clothes though, just not for me. <b>2 stars.</b> <br />
<br />
<b>DOES GENIUS BURN, JO? by Jenny Zhang</b> - This is one of the very best essays I've read in my LIFE. The depth of the analysis, the passion, the <i>burn</i> of this essay came right through and I was completely absorbed. I'm now desperate to read every other word Jenny Zhang has ever written. <b>5 stars!</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0T97elkIhVtBZqMAo_v61M-1PgYhaD-_G3RJpL6-a7WTm6Ez0SIF9__zPfwfrmHWEI2_nfvjxJvD9eLvmBuE2kheDeKtTZmwATJoOSxLBdHnyNaqVDZNQncbyuXWwUB3Fj5Bzeb8Q0w/s1600/P1150614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0T97elkIhVtBZqMAo_v61M-1PgYhaD-_G3RJpL6-a7WTm6Ez0SIF9__zPfwfrmHWEI2_nfvjxJvD9eLvmBuE2kheDeKtTZmwATJoOSxLBdHnyNaqVDZNQncbyuXWwUB3Fj5Bzeb8Q0w/s640/P1150614.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>A DEAR AND NOTHING ELSE by Carmen Maria Machado</b> - Mother of dragons, the RESEARCH that went into this essay, I'm in awe. 4 stars. I had no idea how Louisa May Alcott based Beth in LITTLE WOMEN on her own sister Lizzie who also died tragically young from scarlet fever related symptoms. But whereas Alcott wrote Beth as purely good - "a dear and nothing else" - Machado reveals through her research how the real Lizzie was angry and complicated and hated her tragic fate. Machado also draws on complicated parent and children relationships, being sick but not feeling sick enough, and just so many things. Loved it, <b>4 stars!</b><br />
<br />
<b>I AM YOUR "PRUDENT AMY" by Jane Smiley</b> - Look, this was an interesting analysis and argument of Amy being more of what a "modern" feminist looks like today but the argument fell a bit short. Plus, I've always hated Amy and will always hate Amy so although Smiley tried valiantly, no words could convince me of Amy's misunderstood goodness and feminism when I still remember the rage I felt over both reading and watching (watching it happen was even <i>worse</i>) her brat-from-hell behaviour throughout LITTLE WOMEN as well as the spite and cruelty she was full of when she burnt Jo's writing. <b>3 stars for the essay, 0 stars for Amy.</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHbAgsY24FAzwwUUduV62gmc6fXq9YMNiLto8bH-2KiUx2HVElL-qLxPuMduMR8L-zxFeRzliSdbD022vL0FRyAG0WDaNnJwd6kOVmjLV1GHa7fACjhFLubri0b4J7-DrldLm4-KceWw/s1600/P1150613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHbAgsY24FAzwwUUduV62gmc6fXq9YMNiLto8bH-2KiUx2HVElL-qLxPuMduMR8L-zxFeRzliSdbD022vL0FRyAG0WDaNnJwd6kOVmjLV1GHa7fACjhFLubri0b4J7-DrldLm4-KceWw/s640/P1150613.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">the most important and divisive question of all time...who's your favourite march sister??</span></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-11881648606679823452019-09-23T20:00:00.000+12:002019-09-23T20:01:58.831+12:00A Bookish Bouquet For The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfu3uBqiEHFKpohyphenhyphenHb5SvheFu9QW7JK_d6DjQsmyXTslxLLaZT3ss1U_E_S6pWs0zJi4UoH0R6MCV3SvTvC2M_r3d5453KZIb_LWsUJUgxnj2j3fObM8DI-c6i5URuwitWeYHHGijzTXA/s1600/P1150485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfu3uBqiEHFKpohyphenhyphenHb5SvheFu9QW7JK_d6DjQsmyXTslxLLaZT3ss1U_E_S6pWs0zJi4UoH0R6MCV3SvTvC2M_r3d5453KZIb_LWsUJUgxnj2j3fObM8DI-c6i5URuwitWeYHHGijzTXA/s640/P1150485.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Welcome to <b>A Bookish Bouquet</b>! This is a new blog feature that I
dreamed up awhile go and now that it's Spring and flowers are blooming,
I thought it was the perfect time to introduce it on the blog!<br />
<br />
So, what's <b>A Bookish Bouquet</b>
about? The title is self-explanatory! I'll be making book inspired
bouquets that are full of the blooms and fearnery with colours, tones,
textures and sometimes smell that I associate with the book and/or the
book cover. I don't know how often I'll be posting this feature but I'm
going to try and take advantage of the Spring flowers while I can!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIf13rkmz_1XIXd1f-073TglHhbxSQERj3rd-yWW-9lxjehfqhTF02RCtJBVdZZNrAupfrBWbW2k8bDH3o5d9MddP6bUWdNCispNWvn9zWsKwKOiS9Eh1LjHtQnbjm0wG-WJoaPTC_Rs/s1600/P1150480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIf13rkmz_1XIXd1f-073TglHhbxSQERj3rd-yWW-9lxjehfqhTF02RCtJBVdZZNrAupfrBWbW2k8bDH3o5d9MddP6bUWdNCispNWvn9zWsKwKOiS9Eh1LjHtQnbjm0wG-WJoaPTC_Rs/s640/P1150480.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I couldn't think of a better book to kick this feature off than <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40972652-the-wallflower-wager">The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare</a></b>! I was inspired by the warm pinks and fresh light blues from both cover editions, as well as the general lightness and cheerfulness of the book. I wanted this bouquet to be interesting and have lots of colour while also getting those muted and textured tones in that help bring volume and make a great backdrop for the brighter flowers. I also got some lovely flowering sage and rosemary in the bunch as well which are herbs that remind me of the smell of old books, as thought that was a fun touch to add!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXfWyk4vfTkOdm2U42tmLWolO3qqFIEymISYO13SYpGACVuAxMTDY8L_U0sPKTK-g9FKD8vkPsZkNx05kJJRuX6meFO0NivcXP5v5pmZ9inQjXgKJkZR4qvFfMwv_v51uKhpzR1cDBzY/s1600/P1150354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXfWyk4vfTkOdm2U42tmLWolO3qqFIEymISYO13SYpGACVuAxMTDY8L_U0sPKTK-g9FKD8vkPsZkNx05kJJRuX6meFO0NivcXP5v5pmZ9inQjXgKJkZR4qvFfMwv_v51uKhpzR1cDBzY/s640/P1150354.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
So I wandered around the garden in the weekend and picked this bunch
(while making sure that my sister's evil rooster didn't come and eat
me). I love flowers but I haven't practiced my arranging skills in ages
so I was a bit rusty. I played around for awhile before I got to this
bouquet and I'm not completely happy with it as I think it's a bit bulky
in places and thin in others and I was trying to make it more delicate
but I love that the colour scheme (to me) fits the book perfectly!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gkAtQ89vIZsmxPD71CcNZ6mfCNc09Ix02uW5xzPy-Lyy39TC1rebzdHUIazNrOkWrL_8OKOn2Kd_SQ0XPv3Z5xzBsrE-Sdr-N1nJZFoYQOEoy2CS_ZmQVpD4bXgZ_JpFK_n41XIropg/s1600/P1150482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gkAtQ89vIZsmxPD71CcNZ6mfCNc09Ix02uW5xzPy-Lyy39TC1rebzdHUIazNrOkWrL_8OKOn2Kd_SQ0XPv3Z5xzBsrE-Sdr-N1nJZFoYQOEoy2CS_ZmQVpD4bXgZ_JpFK_n41XIropg/s640/P1150482.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Let me know what you think and if there's any books you'd like me to make bouquets for - I'm thinking about making ones for The Bone Season series next!</span></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-14773588702957618792019-09-16T20:00:00.000+12:002019-09-22T20:35:29.172+12:00Currently Reading Right Now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyZ1Qm_sc_fItaGM-bI9E179vdXDPG5PFFPR48kTaAVAhUeP5pCZAGuhXQF1OQRdmFB3AucqYff4b_LaHkGyZ6w6M8H4YF3mv68PIgwIitJMfDvWFEu9msoldsJ19DkUBg3rRhQOPZTw/s1600/P1140985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyZ1Qm_sc_fItaGM-bI9E179vdXDPG5PFFPR48kTaAVAhUeP5pCZAGuhXQF1OQRdmFB3AucqYff4b_LaHkGyZ6w6M8H4YF3mv68PIgwIitJMfDvWFEu9msoldsJ19DkUBg3rRhQOPZTw/s640/P1140985.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30319086-if-we-were-villains?from_search=true">If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio</a></b> - Please bury me with this book. I'm loving it so much. It's also lovely reading about stressed out uni students as it's SO RELATABLE. However the plot is stressing ME out because I have no idea where the story is taking and I don't have the time right now (yay, uni) to whip through the book in one sitting. #thestruggleisreal<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8490112-daughter-of-smoke-bone?from_search=true">Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor</a></b> - I remember DNFing this years ago when I was a tiny teen because I hated it for some reason. I've picked it up again and I don't know what was wrong with me because I'm LOVING it. Lani Taylor's writing is extraordinary.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43263508-the-orchid-throne?from_search=true">The Orchid Throne by Jeffe Kennedy</a></b> - This reminding me of <i>A Breath of Fire</i> so far which is unfortunate because I hated that book, so I'm crossing all my fingers that this gets better!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46197409-filter-this">Filter This by Sophie White</a></b> - kind of funny but also grating at the same time? I think the idea is really interesting but the writing style just isn't supporting it at this stage. Can relate to half-arsed breakfasts although if I made cheese toasties like the MC does, my mother would murder me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/267869.Silent_in_the_Grave?from_search=true">Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn</a></b> - Deanna Raybourn's <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28186322-a-curious-beginning">Veronica Speedwell series</a> is my favourite historical mystery series and I've been procrastinating reading Deanna's other books for years because the thought of not liking them makes me put it off. However, no more! I'm about 10% into <i>Silent in the Grave </i>and really enjoying it so far. Hopefully I keep enjoying it hahahah.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What are you currently reading??</span></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-40761728634205400932019-09-09T20:00:00.000+12:002019-09-22T20:34:57.348+12:00Books I'm determined to read before the end of 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMDpYb372FXCpYmZ98NIErdppUugXwJx9G41tBb-jhlXj_qbP77I5lVxzZvYuiflj0hfY-0-Oc9MWHO_LFXw2tQbJcsYJOKb3d8sq5XXcP21ofxRMcSkn9k5waVBkyZz53JiGaUxTIHQ/s1600/P1150270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMDpYb372FXCpYmZ98NIErdppUugXwJx9G41tBb-jhlXj_qbP77I5lVxzZvYuiflj0hfY-0-Oc9MWHO_LFXw2tQbJcsYJOKb3d8sq5XXcP21ofxRMcSkn9k5waVBkyZz53JiGaUxTIHQ/s640/P1150270.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The end of 2019 isn't all that far around the corner now and I've got a list of books I'm determined to plow through before the year is out! Some are 2019 releases, some are rereads and some are just ones I've put off for years and years out of fear they won't live up to the hype...<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=laini+taylor">GET ALL THE LAINI TAYLOR INTO ME!</a> </b>Aka <i>Muse of Nightmares</i> and <i>Lips Touch</i>. I've been putting off <i>Muse</i> since May 2018 so I think it's time I finally finish the duology!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17199504-the-bone-season?from_search=true">Reread The Bone Season series by Samantha Shannon</a></b> I'm joining in the #Boneathon (lmao, loveee this hashtag) Readathon that Ashleigh @ <a href="https://afrolicthroughfiction.com/">A Frolic In Fiction</a> is hosting in October through to December and which you should join too!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29774026-the-priory-of-the-orange-tree">The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon</a></b> -This has been staring at me from my TBR pile since March. MARCH. It is the size of an actual dragon though which is putting me off slightly as I hate the idea of only being able to push through bits of it at a time around my uni schedule. It will be read before the end of 2019 though!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37569347-courting-darkness?from_search=true">Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers</a></b> - Only the book my fifteen year old self would've cast black magic to get my sticky fingers on. It's the sequel to one of my favourite books and best upper YA dark historical fantasies I've ever read in my life so NO PRESSURE OR ANYTHING. The expectations are through the roof and my soul isn't ready...<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=a+darker+shade+of+magic&search_type=books">ADSOM trilogy by V.E. Schwab</a> </b>-Look, I read and loved A Darker Shade of Magic last year...and then just never got around to reading the rest of the trilogy! I think I'm worried the other two books in the trilogy won't be as good but I've just got to hurry up and start reading.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45044785-the-silvered-serpents?from_search=true">The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi</a></b> -I genuinely squealed when I saw I'd been approved to review The Silvered Serpents! I didn't think it was going to happen and I'd have to wait until February like everyone else! Very grateful and also very impatient to dive in.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36118682-wicked-saints?from_search=true">Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan</a></b> - I've got a review copy of the sequel, Ruthless Gods, so I need to read Wicked Saints ASAP. It sounds like everything I love in a fantasy so I've got my fingers crossed I enjoy it!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19161852-the-fifth-season?ac=1&from_search=true">The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin</a></b> -I have only heard good things about this trilogy and I feel like it's finally time to jump on the bandwagon!<br />
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35068705-the-poppy-war?from_search=true">The Poppy War & The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang</a></b> - All I want to do right now is stop everything and pick up <i>The Dragon Republic</i> but first I have to reread <i>The Poppy War</i>!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What books are you determined to read before the end of 2019??</span>Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-22134592552015827652019-09-02T20:00:00.000+12:002019-09-22T20:33:23.504+12:00What I've Been Reading Lately<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPznsbqXOARerVFpDe6g6Xqict91Alp0VYqozdbxmlU-h_-ExFpsL1EkRyO_S0jyuqvw-1s-mi6tUNSGZ1SzLUbvf-FuRvQS6VqEbip3nkiO0eJN48XtAtTE9tRp4RWrpfCx6RQlqBOGE/s1600/P1150054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPznsbqXOARerVFpDe6g6Xqict91Alp0VYqozdbxmlU-h_-ExFpsL1EkRyO_S0jyuqvw-1s-mi6tUNSGZ1SzLUbvf-FuRvQS6VqEbip3nkiO0eJN48XtAtTE9tRp4RWrpfCx6RQlqBOGE/s640/P1150054.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25733573-reasons-to-stay-alive?ac=1&from_search=true">Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig</a></b> - Liked this but didn't love it? I can see why it's such an important book though and Matt Haig the author is a great person to follow on Twitter! A really quick read and will deffo recommend to people in the future. <b>3 stars!</b><br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35356380-people-like-us?from_search=true">People Like Us by Dana Mele</a></b>
- I read this through one uni lecture and blew off another one to curl
up in a corner and bury myself in this book, haha. I COULD NOT TEAR
MYSELF AWAY. Mysteries and thrillers are so hit and miss for me,
especially YA ones but as soon as I finished PEOPLE LIKE US I wanted
desperately to read it for the first time again. The twists! The turns!
The way every time I thought I knew who the murderer was I was proved
wrong! AHHH! <b>5 stars!</b> <br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34810320-sadie?from_search=true">Sadie by Courtney Summers</a></b> - Oh my god, I think I held my breath the whole time I was reading <i>Sadie</i>. I've never read such a desperate, haunting and bitterly sad book before and it hit me hard in the feelings. This is the only book of Courtney Sunmmers that I've read and I'm now super keen to read all her other previous books but I need some time to process the impact SADIE had on me first. <b>5 stars!</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32571395-one-of-us-is-lying?from_search=true">One Of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus</a> </b>- Maybe if I hadn't read PEOPLE LIKE US and also to a cetain extent SADIE beforehand, I would've enjoyed this one. But I thought it was quite shit and really don't understand the tremendous hype around it. I hate books that use mental health for plot twists like this book did as I think it's such a tasteless and lazy way of creating twists. Left a bad taste in my mouth. <b>1 star!</b><br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35606560-the-sun-and-her-flowers?from_search=true">The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur</a></b> - I've got an off-on relationship with Rupi Kaur. On one hand I think she writes beautifully but on the other hand I don't love a lot of her poems. There were a few good ones in <i>The Sun and Her Flowers</i> though and I liked how the book was constructed into growing/blooming/etc parts. I found some of the poems boring unfortunately and it also really irritated me how she recycled one pretty poem about bees and flower in a few different ways throughout the book which really didn't need it. <b>2 stars!</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36199084-the-kiss-quotient?ac=1&from_search=true"><br /></a>
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36199084-the-kiss-quotient?ac=1&from_search=true">The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang</a></b> - No one told me about the insta-love, oh no! Still enjoyed this one though and will definitely pull out next time I hear someone asking for cute contemporary romance recs. Loved reading about an autistic heroine and how much family featured. Will probably pick up the next book in the trilogy when I'm in desperate need of a HEA. <b>3 stars!</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40972652-the-wallflower-wager?from_search=true">The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare</a></b> - In two words: *chef kiss* Honestly, Tessa Dare's books have been partly responsible for me not completely losing my shit at uni at times this year. They've got me through frustration, tears, stress and despair and made me smile and keep my sense of humour through it all. I think The Wallflower Wager is my second fav in the Girl Meets Duke series and it was SO MUCH FUN. <b>5 stars!</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=julia+quinn">All the Julia Quinn books</a></b> - guess who discovered Libby and thinks it's the best thing ever?? ME. I enjoyed a couple of Julia Quinn's books but it wasn't until I'd worked my way through about five more that I realized that they're all basically the same with slightly different storylines. Not helped by the writing style which is easy to read but sometimes so basic it felt poorly written. Definitely prefer and recommend Tessa Dare and Sarah Maclean if you're looking for a good historical romance. <b>Average rating was 2 stars!</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What have you been reading lately? Anything that you really loved or especially hated?</span></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-70530787266793423312019-08-05T20:00:00.000+12:002019-09-07T21:47:28.223+12:00My Favourite Books Look Terrible <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFBfIdoYixlgGisGstCk6ZU6USat6Mo-_xL3aK2BnWyJUrazq6jhxVdDbyNTgJHOq61n7YQWLOHre66h-XALYMfDonLv4tDOAcfWxnOBPYhAeTN9Bow0UO5PUpp1iXabVKeMI_A7yWQs/s1600/P1150013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFBfIdoYixlgGisGstCk6ZU6USat6Mo-_xL3aK2BnWyJUrazq6jhxVdDbyNTgJHOq61n7YQWLOHre66h-XALYMfDonLv4tDOAcfWxnOBPYhAeTN9Bow0UO5PUpp1iXabVKeMI_A7yWQs/s640/P1150013.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_1882209271"></span><span id="goog_1882209272"></span><br />
A couple of months ago on Twitter, an author I follow commented on how much she loved seeing photos of her books from libraries that are really worn and battered as it showed that lots of people had been reading and really enjoying it. It got me thinking about how some of my own most treasured and favourite reads/books in the world that are some of my most precious possessions look like they've been run over several times and chewed by some mythical beast.<br />
<br />
To a certain degree I don't like my books being bunged around too much, especially by other people (this is why I also prefer hardbacks to paperbacks because I can lend them to people without worrying they're gonna come back to me in little pieces lmao). But I think it's interesting that I see books with the most creases and bunged up bits as being much loved books.<br />
<br />
My copy of Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix for example. It is ragged, ripped, torn and rough around the edges. The cover is faded and the corners blurred and the cover will never sit flat again. Being a) a paperback and b) a big book, the spine is cracked and bent in a dozen different ways. I am certain that this book will fall apart and crumble in my hands one day. It's not very pretty. <br />
<br />
It's bent and cracked and blurred from all the times I've flicked the cover and bent back the page. The spine is so split from the way I've held it so wide and tightly when I've become so absorbed in the book/while reading and from the many, many times I've read the book. I know when I folded that page and why. I know which pages are tear stained and why and I know the cover is worn thin and the spine in broken split pieces from all the times I've poured over it and read it front to back.<br />
<br />
But I absolutely love every single one of those things about my copy. And I wouldn't change a single thing.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">what are your thoughts? </span></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-63286326985370579972019-07-22T19:00:00.000+12:002019-07-22T19:00:00.550+12:00Why Rereading Is So Important To Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQRnsCbyQjj5C99ZnwWSkTvcbuekvR8_WOForXhz6w2EwK1Qa7jy70Xm1rWqNd52azG95k11O2WlzrZCPAurl_Gm8a9dmOcGTDU8ePS-UrEJuu1KV50oiSq0nx2r75j84wX8zfVnnCGw/s1600/P1150069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQRnsCbyQjj5C99ZnwWSkTvcbuekvR8_WOForXhz6w2EwK1Qa7jy70Xm1rWqNd52azG95k11O2WlzrZCPAurl_Gm8a9dmOcGTDU8ePS-UrEJuu1KV50oiSq0nx2r75j84wX8zfVnnCGw/s640/P1150069.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The only thing I enjoy more than an amazing book is an amazing book that I love to reread again and again. There will always be those books that you think are the *best thing you've ever read* on the first read but know deep down that if you ever reread it you’ll probably not enjoy it as much -- or worse, find problems with it.So I LOVE finding those books that you just *know* you're going to enjoy just as much or even more every time you reread them.<br />
<br />
These books are so important to me because they’re comfortable and safe in that I know that I love the book already and I know what’s going to happen (sometimes word for word!), but also exciting and nostalgic because I love the story so much and makes me feel so good and also brings back all the feelings of when I read it for the very first time. <br />
<br />
Rereading a well-loved favourite book of mine fills me with so much joy. Revisiting a story that I love makes me so happy and is generally one of the most self-caring things I can do for myself. I think sometimes I actually prefer rereading old favourites than discovering newer ones.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">are you a fan of rereading?? </span></b></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-10882892893102040892019-07-08T19:00:00.000+12:002019-07-08T19:00:03.188+12:00A Peek Through...The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAJV76YHIm4PLjlPRBbuEUKo9tqLt3ryGkqO4CrYuSLRJdWtsxDEp0_837xhZGZyVA-6HLRhLjSXmdtDmyXehtZrMcLoNjQ69kXW3CK9eWZJi8saL3kDTSCZXy5UJ1Hy_TTA1rSy8ONM/s1600/P1150266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAJV76YHIm4PLjlPRBbuEUKo9tqLt3ryGkqO4CrYuSLRJdWtsxDEp0_837xhZGZyVA-6HLRhLjSXmdtDmyXehtZrMcLoNjQ69kXW3CK9eWZJi8saL3kDTSCZXy5UJ1Hy_TTA1rSy8ONM/s640/P1150266.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm ashamed to say that even though <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29774026-the-priory-of-the-orange-tree">THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE</a> has been in the iron grip of my possession since March, I have yet to venture further than 100 pages of this mighty wordy beast. In my defense, PRIORY is bloody <i>huge</i>. at 848 pages long (848 PAGES LONG!!), I think it will probably be the biggest book I've ever read!<br />
<br />
Even though I haven't been making an effort to push through this glorious monster, I have been admiring it at every opportunity since it arrived at my door looking like several bricks wrapped up in Book Depository packaging. My photos don't do the beautiful colours and illustrations justice but I thought today I'd give you a peek through PRIORY just like last year when I gave you <a href="http://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2018/07/a-peek-through-other-wordly.html">a peek through OTHER-WORDLY</a>. So feast your eyeballs and enjoy! (And maybe leave me a stern but also encouraging comment below and tell me to HURRY UP AND KEEP READING THIS BOOK.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzR-W1GwkntblTCyTW4VIC4qSe0uauN2i1LCN1C6FDstpBG9aMDGaKKaIqPKviZYFslD2NE7HAFWZB8bL47qbkpp9cBFak5-8xs-Yj4yd1oGJGaIqwo10P4yF5cIVuTE7cCDjNX7Sqh0/s1600/P1150267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzR-W1GwkntblTCyTW4VIC4qSe0uauN2i1LCN1C6FDstpBG9aMDGaKKaIqPKviZYFslD2NE7HAFWZB8bL47qbkpp9cBFak5-8xs-Yj4yd1oGJGaIqwo10P4yF5cIVuTE7cCDjNX7Sqh0/s640/P1150267.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrr8yddhaKXqDMKQvTtCGXH_sp1BNSgz6DstTCxgbt5hl5TiIGHIVHmBXwP1MGlye98q6GS4jilabMR1fpj7sTJCC20K2K7t6Q3nsdJT9buma5o1h02O2faC8GBqKjY1mpJfmeemTiE44/s1600/P1150268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrr8yddhaKXqDMKQvTtCGXH_sp1BNSgz6DstTCxgbt5hl5TiIGHIVHmBXwP1MGlye98q6GS4jilabMR1fpj7sTJCC20K2K7t6Q3nsdJT9buma5o1h02O2faC8GBqKjY1mpJfmeemTiE44/s640/P1150268.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKf1aT1gQbnWAdcEJLxsqhyphenhyphen-qMFI5a6SxMq1JbCCDSKSkfbPz9O4uGT2yMSDldB9W5j3CgkD_pvL_PcCSxdKS1XvpTr1GnxHUm0Jx7Q71URnmYNQU6SYpKeJ9GUn8CM_MM0rB_cZ2IAE/s1600/P1150270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKf1aT1gQbnWAdcEJLxsqhyphenhyphen-qMFI5a6SxMq1JbCCDSKSkfbPz9O4uGT2yMSDldB9W5j3CgkD_pvL_PcCSxdKS1XvpTr1GnxHUm0Jx7Q71URnmYNQU6SYpKeJ9GUn8CM_MM0rB_cZ2IAE/s640/P1150270.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixotrzj6HSvfrIaRyE5SzJXMECaFje2NI2fuRbe4OTfpbZKbTN3PrZMgXAIZ3AIZf3blrAckWUBtg24qjgxGNMxTX1s_ZiNcxRVjHy2Nd0GU7aC1FPeiyE7bK0mvxZOLOtYalTMs9Obvs/s1600/P1150273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixotrzj6HSvfrIaRyE5SzJXMECaFje2NI2fuRbe4OTfpbZKbTN3PrZMgXAIZ3AIZf3blrAckWUBtg24qjgxGNMxTX1s_ZiNcxRVjHy2Nd0GU7aC1FPeiyE7bK0mvxZOLOtYalTMs9Obvs/s640/P1150273.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYCn6Cu8-Xezmvu_metNvYPON7xrQVQE93zoCksU2rhKU6F6TuOS4wyT4bFTiNx_1mcHp1EE4e1ZalgT7DeA2gHBTItFP4mMDdKn9gMrss9vuLewhaEUsu0Pdbf2Umd5dKJXGfxzR5To/s1600/P1150274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYCn6Cu8-Xezmvu_metNvYPON7xrQVQE93zoCksU2rhKU6F6TuOS4wyT4bFTiNx_1mcHp1EE4e1ZalgT7DeA2gHBTItFP4mMDdKn9gMrss9vuLewhaEUsu0Pdbf2Umd5dKJXGfxzR5To/s640/P1150274.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86UQiC9mKxJ2vPH2JDnOs0H6PAK2xtrFU_R-G7OMC2AhZnEWkdZRpaa1ReKRO4KXAuE01ulIEkzhOdH1V0vF9wqVnazhvAjqiJCkqh9bPXTVE2lcT0d_YotMIBeKYhwyTIF3VYcYmAxI/s1600/P1150283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86UQiC9mKxJ2vPH2JDnOs0H6PAK2xtrFU_R-G7OMC2AhZnEWkdZRpaa1ReKRO4KXAuE01ulIEkzhOdH1V0vF9wqVnazhvAjqiJCkqh9bPXTVE2lcT0d_YotMIBeKYhwyTIF3VYcYmAxI/s640/P1150283.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7L2pSdHvCe-Lsd-Aduyf6zO74xDiTDXh4IcH-scRDoWeDf_PVmsTiTFhlOphHkbbJYzESqzI1blOF7e9gs85TKLf7MyJdp0PhPpV-14jWNbbNOGUat1pZflF8GaxnQu9SCOw00TbgQg/s1600/P1150285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7L2pSdHvCe-Lsd-Aduyf6zO74xDiTDXh4IcH-scRDoWeDf_PVmsTiTFhlOphHkbbJYzESqzI1blOF7e9gs85TKLf7MyJdp0PhPpV-14jWNbbNOGUat1pZflF8GaxnQu9SCOw00TbgQg/s640/P1150285.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkcAlX3ZLMVbsG95CZQOY5W8lINoMcQcboxkHmNbr_ZZ-NeJcQGlcHki75S475vaa5trEBKXeqTIBSbjMRfMyrcNSzzJaAvJWN3oHDD22BJK21BvjZptpAYw5NCzXfvYVO4noQCuaA5g/s1600/P1150286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkcAlX3ZLMVbsG95CZQOY5W8lINoMcQcboxkHmNbr_ZZ-NeJcQGlcHki75S475vaa5trEBKXeqTIBSbjMRfMyrcNSzzJaAvJWN3oHDD22BJK21BvjZptpAYw5NCzXfvYVO4noQCuaA5g/s640/P1150286.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3qTrWqOThCZTuCEAUQN_Gn341W4BEUWwdmkYTAn4RD4Gn9qX0A8LeZH51wY93tL3RJPymuf_T2lWEKUrqt7_-Zm0n8fCCyiEv5RWCE9rHO6J-XAtYlI7mxiSpjUA_4Tdp9BigJ7TUzc/s1600/P1150292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3qTrWqOThCZTuCEAUQN_Gn341W4BEUWwdmkYTAn4RD4Gn9qX0A8LeZH51wY93tL3RJPymuf_T2lWEKUrqt7_-Zm0n8fCCyiEv5RWCE9rHO6J-XAtYlI7mxiSpjUA_4Tdp9BigJ7TUzc/s640/P1150292.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">have you read PRIORY?? does it live up the hype or should i just carry on staring at the cover at every opportunity and put off reading it?</span></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-52512833209041540472019-06-24T20:00:00.000+12:002019-09-08T08:32:35.633+12:00Checking In With My Bookish & Blogging Goals for 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9GaLhLR6nUJlrsXewJm_L3D6FH14-lJFvRYLRdDZEB9rzQ1uYEghmvXsofcCave59R4dKLtgkDFkjR5lmSGTXhWTlIR9-mcKm_xoF2RL5ntTU1AKPgiSJziATjlpAGFbtkEUKNmsGC9k/s1600/P1140129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9GaLhLR6nUJlrsXewJm_L3D6FH14-lJFvRYLRdDZEB9rzQ1uYEghmvXsofcCave59R4dKLtgkDFkjR5lmSGTXhWTlIR9-mcKm_xoF2RL5ntTU1AKPgiSJziATjlpAGFbtkEUKNmsGC9k/s640/P1140129.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Happy <i>we're halfway throgh the year and who can believe that we're halfway through 2019 already</i>?? I thought it might be fun to check in and see how well/badly I've done with my bookish and blogging goals for 2019 so far!<br />
<b><br />
</b> <b>B O O K I S H :</b><br />
<br />
<b>Read 50-100 books.</b> DING DING DING! I was seriously worried that with starting uni this year I wouldn't have time to read many books but at the moment my reading goal is telling me I've read 70 books which I'm really happy with! I'll definitely be over the 100-mark by the end of the year.<br />
<br />
<b>Start a book club.</b> I actually did this! And it...failed. But I might try again in 2020 or else just look for one somewhere near me that I can join.<br />
<br />
<b>Try Alisha Rai, Alyssa Cole, Helen Hoang, Nalini Singh and Talia Hibbert's books.</b> Not yet!! But I am planning to get around it them! <br />
<br />
<b>Buy books more thoughtfully.</b> I've done really well on that front with physical books and really terribly on ebooks so far this year. does that balance it out?? I've still got the rest of the yer to do better, right?<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Add up every book I buy.</b> Yes! I'm actually really liking having a list that shows me my whole book buying history for this year and I think I'll carry on doing it next year as well.<br />
<br />
<b>B L O G :</b><br />
<br />
<b>Interview 3 authors.</b> I've had the pleasure of interviewing C.G. Drews and Danielle Hawkins this year and I'm hoping to interview a couple more authors before the year is out!<br />
<br />
<b>Start 3 new blog series/features.</b> *cricket noises* I have all the ideas but not enough time or energy to make it happen..soooooooon though hopefully.<br />
<br />
<b>Hold 3 twitter giveaways.</b> I think I've held...one so far? Better fix that...<br />
<br />
<b>Join in 2 twitter chats.</b> No, but in my defense, I live in New Zealand and overseas chats are often held at times where I have to get up early or stay up late for them. I'm going to try and make it to a couple when I'm done with uni though!<br />
<br />
<b>Stop lurking on twitter.</b> I think I'm getting better at reaching out and interacting with people more but I still could do better!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Comment on all the blogs!</b> No...<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">so far I think I've done really well on my bookish goals but need to work on my blogging goals before 2019 ends! how are you bookish/blogging goals going if you've got any?</span></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-68319747274612752962019-06-17T20:00:00.000+12:002019-06-17T20:00:04.495+12:00My Bookish Habits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7SyLM380PPiu78Rx04bh2C5bwiU16xYbIfF1nZfiB-nHnu7qtJVszx1VTCUtDdmxJpADQ0iGAyaKolmWXeqywKYLXV9ZoZHLB9Y5xPuHuf2rJdG0EkdOW3FS3eEJ6PJvdZygGCFQoa8I/s1600/P1150059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7SyLM380PPiu78Rx04bh2C5bwiU16xYbIfF1nZfiB-nHnu7qtJVszx1VTCUtDdmxJpADQ0iGAyaKolmWXeqywKYLXV9ZoZHLB9Y5xPuHuf2rJdG0EkdOW3FS3eEJ6PJvdZygGCFQoa8I/s640/P1150059.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Always having more than one book on the go at a time.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>But trying to make sure I'm not reading two or three fantasies or books from the same genre because I get sick of it and all the books start to merge into one.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Having so many bookmarks but generally using everything except those bookmarks from the corner of my duvet to a dirty scrap of paper from the bottom of my bag...</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Telling myself I'll remember what page/chapter I'm on and EVERY TIME forgetting what page/chapter I was on.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Skim reading if something gets boring and then wondering why I can't understand anything/something a few pages on.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Staying in one position the whole time while reading and not moving even if its uncomfortable because I get so absorbed in reading that I forget or can't be bothered to move.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Talking out loud to the characters and yelling at them when they do stupid things EVEN THOUGH THEY CAN'T HEAR ME AND IT DOESN'T STOP THEM DOING STUPID THINGS.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Forget one more page or one more chapter, doing those things becomes the whole book lmao.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Getting to the end of a book and if it's really good thinking I will never be able to write like that and I may as well stop trying. Also reading a book I hate and thinking I can DEFINITELY write better then this hahaha.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">what are some of your bookish habits?? </span></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-29455146281318398672019-06-10T20:00:00.000+12:002019-07-05T08:15:03.237+12:0020 Bookish Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWtJ2wBIeXjZllQZzxNy6Tce1gF1CRXjuacBRGm4DzamwcfxBKPOxjhJdSf4-lAOB2LYTynFsjS-ULEYtQdoMwlGFNd_8m44dqADbL5ENrG-g1eRyJEhYO7H6JnR2dWLxSWFiISwHFonQ/s1600/P1150062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWtJ2wBIeXjZllQZzxNy6Tce1gF1CRXjuacBRGm4DzamwcfxBKPOxjhJdSf4-lAOB2LYTynFsjS-ULEYtQdoMwlGFNd_8m44dqADbL5ENrG-g1eRyJEhYO7H6JnR2dWLxSWFiISwHFonQ/s640/P1150062.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
This post is brought to you by the fact I've just turned 20 and my <a href="http://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2018/07/19-bookish-things.html">19 Bookish Things</a> post last year was quite popular so I'm thinking about making it a yearly thing?? Anyway, enjoy these 20 bookish things about me, I'm off to go have a crisis over turning 20 and what I'm doing with my life...fun times!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><b>1)</b></i> I finished my first ever novel last year!!! I haven't had a chance to edit it yet but that's because I've been making excuses upon excuses to avoid it because I don't want to have to go through all the pain of editing it...<br />
<br />
<i><b>2)</b></i> I spent most of 2018 in a Reading Slump To End All Reading Slumps and I never want to go through that shit again.<br />
<br />
<i><b>3)</b></i> I don't actually really like books being adapted to screen...<br />
<br />
<i><b>4)</b></i> Now that I'm 20 I'm even more bitter then I was at 18 over how little books there are for my age group and above :'(<br />
<br />
<i><b>5)</b></i> I've been yelling about books on the internet for just over 5 years now and whereeeee has that time gone??<br />
<br />
<i><b>6)</b></i> My favourite read so far this year has been a tie between <a href="http://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2019/04/5-things-about-wicked-king-by-holly.html">THE WICKED KING </a>and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30518319-a-dangerous-collaboration?ac=1&from_search=true">A DANGEROUS COLLABORATION</a>.<br />
<br />
<i><b>7)</b></i> This year I've rediscovered my love for dragon books and now all I want is dragons in EVERYTHING.<br />
<br />
<i><b>8)</b></i> I've made most of my bookshelves from old drawers and bee frame boxes! Anyone want a tutorial?<br />
<br />
<i><b>9)</b></i> Still waiting for Belle library to just appear in my house...<br />
<br />
<i><b>10)</b></i> Sometimes I lie awake at night and hope that wherever my favourite characters are they're having a great life.<br />
<br />
<i><b>11)</b></i> It's eight months until THE QUEEN OF NOTHING comes out and I cannot waaaaaait!!<br />
<br />
<i><b>12)</b></i> I wish uni textbooks were as good as real books...<br />
<br />
<i><b>13)</b></i> I want to collect every single edition of THE BONE SEASON series but at the same time I don't want to bankrupt myself in doing so??<br />
<br />
<i><b>14)</b></i> I love <a href="http://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2016/12/double-reviews-amy-snow-florence-grace.html">my book page wall in my bedroom</a> more than a lot of things in my life.<br />
<br />
<i><b>15)</b></i> Nothing goes together like a good book, a blanket and a nice cup of tea :')<br />
<br />
<b><i>16)</i></b> Still haven't found an audiobook I've been able to stick with for the whole book...recs please! <br />
<br />
<i><b>17)</b></i> Romance and Contemporary fiction save my stress levels from hitting the sky during stressful times e.g uni exam and essay time!!<br />
<br />
<i><b>18)</b></i> Nothing brings me more joy <a href="http://novelly-ella.blogspot.com/2018/09/5-things-about-pride-prejudice.html">than finding sheets that match book covers</a>! <br />
<br />
<i><b>19)</b></i> Still shit at socializing on book twitter, still want to get better, maybe this year I'll finally do it and stop lurking??<br />
<br />
<i><b>20)</b></i> My favourite genres are still fantasy, historical fiction and romance!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">what are some bookish things about YOU?? </span></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-42693457746979635072019-05-27T20:00:00.003+12:002019-05-27T20:00:03.262+12:005 Things about The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrnstuYExuTFi7geu4yE_cwdXPnJ3xTFOW8GnTWjKKhKPG7RIhywxY_b_PPdHV1ptwLVpY9THxr9KT2BNt-LgpYvPOvt5yuy25bkXXvmTKdLe3WWL7bwtTd_N8HnlR7IhynAVjoZGqQU/s1600/P1150294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrnstuYExuTFi7geu4yE_cwdXPnJ3xTFOW8GnTWjKKhKPG7RIhywxY_b_PPdHV1ptwLVpY9THxr9KT2BNt-LgpYvPOvt5yuy25bkXXvmTKdLe3WWL7bwtTd_N8HnlR7IhynAVjoZGqQU/s640/P1150294.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Thank you Carina Press for the review copy!</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>1) Reading Lucy Parker's books is always very bittersweet </b>because on one hand it's so exciting having a new release to read but on the other hand you know you're going to have to wait another year before the next book comes out and the wait feels TOO LONNNNG!<br />
<br />
<b>2) I LOVED Freddy but to be completely honest, I didn't give much of a shit about Griff?</b> I've never not enjoyed Lucy Parker's heros but I didn't care about him as much as the other characters, like Freddy and sometimes thought that Freddy had more chemistry (in the beginning) with Charlie than Griff. I might just be Charlie biased though because I would KILL to see a book about Charlie!<br />
<br />
<b>3) The romance was super cute </b>but didn't feel to me like there was as much chemistry as past characters and books from the series have had. I didn't really feel like there were those sPaRkS that Lucy's books are known for being full of which was a tad disappointing. It also felt a bit insta lovey and I felt ripped off because where's the sexual tension that I live for in this series?!<br />
<br />
<b>4) So much happened but it was very slow moving at the same time??</b> So much happens in the book that it's bursting at the seams but when reading it the pace felt quite slow, which threw me off a bit.<br />
<br />
<b>5) I really want Sadie to be eaten by a horse or at the very least leave the country.</b> I wish she'd stop popping up like a poisonous puppet, I personally don't think she brings much to the story apart from being a sadistic troll and I don't think she adds anything to the series anymore. However, that might just be me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Austen-Playbook-London-Celebrities-ebook/dp/B07J3F86R2/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=lucy+parker&qid=1558084648&s=digital-text&sr=1-1">Buy THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK!</a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">have you read anything by lucy parker?? </span></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-19415211335229292672019-05-20T20:00:00.002+12:002019-05-20T20:00:09.141+12:005 Things About When It All Went To Custard by Danielle Hawkins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwtW9pxBLdC92J43tWpFSSqcBZbrCmvaMEdnFq0WA8vb0sTDc0Kuj69Otor0uJyvjyArh1DfNHadspe6VhsQjzCL8QnJeJqj1mXFNjKSEwn-tN240NLXzqoMduyl5d11zhTRwuFw63Ytc/s1600/P1150230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwtW9pxBLdC92J43tWpFSSqcBZbrCmvaMEdnFq0WA8vb0sTDc0Kuj69Otor0uJyvjyArh1DfNHadspe6VhsQjzCL8QnJeJqj1mXFNjKSEwn-tN240NLXzqoMduyl5d11zhTRwuFw63Ytc/s640/P1150230.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Thank you Harper Collins NZ for the review copy!</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>1) It's been so long since I last read a Danielle Hawkins book and from the first page of WHEN IT ALL WENT TO CUSTARD I was reminded why I love her books so much!</b> This book is absolutely trademark Danielle Hawkins - funny, heart warming, realistic and so, so good. Reading her books is like reading a hug and WHEN IT ALL WENT TO CUSTARD was no different. <br />
<br />
<b>2) 10/10 points for humour and swoony romance! </b>The humour was spot on and made me cackle out loud more than once. It was also really nice to read a romance with a single mum as the main character as I don't feel that's super common in romance? Anyway, I loved the swoony but realistic romance with my favourite tropes like grumpy hero, smart heroine, snarky humour and a HEA - all my favourite things!<br />
<br />
<b>3) I adored the New Zealand setting SO MUCH.</b> I don't read/find it hard to find very many books set in New Zealand so I'm used to reading books set in settings and places I have absolutely no clue where anything is or nothing is familiar to me. The rural New Zealand setting of CUSTARD was so familiar to me and I loved being able to recognize names and places of things or know where they are! It's the small things!<br />
<br />
<b>4) Not the most exciting book I've ever read but it gripped me from the first page </b>and gave me an escape from looming uni assignments! Definitely recommend if you're looking for something relaxing and unstressful to read. HEA is included!<br />
<br />
<b>5) Will absolutely reread again and again!</b> Contemporary romance done THE Best. So cozy and heartwarming but also realistic and very clever. If you like Lucy Parker definitely give Danielle Hawkins a try!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/when-it-all-went-to-custard/28547821">Buy from Mighty Ape</a> / <a href="https://www.paperplus.co.nz/book/9781775541417">Buy from Paper Plus</a> / <a href="https://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/search?q=9781775541417">Buy from Whitcoulls</a> </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">have you read anything by danielle hawkins! i recommend WHEN IT WENT TO CUSTARD or CHOCOLATE CAKE FOR BREAKFAST if you're not sure which of danielle's books to start with first!</span></div>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-59722686714926165732019-05-06T20:00:00.003+12:002019-07-05T08:15:01.965+12:00Chit-Chat With...Danielle Hawkins on Giving Her Books a New Zealand Setting, Advice She'd Give Her Debut Author Self + More!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLY6lankauqsNDdaxAhFbBY-iG0Ah1-2HeIBJUjV2ZDMcJ5oiHWU0gbaDoT7r1WvAdULeFEEEZfQG9TfSP8Fo49172dg9h3SDXUVVao6ISPkCPPgCcKpD_aVgX6nmstFGdbpie182y_6Y/s1600/P1150060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLY6lankauqsNDdaxAhFbBY-iG0Ah1-2HeIBJUjV2ZDMcJ5oiHWU0gbaDoT7r1WvAdULeFEEEZfQG9TfSP8Fo49172dg9h3SDXUVVao6ISPkCPPgCcKpD_aVgX6nmstFGdbpie182y_6Y/s640/P1150060.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm so excited and honoured to have Danielle Hawkins on the blog today!! I first discovered Danielle's books in 2014. I was in a bookshop and I found a new and shiny copy of <i>Chocolate Cake For Breakfast</i>. The blurb was intriguing and so I read the first page..and then the next one..and the next one and then when I was dragged reluctantly from the bookshop by my parents, sadly having to leave <i>Chocolate Cake</i> behind, I put holds on Danielle's books at the library as soon as I got home. And I've been a huge fan of her work since! I love Danielle's work for a variety of reasons but one of the biggest
was because her books are set in New Zealand. Finding books set in New
Zealand by New Zealand authors are quite hard to find and it always
fills me with joy when I find them! <br />
<br />
So getting to interview Danielle feels quite monumental...If 2014 Ella had known that 2019 Ella would get to do this I think she probably would've exploded or screamed at the very least, haha. Anyway, enough rambling, onto the interview!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Hi Danielle! Thank you so much for coming on the blog today! Would you mind introducing yourself and your books?</b><br />
<br />
Sure! I live on a sheep and beef farm between Otorohanga and Te Kuiti with my husband and two children. I grew up there – we lease it from my parents – and it’s beautiful, with big blocks of native bush that my grandfather fenced off back in the days before anyone much cared about conservation. I work as a vet two days a week, and write when the kids are at school and I’m not needed on the farm. I love reading (especially books I know well; so much less risky than new books that might not end happily) and gardening, and I’m a reasonably good cook if I’m in the right mood. <i>When it all Went to Custard</i> is my fourth book – all four are happily-ending, mildly humorous stories about girls a bit like me, set in rural New Zealand. I’m trying to write something a bit different at the moment, which will please the work colleague who’s also writing a book and who tells me earnestly that I really should consider writing something with a plot.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Oh my god, the nerve of your work colleague! I've always thought your books have strong plots but your work colleague seems to have a very different opinion... What drew you to writing in the first place and when did you start?</b><br />
<br />
I started writing at high school, as a nice relaxing way to put myself to sleep (which doesn’t say much for the vigour and excitement of my prose). I used to write little bits of dramatic scenes – arguments, rescues, narrow escapes – when I didn’t have a book to read, but I always thought that writing a whole book would be much too much like hard work. I took it up again more seriously when I was at home from work on maternity leave. Katherine was a very easy baby, bless her, and I got bored and wanted a big project. The first thing I wrote was horribly amateur, even to the fond eyes of its creator, but it was so much fun that I kept practicing.<br />
<br />
<b>One things that I’ve always LOVED about your books is the NZ setting! The first book I ever read of yours was<i> Chocolate Cake For Breakfast</i> and I remember feeling so at home in the story because the NZ setting was so familiar to me! Why did you decide to set your books in NZ? And have you ever been tempted to set them anywhere else?</b><br />
<br />
I set my books in New Zealand because I love this place, and I thought I’d be a lot more convincing if I stuck with describing something I knew. I actually thought, in my innocence, that the NZ setting might appeal to people from overseas. In fact, it was a major downside for publishers, and when my first book was accepted someone in marketing thought it would be a much better plan to change the setting to somewhere ‘neutral and international’ so as to give the book a wider appeal. I can’t imagine how I’d have done that, but my publisher squashed the idea, and in the end they settled for just giving it a very generic cover and blurb, so that potential buyers wouldn’t guess it was set in New Zealand until they’d bought it.<br />
<br />
I do like the idea of a different setting – a really convincing made-up universe – but made-up universes have to be totally consistent and believable to work, and I haven’t got one ironed out properly in my head yet.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>I'm so glad you still got to set your books in New Zealand! It's so refreshing to read about things and places and people that feel like 'home' in your books. How do you get through writer’s block when you’re stuck?</b><br />
<br />
With considerable difficulty! Writer’s block is horrible, and I don’t have a foolproof system for beating it. I just keep chipping away, writing and deleting and rewriting and re-deleting the bit that won’t come out right, until eventually I end up with something I can live with.<br />
<br />
<b>Have you ever wanted to write outside the contemporary romantic genre?</b><br />
<br />
Yes! What I’d really like to do is write an epic fantasy series, featuring an utterly convincing, beautifully crafted alternative reality. Like Phillip Pullman or Ursula Le Guin. I doubt that I’m clever enough to do it, but it’s fun to try.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>I am 100% here for any epic fantasy series you write! Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?</b><br />
<br />
Writing well takes a HUGE amount of practice. Read lots, to give you an idea of what good writing looks like, and accept that the first five books you write will probably be lousy, but that you have to write them anyway if you want to get better. It’s really hard to get published, and your chances diminish to microscopic if your work is amateur and ungrammatical. I think lots of people devote too much time to trying to publicize and sell their work, and not enough time to actually writing and polishing it.<br />
<br />
<b>You've been given a time machine! What's something you wish you'd known before your first book came out and that if you could, you'd go back in time to tell yourself?</b><br />
<br />
I so wish I could tell myself not to take it all so personally. I was elated by nice reviews and crushed by bad ones, and I lost all perspective about the whole thing. Which was a real shame, because actually I’d just written a pleasant little book, not a searing, inspirational masterpiece for our time, and I really didn’t need to get so wound up about it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Who are a few of your favourite authors?</b><br />
<br />
Terry Pratchett, Phillip Pullman, Georgette Heyer, Mary Scott, Mary Stewart, James Herriot, Amanda Hemingway, Gerald Durrell, D E Stevenson…<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Ahhhh, James Herriot and Gerald Durrell bring back so many good memories! If you had to paper one room in your house with one of your books, which book would you choose and why?</b><br />
<br />
I’d hate to paper a room with any of my books. By the time they’re published I’ve spent a couple of years writing them, and then edited and proof-read and re-edited until none of the jokes are funny any more and they seem like the most over-written, affected things I’ve ever seen. The thought of having them in plain sight and being constantly reminded of everything I could have done better is appalling!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Thank you SO MUCH, Danielle, for this interview! </b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnN0UUQlioe9BJgzPnniH9Zdu7I1v0hiLEPvdKXf4p19KULEEgwgVDCxfL4CtfIvqhkmvY5Cxr6I-xLD4XL9sIbnNYFz1YlozEP0EtdjaGoIEh2fFnnEvj5_u3oRg_ZvHG3sn17-M2aA/s1600/Danielle+5_Marama+Shearer%252C+Thrive+Photography.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnN0UUQlioe9BJgzPnniH9Zdu7I1v0hiLEPvdKXf4p19KULEEgwgVDCxfL4CtfIvqhkmvY5Cxr6I-xLD4XL9sIbnNYFz1YlozEP0EtdjaGoIEh2fFnnEvj5_u3oRg_ZvHG3sn17-M2aA/s320/Danielle+5_Marama+Shearer%252C+Thrive+Photography.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsJdf0o7X6bhbpY7uWRPFK4QtHCL3igooXVsl3hwWkGaf-uIsy2V3_IUuxn8zbBxihzR-S2UQaSjKJQJ6MSfRbRo2xS-7Vp9BXbJuThEw4r-Q_S-erB_4tWT6EOLwVnME-wNnCUqE4No/s1600/When+It+All+Went+to+Custard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsJdf0o7X6bhbpY7uWRPFK4QtHCL3igooXVsl3hwWkGaf-uIsy2V3_IUuxn8zbBxihzR-S2UQaSjKJQJ6MSfRbRo2xS-7Vp9BXbJuThEw4r-Q_S-erB_4tWT6EOLwVnME-wNnCUqE4No/s320/When+It+All+Went+to+Custard.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.harpercollins.co.nz/9781775541417/when-it-all-went-to-custard/"><i>When It All Went to Custard</i>, by Danielle Hawkins is out now, $35 RRP (HarperCollins)</a>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>For details of Danielle’s speaking events and book signings </b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/432600480642743/"><b>click here</b>.</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/when-it-all-went-to-custard/28547821">Buy from Mighty Ape</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.paperplus.co.nz/book/9781775541417">Buy from Paper Plus</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/search?q=9781775541417"><br /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/search?q=9781775541417">Buy from Whitcoulls</a></div>
<br />Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970087397309630410.post-2134350534709366302019-04-29T20:00:00.000+12:002019-04-29T20:00:13.246+12:005 Things About The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTLZEnwoG7lY7qzvnBKfOB11zhHFMa9fQtVzRZOdBQ_JlYDOraklJRsLW6naz6mP_SAOP0c46W3WjcZq7vz3Ea0yi5aOTXtYWPqRlw3AICoK-l50iM2NtBbR7bNcf3Ydw0-AOWwjyC9E/s1600/P1150129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTLZEnwoG7lY7qzvnBKfOB11zhHFMa9fQtVzRZOdBQ_JlYDOraklJRsLW6naz6mP_SAOP0c46W3WjcZq7vz3Ea0yi5aOTXtYWPqRlw3AICoK-l50iM2NtBbR7bNcf3Ydw0-AOWwjyC9E/s640/P1150129.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>Thank you Netgalley for the review copy!</i><br />
<br />
<b>1) The Gilded Wolves is a luxurious fantasy adventure that I badly want to be in. </b>Sweeping mythology mixed with blasts of adventure. Caught me at the beginning, lost me for a little in the middle and then captured me again at the end.<br />
<br />
<b>2) All the characters are my children now :') </b>AND I SHIP ALL OF THEM! Well all except one... And I would be lying if I said I loved them all equally because there's that...one. And also who could make prouder and tear up more than Laia????<br />
<br />
<b>3) Everyone is a Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw!!</b> Okay, so that's just in my opinion, maybe Roshani Chokshi thinks some of these characters are Gryffindors but on my eyes none of them were. (And it was so refreshing not to read about annoying Gryffindors lol.)<br />
<br />
<b>4) I applaud not only the cleverness of the five POVS but how excellently they were all weaved into the story and with each other/together.</b> The fact there's such a sharp difference between each character's pov as well meant that not once did I confuse anyone or wonder again who's pov I was reading from. I never got tired of a character and wanted to skip to another character's chapter NOT ONCE. Every character's POV was gripping and exciting and so cleverly weaved around every other character AND the plot!<br />
<br />
<b>5) I JUST REALLY WANT THE SECOND BOOK OKAY!</b> My heart yearns for the second book. I need it like I need water. Like I need AIR!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>B U Y T H I S B O O K :</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gilded-Wolves-Roshani-Chokshi-ebook/dp/B07CWQGFMK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1550311211&sr=1-1&keywords=the+gilded+wolves">amazon</a> / <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Gilded-Wolves-Roshani-Chokshi/9781250144546?ref=grid-view&qid=1550312223951&sr=1-1">book depository</a></div>
<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
have you read THE GILDED WOLVES or anything by roshani chokshi??</h3>
Ella @ Novelly Ellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02433054752351144347noreply@blogger.com0