As adorable as Tweet Cute was, it's Emma Lord's second novel You Have a Match that stole my heart. It centers around Abby, who signs up for a DNA service along with her best friend and crush Leo, expecting nothing to come out of it. Except she finds out she has a sister named Savannah ('Savvy') who's only a year and a half older than her, lives close by, and happens to be an Instagram star. They decide to meet up at summer camp so they can uncover the truth of why Abby's parents gave Savvy up for adoption but it's about so much more than that. (Although that was clearly a driving plot throughout!)
The two girls are complete opposites and are dealing with insecurities related to growing up and their relationships with their respective parents and the mystery behind their situation only heightens that. It also doesn't make it easy for them to connect. Part of the joy of reading this was watching them start off as strangers and work their way towards becoming sisters, even when it was painful. Lack of communication was actually kind of a running theme with every sub-plot and while again that might be frustrating, it rang true to me given that they are a bunch of teenagers! That was especially true with Abby's secret crush on Leo. These two were so clueless but I related to the fear of change and admitting feelings. I just loved them! I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that Leo and another friend at camp were Filipino. I was very happy to see that representation here (plus all the Filipino food callouts made me hungry!). And finally, the last thing I need to mention is friendship. It's a huge theme in the book and it's portrayed in many different ways but the one I found most moving is between the adults (which you'll understand when you read this!). But truly every theme -- friendship, identity, online image, not knowing how to communicate with family, and finding your own way -- resonated with me deeply.
Favorite camp scene from a TV show/movie | I immediately got Parent Trap vibes! And I'm referring to the 1998 version featuring Lindsay Lohan that I was totally obsessed with in high school. My favorite scene is when they decide to switch places!
At this point, you'd have to be living under a rock to not have heard of this show. When I sat down to finally watch The Queen's Gambit myself, I immediately understood all the hype and buzz by the end of the first episode. It follows Beth Harmon who is orphaned at a young age and sent to live at an orphanage. While there, she becomes addicted to two things: chess and drugs. In only 7 extremely well-done episodes, we see Beth's coming-of-age story as she strives to become the best chess player in the world while dealing with her past, drug use, the meaning of family, and just growing up. I absolutely loved the story and how it was told. Not to mention, Anya Taylor-Joy was perfect as Beth. Every emotion played across her face as she faced obstacle after obstacle in spite of her brilliance as a chess player. It was interesting to see how seriously chess was taken in various parts of the world and how much of a "men's game" it was. So to see Beth, a much younger woman by comparison, take it by storm was exhilarating to watch. And as someone who loves clothes and fashion, I was not expecting that to play a huge role here but whoever the costume designer was, can you please tell me where to find these clothes? By the end of the series I wanted to raid Beth's closet, learn how to play chess (again), and read the book (still debating this).
I've already hinted that I wasn't thrilled with how Selena: The Series played out and this Refinery29 article states exactly why but I still wanted to share my thoughts on it. My introduction to Selena Quintanilla was through the 1997 movie featuring Jennifer Lopez. I fell in love with the music and ended up looking up her albums in addition to the soundtrack. But most of her all, her journey of pursuing her dreams and her tragic death left an impression on me when I watched. When I heard about the Netflix series and saw who was cast, I already had my doubts but I knew I'd check it out anyway. So I watched the entire first part (I believe Part 2 comes out this year) but after the first few episodes, I was already unhappy with it. The show focuses so much on Selena's father Abraham and her brother A.B. -- their feelings and struggles and passion for music. Even her sister Susanna gets meatier moments that show her growth as a musician in their family. While Selena? She just feels like a background character who's there to look pretty and sing, but often shows no passion, ambition, or opinion on anything. Instead she lets her family steer the wheel for her and that to me rings false. If the show is named after Selena, then it should actually star her. And no offense to Christian Serratos but she doesn't look or move like Selena at all. Her dancing is awkward at best and you can tell she's an actress pretending to be a singer and not a true performer. I understand the significance of having a Mexican actress play this role but if you look at this YouTube video that shows a side-by-side comparison of J.Lo and Selena, you can tell Lopez really did her homework so she would move exactly like Selena. It's actually incredible. I'm going to keep watching mostly out of curiosity but this series so far was a huge disappointment.
My cousin's wife kept telling me to check out this show and once I finally did over my Christmas break, I binged both seasons in a matter of days. It follows Mel Monroe as she moves to a remote town named Virgin River to work as a midwife and nurse practitioner in an attempt to start fresh. She learns that not only is small-town living not as simple as she expected, but neither is leaving behind a painful past. The show is centered around revealing what that past is, how she tries to fit into town (sometimes succeeding, other times failing), and of course, romance. There were surprisingly other aspects to the show beyond small-town drama and romance that I wasn't expecting. But I was definitely most drawn to Mel's personal story (past and present), her romance with Jack (all the freaking swoons), the people she befriends (Hope cracks me up), and her work as a midwife. I know it's fiction but it's still so impressive to see her work as a nurse practitioner. I will say that I enjoyed season 1 more because season 2 started to go a bit off the rails with its side drama, IMHO. But everything that went down evoked a lot of feelings from me and I can't wait for season 3 to see what happens next.
I should've known that Shonda Rhimes and historical fiction would make for an explosive combination but even I was still unprepared for how steamy it got (obviously, I was 100% for it!). I thought she did an incredible job of adapting The Duke and I, although she was clearly pulling bits and pieces from later books (I've only read the first two). The changes made sense and she fleshed out characters that didn't get much screen time in what I've read so far. It was great to see more of the older Bridgerton siblings and the secondary characters, even if they differed a bit from their bookish counterparts. The show centers around debutante life and marriage season in Regency London and focuses particularly on Daphne Bridgerton and Simon Bassett, a duke. They decide to enter into a fake courtship in order for her to get more suitors and for him to get harassed less by mothers. But you know fake relationships always end up bringing up real feelings and this did not disappoint. The casting, particularly for Simon (Regé-Jean Page, you are my absolute favorite on this show), was spot-on. The aesthetics, cinematography, costumes, and music were just beautiful. It was an entertaining show that I could not get enough of. It's basically historical romance meets Gossip Girl, which is definitely my jam. This show better get renewed for a season 2!
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What have you watched recently?
Note: All shows are available on Netflix
Here are some non-bookish articles I really liked this past month and my latest loves.
Do you have any links or loves to share?
Would love to hear about them!
It is always a joy to have a new Alexandra Bracken book! Her latest is Lore, which is a standalone fantasy novel that focuses on Greek mythology and is set in New York City (two of my favorite things). It's centered around an event called the Agon, in which the nine Greek gods are forced to become mortals every seven years and are hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines who can then kill them and gain their powers. For years, Lore Perseous has turned her back on that world and hidden herself away after the brutal deaths of her family. But when the next hunt comes to her city, two participants find her: her childhood friend Castor, whom she believed to be dead, and the wounded goddess Athena. She can't ignore either of them and from that moment, it's go go go. Because it's a standalone, the action starts immediately and the entire book had a high stakes feeling from start to finish.
I loved the way Bracken interpreted Greek mythology, pulling in the gods and the rival families (you can guess where Lore is from, right?) and gave it a modern twist by setting it in the present and NYC. From the beginning, Lore was a heroine who intrigued me. I wanted to know her backstory and everything that led her to this moment of joining the fight after years of isolation. I admired her courage and unwillingness to follow the rules dictated by the society she was a part of. The build up of her story completely paid off and the secondary characters who join her only built upon that. Friends from her past and present quickly played a huge role and I'm always a fan of watching unique individuals come together to form an unlikely crew (Bracken is so good at this!). Overall Lore was a super fun, well-written book with lots of twists and turns that kept me on my toes.
Do I recommend? Absolutely! It's out as of yesterday so definitely pick it up.
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pub 1/5/21 by Disney-Hyperion
Young Adult - Fantasy - Mythology
Received ARC from pub for review
Goodreads | Author
In spite of last year's chaos, I actually did meet a lot of the goals I set out for myself. I read 169 books. I started a photo journal that I posted in every single day without fail. Thanks to working from home, I was able to save more and because I was cooking 90% of my meals, eat better although I struggled with snacking and working out. And while picking up a new hobby didn't happen (crocheting is hard!), I had my existing interests to keep me busy.
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| Look at that first row of pre-March 13 pictures! Feels like a lifetime ago. |
Where do I even start? 2020 has been a year none of us will ever forget and if there was ever a time for deep self-reflection, this was certainly it. I do think that I not only learned a lot about myself but I found plenty to be grateful for. And I swear that's not me being falsely positive for the Internet!
I know I'm one of the lucky ones. Even though the fear of catching COVID has been looming over me and my loved ones, we've all managed to stay safe and healthy. My job remained stable and busier than ever, which meant I didn't have to worry about finances. So even when I am complaining about something, I'm truly, truly grateful.
Hi, I’m Rachel! New Yorker at heart, Francophile in spirit, and forever wanderlusting. I’m passionate about books, ice cream, photography and finding creativity in my every day life.
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