Monthly Recap : January ’21

Happy new year 2021! I can’t believe we’ve passed the first month of 2021. Usually, January is my most productive month compared to other months, but not this year. I honestly feel like this is version 2.0 of 2020 since nothing seems to change.

First thing first, I finally graduated from college!! I actually passed my thesis defense back in December, but it became official in January when I got the letter. Now I’m just waiting for the graduation ceremony in March, while doing something that every recent college-grad hate…job hunting. Not gonna lie, most of my January were spent looking for jobs at job portals but ended up applying to none of them because I’m honestly confused at what I want to do. I don’t like my major that much which is why I’m looking for something else, but I haven’t found that something yet. If you have any tips about finding job as a recent graduates I’d appreciate it ❤

ARC Review : A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen

Title : A Taste for Love
Author : Jennifer Yen
Genre : YA Contemporary
Release Date : February 2nd, 2021
Publisher : Razorbill

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

GOODREADS | PURCHASE

For fans of Jenny Han, Jane Austen, and The Great British Baking Show, A Taste for Love, is a delicious rom com about first love, familial expectations, and making the perfect bao.

To her friends, high school senior Liza Yang is nearly perfect. Smart, kind, and pretty, she dreams big and never shies away from a challenge. But to her mom, Liza is anything but. Compared to her older sister Jeannie, Liza is stubborn, rebellious, and worst of all, determined to push back against all of Mrs. Yang’s traditional values, especially when it comes to dating.

The one thing mother and daughter do agree on is their love of baking. Mrs. Yang is the owner of Houston’s popular Yin & Yang Bakery. With college just around the corner, Liza agrees to help out at the bakery’s annual junior competition to prove to her mom that she’s more than her rebellious tendencies once and for all. But when Liza arrives on the first day of the bake-off, she realizes there’s a catch: all of the contestants are young Asian American men her mother has handpicked for Liza to date.

The bachelorette situation Liza has found herself in is made even worse when she happens to be grudgingly attracted to one of the contestants; the stoic, impenetrable, annoyingly hot James Wong. As she battles against her feelings for James, and for her mother’s approval, Liza begins to realize there’s no tried and true recipe for love.

10 New Favorite Authors I Discovered in 2020

Hello everyone! Back in 2020, I manage to read a total of 65 books, and more than half of them (46 books, to be exact) are by authors whose books I’ve never read before. So today, I’m going to feature 10 new favorite authors that I discovered in 2020. This is honestly harder than it sounds since I read lots of great books last year (in fact, I think 2020 is my best reading year so far!), but I manage to narrow it down to 10 authors. Without further ado, here they are :

1. R.F. Kuang
Book(s) read : 3 (The Poppy War, The Dragon Republic, The Burning God)
Given that The Poppy War trilogy is my favorite series in 2020, I think she deserves the #1 spot in this list. I’ve never been more glad to pick up a book, since I learn so much about my own history and ancestry through this series. I’m definitely going to re-read TPW again this year!

Review : A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

Title : A Conjuring of Light
Author : V.E. Schwab
Series : Shades of Magic #3
Genre : YA fantasy
Release Date : February 28th, 2017
Publisher : Titan Books

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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Witness the fate of beloved heroes – and enemies.
THE BALANCE OF POWER HAS FINALLY TIPPED…
The precarious equilibrium among four Londons has reached its breaking point. Once brimming with the red vivacity of magic, darkness casts a shadow over the Maresh Empire, leaving a space for another London to rise.
WHO WILL CRUMBLE?
Kell – once assumed to be the last surviving Antari – begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. And in the wake of tragedy, can Arnes survive?
WHO WILL RISE?
Lila Bard, once a commonplace – but never common – thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry. Meanwhile, the disgraced Captain Alucard Emery of the Night Spire collects his crew, attempting a race against time to acquire the impossible.
WHO WILL TAKE CONTROL?
And an ancient enemy returns to claim a crown while a fallen hero tries to save a world in decay.

2020 End of Year Recaps

Hello everyone! It’s the last day of 2020, so just like every year, it’s time for my end of year recaps. I think we all can collectively agree that 2020 isn’t a great year, but in terms of reading, it’s actually my best one. This year, I manage to beat my previous reading record and discovered my ultimate favorite reads. So without further ado, here’s my 2020 end of year recaps.

2020 READING STATS

Number Of Books You Read : 65 books

Number of Re-Reads : 5 books

Genre You Read The Most From :

• Contemporary (29 books)
• Fantasy (25 books)
• Historical Fiction (4 books)
• Mystery (2 books)
• Classic (2 books)
• Romance (1 book)
• Science Fiction (1 book)

Top 5 K-Dramas I Watched in 2020

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that 2020 sucks, but on the positive side (for me, at least), this year I manage to read more books and watch more k-dramas than ever! Beside books, k-dramas are my source of happiness since I spent like, 70% of the year at home. Because of that, this year I finished 21 k-dramas (and still watching 2 ongoing k-dramas), and some of them become my favorites. So today, I’m going to share top 5 k-dramas I watched in 2020 (and you can watch all of this through Netflix!).

5. Moon Embracing the Sun (2012)

Starring : Kim Soo-hyun, Han Ga-in, Jung Il-woo
This drama was produced in 2012, so cinematography-wise, it’s still awful if you compare it to dramas produced in 2020. But plot-wise, Moon Embracing the Sun has everything that made historical (sageuk) my favorite k-drama genre : court intrigue, scheming and backstabbing, and romance. It follows Crown Prince Lee Hwon who fell in love and got bethroted to Heo Yeon-woo, a noblewoman. But due to the Queen Dowager’s interference, Yeon-woo got sick, lost her memory and presumed dead. Years later, they met each other again, now as king and a shaman in the palace.

Tiffany’s Winter 2020 TBR

Can you believe that 2020 will be over in 16 days? Despite being my (and probably everyone) worst year, I read way more compared to the previous years and discovered lots of great books, so there’s that. Anyway, before we dive into my Winter TBR list, let’s take a look at my Fall TBR and see how well I stick to my own list :

In Fall, I planned to read these books :
1. The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang ✔️
2. Jade City by Fonda Lee ✔️
3. Jade War by Fonda Lee ❌
4. Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco ✔️
5. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong ✔️
6. Loveless by Alice Oseman ❌
7. The Burning God by R.F. Kuang ✔️

Considering I usually only read like, 2 books from my list, 5 out of 7 books is my best record so far!

Monthly Recap : November ’20

Can you believe that we’ve passed 11 MONTHS in 2020? I feel like March is just a few weeks ago, when in reality we’re just 4 weeks away from 2021 😱

November is probably my happiest month so far (I mean, as happy as one can be when one’s still not allowed to leave the house) because I FINALLY SUBMITTED MY UNDERGRAD THESIS. I’ve been working on it, give or take, since March and I’m just glad it’s done. Now I’m just waiting for my defense date, and if I pass it, your girl is (un)officially graduated this year! Beside uni-related things, I didn’t do much except scrolling through social media and playing with my cat.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Book Tag

Hi everyone! Fall might be over, but it’s never too late to do Fall-themed book tag. Writing this tag made me realize how much I miss going to cafe and drinking these beverages, but alas, I don’t think I can do it anytime soon given my country’s situations. Anyway, thanks to Belle @ This Belle Reads Too for tagging me in the Pumpkin Spice Latte book tag!

RULES

• Link back to the original post
• Thank the person who tagged you
• Do the prompts below
• Tag some friends
• Most importantly – have fun!

ARC Review : These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Title : These Violent Delights
Author : Chloe Gong
Genre : YA fantasy, historical-fiction
Series : These Violent Delights #1
Release Date : November 17th, 2020
Publisher : Margaret K. McElderry Books

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

GOODREADS | PURCHASE

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.