Top 5 Tuesday: Books I Wish Had Movie Adaptations

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Bionic Book Worm and is now hosted by Meeghan Reads. This week’s topic is Top 5 Books I Wish Had Movie Adaptations.

1. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time on my blog would know how much I loved this book. Even though it’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling, it truly has a story and flair of its own and I think it would make an amazing movie. It has interesting characters along with disability rep, an in-depth curse which would present so much potential for CGI effects, and a compelling storyline with lots of high stakes and twists. Even if they changed the ending to make it into a single movie, I’d be so ready to hand my money over to see this.

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Let’s Talk Bookish: Toxic Relationships in Literature

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Mikaela @ Mikaela Reads and is Tackling Toxic Relationships in Literature.

When it comes to fiction how should toxic relationships be handled? Is it okay to portray toxic relationships?

This is a really complex topic and I’m really interested to see what others opinions are for this subject. Personally, I think it’s okay to portray toxic relationships in literature. Books mimic real life and unfortunately there’s probably not a single person who hasn’t experienced a toxic relationship themselves. Comfort can be found in characters and plots that a reader can relate to and sometimes all we really need is to know we’re not alone in things we’ve dealt with. I know many people who choose to read their traumatic experiences in fiction as a coping mechanism and a way to heal. I also think portraying them could be helpful for readers who have been gaslighted so much that they don’t realize something they’re experiencing is wrong until they see it happening to someone else. It’s incredibly common for us to accept toxic behavior from people ourselves but when we see the same thing happen to our friend or loved one, we immediately seek to protect them and stop it from happening.

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11 Anticipated Young Adult Releases of May 2021

Hey, everyone! Today I’m sharing my most anticipated young adult releases for May 2021. I was trying to narrow it down to 10 but it became impossible so here are 11 of the books I’m looking forward to releasing in the upcoming month. Hopefully you’ll find a new book or two to add to your to-read list!

1. Sunkissed by Kasie West

Publication: May 4th 2021 by Delacorte Press

A lighthearted and swoony contemporary YA romance by fan-favorite author Kasie West about a girl who finds that a summer spent at a family resort isn’t as bad as she imagined…and that falling in love is filled with heartache, laughter, and surprises!

After being betrayed by her best friend, Avery is hoping for a picture-perfect summer. Too bad her parents have dragged her and her sister to a remote family camp for the entire summer. And that’s not even the worst part. Avery also has to deal with no internet, a cute but off-limits staff member, and an always-in-her-face sister. But what starts as a disaster turns into a whirlwind summer romance as Avery embarks on an unexpected journey to figure out what she truly wants and who she wants to be.

Note: I am part of the blog tour and have received an ARC of this book so please look forward to my stop and review (+ a book-inspired playlist!) on May 6th 2021!

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Top 5 Tuesday: Graphic Novels

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Bionic Book Worm and is now hosted by Meeghan Reads. This week’s topic is Top 5 Graphic Novels.

Admittedly if we’d been limited to only graphic novels for this week, I wouldn’t have been able to participate. BUT since we’re able to also include comics and webtoons, I definitely have a few to share!

1. The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way; Art by Gabriel Bá; Color by Dave Stewart

I’ve read both the first and second volumes of The Umbrella Academy but have yet to read the third. I also haven’t watched the Netflix show yet which is probably a cardinal sin since even people who haven’t read the comics enjoyed the show. Regardless, it’s such an interesting series filled with complex characters born with unique abilities who work as superheroes and who have a supremely dysfunctional family relationship with each other. The first volume has such a twist with who the villain turns out to be and so far the second volume has been my favorite which focuses on the Kennedy assassination as a backdrop for the story.

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Let’s Talk Bookish: How Reading Affects Mental Health

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Kristin @ Lukten Av Trykksverte and is How Reading Affects Mental Health.

In what ways does reading affect your mental health? Does it affect your mental health positively or negatively at certain times, and why?

For me, reading positively affects my mental health. It gives me a place to escape to when I need a break from the world and I love being able to make connections with characters. It can be so powerful to find pieces of yourself in a character and to be able to relate to their struggles. It helps you feel like you’re not so alone in the darkness sometimes. And watching your favorite character grow through the book or series can be an encouragement to work on yourself too in your own struggles or give you the courage to speak out about things you need to or things you know need more attention by the public. I also love being able to lose myself in characters’ romances. Living vicariously through them can bring such a huge smile to my face or even make me cry. The only time reading affects my mental health negatively is when I have too many review books to read. I’ve definitely gotten myself into trouble on NetGalley before and over-requested only to be granted more books than I had anticipated. The deadlines got to be very stressful for me and I had terrible FOMO (fear of missing out) when I saw friends reading new releases and I had commitments I needed to fulfill before being able to join them. I’m much more careful now about requesting books!

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Top 5 Tuesday: Debut Novels

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly series created by Bionic Book Worm and is now hosted by Meeghan Reads. This week’s topic is Top 5 Debut Novels.

This topic has really blown my mind in a few ways as there are so many books I thought I could include on my list and it turned out that the author’s debut novel was not the one I thought it was! Google really saved me this week.

1. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder was the first book that popped into my head when reading this week’s topic. I think it’s so cool that it started out as a Nanowrimo project—talk about a success! This book absolutely captured my heart and it’s still one of my favorite series to date. I haven’t had a chance to read Meyer’s other novels yet apart from this series, but I have purchased them and will eventually get to them on my lengthy to-read list.

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Let’s Talk Bookish: What Makes You Pick Up a Book

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Rafaela @ The Portuguese Bibliophile and is What Makes You Pick Up a Book.

What makes you pick up certain books? Is a pretty cover enough?

Word-of-mouth is the most powerful influence for me as a reader. If I see a lot of hype, positive reviews, or a friend recommends it, I’m almost guaranteed to pick the book up. As far as browsing on my own goes, covers are the very first thing I notice about a book, before the title and the author’s name even. And I am fully guilty of purchasing books based on their pretty covers and nothing else. Sometimes this turns out great and I fall in love with the book. And sometimes I wish I had actually read the summary or a Goodreads review or two so I’d realize the subject matter wasn’t something I was actually interested in. But since I am a frequent shopper of discount bookstores, I don’t usually count it as such a loss since I didn’t spend much money on the book to start with.

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