Contemporary – Portable Magic

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Hermione · 10 Comments

The Midnight Library-A Book Review

Update: 10 September 2021-9.55 A.M (GMT+4)

I CANNOT BELEIVE IT! Lisa just released her solo! That was a little less than two hours ago…AND IT IS SO GOOD! The rap part! OMG…I am going to die. And it has got like 10.3 million views already!!!

For all those Blinks who have probably already listened to it, LISTEN TO IT AGAIN and by the way, here is the link to her M/V on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awkkyBH2zEo

EEEEEEEEEE! Her rap parts are literally so perfect I can’t imagine…And the beat! Oh my goodness.

I am wondering myself why I even like BlackPink. It is definitely not even my type of music??? Why do I even like their music?🥴 I don’t know… Well, anyways, tell me what are your favourite BlackPink songs down below in the comments!

AND THAT SELF-CONFIDENCE! OH MY GOSH!

BTW, her rap at 1.20-1.40. OMFG!

2.27-2.53-That rap OHMYGAWD!

That badass queen…I TELL YOU! Because, for real, how much badass vibes does this song have to give? I’ll faint…

I swear that one day, she could hit 100 million views in a day.

Than me if anybody coming gunnin for my man
Gonna catch a case
Gun up in my hand
Bam bam bam
Hit after hit though
Rocks in my wrist so I call em the flintstones
Lalisa-by Lisa

That is my favourite part in the song😍.

Title: The Midnight Library
Author: Matt Haig
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Contemporary, Magical Realism, Science Fiction
Category: YA (it says Adult on Goodreads but I think it will also be suitable for YA readers [anyone above 13 years] *looks at myself* depending how sensitive and mature you are about certain topics; suicide, depression, etc. They ARE NOT discussed lightly in this book and do check out trigger warnings before reading.)
Publishing Date/Publisher: September 29th 2020 by Viking (first published August 13th 2020)

I really like this blue on the cover…I LOVE DARK BLUE!!!

Nora Seed is just a young woman who is having the worst day of her entire life. She is full of regrets; of what she had done, what she hadn’t done, the misunderstandings with her brother and people around her all mixed with the sadness of the sudden death of her cat, Voltaire.

At midnight, she makes a dreadful decision…she doesn’t want to live anymore. She is saturated with regrets and thoughts about how her life could have been different if she she had made other choices.

Instead of dying, she ends up in a place between life and death. A place where time has stopped…a place called the Midnight Library.

In the Midnight Library, the shelves go on forever and are filled with an infinite number of books, each giving a chance to Nora to experience a different life had she made a different choice in her existence. The library also has one book which is different from the others, The Book of Regrets.

As Nora enters and lives the different lives from the different books, will she ever be able to find a book worth to keep? Worth living?

About the Author:

Matt Haig was born in Sheffield, England in1975. He writes books for both adults and children, often blending the worlds of domestic reality and outright fantasy, with a quirky twist. His bestselling novels are translated into 28 languages. The Guardian has described his writing as ‘delightfully weird’ and the New York Times has called him ‘a novelist of great talent’ whose writing is ‘funny, riveting and heartbreaking’.

His novels for adults are The Last Family in England, narrated by a labrador and optioned for film by Brad Pitt; The Dead Fathers Club (2006), an update of Hamlet featuring an 11-year-old boy; The Possession of Mr Cave (2008), about a man obsessed with his daughter’s safety, and The Radleys (2010) which won Channel 4’s TV Book Club public vote and was shortlisted for a Galaxy National Book Award (UK). The film rights to all his adult novels have been sold. His next adult novel is The Humans (2013).

His multi-award winning popular first novel for children, Shadow Forest, was published in 2007 and its sequel, The Runaway Troll, in 2009. His most recent children’s novel is To Be A Cat (2012).

[Picture and text taken directly from Goodreads]

My Ratings: 4/5

My Thoughts:

WAIT…Mr. Haig has a DOG! His dog looks almost EXACTLY like our neighbour’s dog! The only difference is that the neighbour’s dog is named Princess and her nose is pink😂.

Well, that is supposed to be my thoughts about the BOOK so instead of blabbering about the way dogs look so much like dogs (…what…) we should better proceed.

I will list my thoughts in bullet points because I am feeling bullet-pointy today (pretty sure this word doesn’t exist).

What I liked:

The Midnight Library (the LIBRARY not the title🤦‍♀️) Even though I have read a book about a world between life and death, I have never read a book about a library between life and death. The way it was described made the library alive, magical and surreal. (Who wouldn’t like a place with infinite shelves and books that are only made up of the different variations, tints and shades of green? I LOVE GREEN). In my brain, it was like this library which had no ceiling and whenever you looked up, it was foggy. All around, it was foggy, you could only see the books if you went to them. You could never see all of the library at once, I was mysterious and magical plants, vines and old wood lurked around never in view. (that last sentence in bold is just my imagination😂)
The morals of the book. The book had just so many meanings and morals behind everything; Nora’s actions, choices and there were so many quotes in the book that were just so deep. For example, through this book, I realized that it isn’t only the choices we make that affect us but people’s choices as well. That in some way or another, billions of choices and decisions all balance out each person in the world and how one choice can change everything.
How Nora’s frequent trips to the Midnight Library weren’t repetitive and monotonous and didn’t feel boring.

What I didn’t like:

Most of the characters fell a little vague. Not the main characters but the others who weren’t present a lot. I think the author should have included them more into the book because many of the ‘side’ characters were a little flat. I think the more the characters were present in the book, the more they felt like people but those who were only present in meagre parts were like paper.
There were so many quotes about philosophy and other things the book could have substituted as a very useful self-help book. It isn’t that I had a problem with the quotes in itself but it was just a little too much for a teenager to take in (hemhem, I am not yet a teenager but…). I didn’t mind them but there was just way too much of them. For me to take in and right now, I don’t remember any of them.

Well, I think that is all. Otherwise, Lisa’s solo is just-

OMG. THIS IS SUPOSED TO BE A BOOK REVIEW WHAT AM I EVEN DOING??

Overall, I really liked the book and it is one that I really recommend. It isn’t an intense book but not a light read either. It shifts from light to intense at points. Just please go check trigger warnings before reading this and keep in mind, it isn’t an adult book but a young adult one and is suitable for teenagers depending on your level of maturity because suicide and depression is discussed a lot in that book.

Well, we are finally done with the review!

I’d run off for now!

See you with another book!

-H

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Hermione · 7 Comments

Tweet Cute-A Book Review

Well, this book is…*tries to find a word other than cute in my mental dictionary*…ADORKABLY CUUUTE! I mean, this book had me smiling like an idiot all along but let us just pretend I didn’t write that…because this book is the overall definition of adorable and witty. Anyone heard of Twitter war? Because I have never read a book where teenagers fight over Twitter. Well I have…this one.

Gahahaha! This book contains a lot of grilled cheese so make sure to eat it will reading this book. It sets the atmosphere…unfortunately, I wasn’t eating grilled cheese but I tell you…half of the book is GRILLED CHEESE…GRILLED CHEESE…GRILLED CHEEEESE!

Title: Tweet Cute
Author: Emma Lord
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Fiction
Category: YA
Publishing Date/Publisher: January 21st 2020 by Wednesday Books

There is Pepper. High flyer and captain of the swim team. Practical, fierce and determined with unwavering focus on her goals. She also anonymously controls Big League Burger’s Twitter account, a massive fast-food outlet run by her parents.

Now, there is Jack. Sits next to Pepper in class, member of the dive club and totally the opposite of Pepper. He is always trying his best to be better, since he is overshadowed by his twin brother, Ethan who is extremely popular in school. In some ways he and Pepper are similar; he anonymously manages Girl’s Cheesing’s Twitter account, a smaller fast-food chain. He is also the unknown creator of the popular chat app called Weazel.

When Big League Burger steals the name of Girl’s Cheesing’s grilled cheese, Pepper and Jack are instantly thrown into a heated Twitter war…while staying friends a school (and falling for each other on Weazel [obviously…anonymous]. Things get spiced up when people on Twitter start SHIPPING JACK AND PEPPER!!

After all, all is fair when it comes to fighting over grilled cheese…and when it comes to love.

About the Author:

Emma Lord is the NYT bestselling author of YOU HAVE A MATCH and TWEET CUTE, a BuzzFeed market editor, and dessert gremlin living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn’t writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, a whole lot of love, and copious amounts of grilled cheese.

[Picture and text taken directly from Goodreads]

My Ratings: 3.9/5

My Thoughts:

Sweeeeet! I definitely enjoyed this book much more than You Have A Match because I was CONSTANTLY SHIPPING JACK AND PEPPER [and smiling like an absolute idiot but just ignore this part]

I mean, this book is cheesy, cute, funny and has the weirdest pair of friendship in it. And a main character who doesn’t know how to take a bus…by herself.

This book had me wondering though…WHO ON EARTH would put their kids in charge of a fast-food Twitter account…like who…would do that? I cannot imagine a parent doing this but okay…

Pepper was this girl who could open her own bakery on the spot if she wanted. She literally BAKES ALL SORTS OF CAKES AND GIVE THEM FUNNY NAMES?? Like there was So-Sorry-Blondies, Monster-cakes and…well…certainly she definitely knows how to cook. She says she would never be caught dead on Weazel but she actually uses it!! That was funny to be honest. She is an all-round high achiever who cares A LOT ABOUT HER GRADES and takes her responsibilities very seriously. Like being the swim team captain for example. I really liked her but right now, I guess Jack is my favourite character.

Jack…looks like a cinnamon roll, acts like a cinnamon roll and most of the time, IS a cinnamon roll. He is really cute (why am I even saying that?) and really likes Pepper (because he gets really jealous when Pepper talks to another guy) and all the time when he and Pepper were spending time together, I was like…AAWWWW!!! I totally ship those two people! At least, he had some humour and the story is told in his and Pepper’s point of view.

Apart from that the plot was okay…mainly because I am still wondering why people would let teenagers manage a Twitter account for a fast-food chain but the cuteness in the book made up for it. I wish the book wasn’t so self-centered around Pepper and Jack only because now that I realize it, very little is mentioned about Pepper’s friends or Jack’s best-friends. Like only 10% but overall I really recommend this if you need your day/night brightened up a little bit!

I guess that is all for today and next post will definitely be my August Wrap Up for this month. I really like August…why do you have to go already?? 😦

Nevermind, I like September as well and my little sister’s birthday is coming soon!

So…goodbye for now and see you with another post!

Love, Hermione

Posted on August 10, 2021August 11, 2021 by Hermione · 5 Comments

You Have A Match-A Book Review

Hi all pea-ple and creatures of the great Earth! (What has seriously got into me today?) Well, on Saturday, my little sister and I were having an argument on the way to the pool for our swimming lessons…and you know WHAT!!!

She doesn’t even believe in ghosts, spirits, souls, elves, faeries/fairies, and all these other FASCINATING LIVING THINGS! I mean…it is pretty obvious right…they DO EXIST!! Tell me yes…She doesn’t even believe me when I tell her dragons exist? Infuriating…

Look….THEY DO EXIST AND N.O.T.H.I.N.G IS CHANGING THAT.

Well, let’s get to the review shall we. *heavy breathing*

Title: You Have A Match
Author: Emma Lord
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, LGBT
Publishing Date/Publisher: January 12th 2021 by Wednesday Books

Abby has signed up for a DNA service, not really for herself but mostly for her best-friend Leo. Leo and his sister were adopted since they were quite little and Abby thought of giving Leo a little push to take the DNA service and perhaps discover who his biological parents are.

The very last thing Abby wanted is to find out she has a secret sister, only a year and a half older than her, Savannah Tully, an Instagram star. Shocking, that they share Abby’s parents given they both look very similar but so different from each other in their own ways.

The only reasonable thing to do is to meet up at summer-camp and find out some solution on how to explain everything to their parents.(Nor Abby nor Savvy have told their parents about their discovery.)

Ever since the BEI (Big Embarrassing Incident), Leo and Abby have been a little awkward mostly relying on their other bestie, Connie, to help them talk normally.

Lately, Abby has started falling for Leo but she doesn’t want to shatter their friendship and so keeps her feelings for herself. Abby doesn’t realize how complicated her life seems to be, growing feelings for Leo, a secret sister if revealed to her parents might make things much worse for all of them. Growing secrets, growing feelings…but sometimes you have to go for it, even if it looks like the hardest thing because there is always a chance a told-secret might change things for the better.

About the Author:

Emma Lord is the NYT bestselling author of YOU HAVE A MATCH and TWEET CUTE, a BuzzFeed market editor, and dessert gremlin living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn’t writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, a whole lot of love, and copious amounts of grilled cheese.

[Picture and text taken from Goodreads]

My Ratings: 3.5/5

My Thoughts:

I am not sure what to say about this book. Well, it was actually something between ‘I liked it’ and ‘I really liked it’. The problem is that a lot has seemed to have leaked out of my brain…

I should probably talk about the characters first. Abby was a good character, with her issues and happiness and problems and secretly crushing on her best-friend. Avid photographer, daring, adventurous and not-fussy about breaking the rules (even when you don’t know the rules). Leo was an okay character and I wished there was more about him because at the end of the book, I realized I didn’t really know much about him at all.

The character I found the most likable is Finn, my favourite character. He was this funny puppy guy who really cared for Abby (and she really cared for him too). I think the author did a great job creating him, like he was so real. I love him. Really love him. His character itself felt crafted beautifully. He was the one who caught my attention, the second he was introduced to the book. He is certainly special and there is something about him. He has his own family problems and my heart melted all the time he took Abby someplace special, like the Wishing Tree which is haunted by a ghost, so that she could make a wish. Abby’s and Finn’s friendship is really special I could almost see it right there floating through the words.

[Note that the majority of stars come from Finn’s and Abby’s friendship and Finn’s special place in my heart]

[Also note that I am sorry for all inconvenience caused by me for using the word ‘special’ too many times]

Overall, the best thing in the book [in my opinion] is Finn. I found the story quite interesting [umm…I finished the book in a day] and the plot was nice but I wished there were more things happening in the book. I was quite satisfied with the ending actually even though it wasn’t exactly what I wished for but okay.

Well, I guess that is all for today!

So see you next time with another book!

hermione 🖤

P.S. Next review is Wilder Girls by Rory Power! Shh!

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Hermione · 3 Comments

Made In Korea-A Book Review

I never thought this book would brighten my day this way! It would be described as sweet and funny with a dash of sarcasm and fierceness. 😂

Title: Made In Korea
Author: Sarah Suk
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, YA Fiction
Publishing Date/Publisher: May 18^th 2021 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Isn’t the cover cuuuute! (since when did I become a person who started calling things cute? This is so not me 🤦‍♀️) And the treble clef is gorgeous!

Valerie Kwon has one dream. Bring her grandma to Paris this year. Along with her cousin, Charlie, they both run V&C K-BEAUTY, the school’s most famous and successful enterprise run by students. It has been almost three years now and Valerie has been saving all her share of profits in order to fulfil her grandma’s life-long dream.

Wes Jung is a new kid in school who dreams of pursuing a music career when he finishes school. The problem is? His parents have totally different plans for him and they want him to be a doctor. Knowing that he will have to earn his own money and pay music school, he is also trying to find ways to save money. Until the very golden opportunity comes right in front of his eyes. When his classmates find a stash of lip-balm in his bag, given by his mother in order to help him ‘make new friends’, he finds himself with 100 dollars and all the lip-balms sold out. Thus, the idea came to him, start his own student-run K-BEAUTY business.

What he doesn’t realize is that there is also another K-BEAUTY business in school and he became their biggest competitor and Valerie’s personal rival.

Wes and Valerie try their best to outsell each other and be the best business in school but things turn a little different. Some sort of fire set both of them alight and keeps on growing but Valerie knows that if her sales drop and Wes wins, she will lose and her Grandma might never be able to see Paris. Wes knows that if he doesn’t outsell Valerie, he will not be able to go to music school. The game is hard and none of them seem to be able to completely ignore their growing feelings for each other.

About The Author:

Sarah Suk (pronounced like soup with a K) lives in Vancouver, Canada where she writes stories and admires mountains. When she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the water, taking film photos, or eating a bowl of bingsu. You can visit her online at sarahsuk.com and on Twitter and Instagram @sarahaelisuk.

[picture and text taken directly from Goodreads]

My Ratings: 4.5/5

My Thoughts:

First thing…do they sell bingsu in Mauritius because I want to taste this dessert right now! Yeah….bingsu is mentioned a lot in the book so you may understand why.

Let’s get back to the book. This book was way heart-warming than I thought. I was constantly thinking about what if it had a sad ending or one that made me cry? Oh no, it was definitely perfect and this is the first book written by Sarah Suk.

Valerie… her confidence, fierceness and bravery… I could totally feel her anger when she learnt that Wes was starting his own K-BEAUTY business. She makes some good decisions as well as bad ones so she isn’t the perfect girl with a perfect life. She is the youngest daughter in her family who is overshadowed by her sister, Samantha. Her mother is always wanting her to be like Samantha and always criticizing the decisions she makes for herself. This is one of the reasons why Valerie wants to bring her grandma to Paris; to prove to her mother that she can do some great things too. I loved Valerie’s determination and courage in what she wants and the way she focuses in her goals and her self-confidence and occasional cold-heartedness.

Wes…is the type of boy who’s mostly soft and calm and who is also determined to win. He has a soft heart (and that includes saving his rival) and very good-natured. He is almost totally the opposite of fiery and fierce Valerie. He’s the person who’d settle an argument by talking rather than simply ditching that person out of your life (that is Valerie I tell you).

Sarah Suk’s style of writing is extremely beautiful and she definitely knows how to portray Wes and Valerie exactly and clearly. In such a way you can picture them in your mind (the cover helps as well).

I also have to say that the story is told in Wes and Valerie’s point of view and when you think about all the problems they both have and how they each want to succeed….you can’t really want only one person yo succeed. Throughout the book, I was constantly shipping Valerie and Wes the WHOLE TIME AND IF YOU READ THE BOOK YOU’LL DO THAT TOO. MARK MY WORDS!!

It is an enemies-to-lovers romance if you consider it that way but it was more Valerie who wanted to crush Wes into pieces at the beginning….

Have I written enough? Well, I guess I have written too much but I have one last thing to say….it is perfect for people who want a light read and are feeling sad for no reason right now. It will definitely cheer you up and draw a big smile on the face. I was constantly smiling throughout the book!

Okay, I’m stopping right now!

-Hermione💙

Posted on July 23, 2021July 24, 2021 by Hermione · 3 Comments

When You Were Everything-A Book Review

Hey everyone! How are you all doing? This is a review of a book I read…four days ago I guess…that looks like very long ago😂.

Title: When You Were Everything
Author: Ashley Woodfolk
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, YA, LGBT, Romance
Publication Date/Publisher: March 10th, 2020 by Delacorte Press

Everything started to shatter when another girl heard Layla singing and decided to let her join the Chorus Girls….

Cleo has been living the last month without her best-friend and she has been trying to forget Layla. She has been going to every place in town, saturated with memories of Layla and she has been trying to make new memories over there. The problem is, deciding to erase a person from your life is easier said than done. Cleo has been assigned to tutor Layla and after drifting away from each other, this is the very last thing Cleo wanted.

Lately, Cleo has been making new friends and Dom, a new boy has been catching her attention and she has been developing a fierce crush on him. Unfortunately, memories and the past never fade away….and memories of Layla always come back to haunt Cleo’s mind…

About the Author:

Ashley Woodfolk has loved reading and writing for as long as she can remember. She graduated from Rutgers University and worked in children’s book publishing for over a decade. Now a full-time mom and writer, Ashley lives in a sunny Brooklyn apartment with her cute husband, her cuter dog, and the cutest kid in the world. Her books include The Beauty That Remains, When You Were Everything, and the Flyy Girls Series.

[Picture and text taken directly from Goodreads]

My Ratings: 4/5

My Thoughts:

This book was….a huge collection of feelings. It had everything, sadness, happiness, anger, guilt, regret…

What I liked is that our main character, Cleo also had flaws and it wasn’t only because of Layla that their friendship broke, it was also because of her. It made it more realistic and not the type where it-is-all-your-fault-we-are-not-friends-anymore. I couldn’t love Cleo any more than that. She was such a sad and happy person and at times you can’t help but feel sad yourself.

Layla was a character whom I sometimes hated and at other times, loved. You see, in some ways, you just can’t blame Layla and Cleo isn’t totally innocent either because she also did some bad things towards Layla and vice-versa.

I have never read any book which talks about a perfect friendship which slowly shattered particle by particle until all what is left is dust and you seriously don’t know whether to just throw it away because there is no way to fix it or to keep it all in a jar until you find an impossible way to fix it.

That is, it talks about that other side of a broken-up friendship, not only the anger towards the person but the sadness blended into everything and how you miss a person but in some ways despise that person as well, even if there is no way to bring it back to normal.

At some point in the book, there are moments you may cry but yet manage to hold back the tears so don’t read this book at the dining table for example if you are an emotional person or people might ask you why are you blinking so much. I say it again, this is an emotional book and captures the reality behind every broken friendship out there. The book feels so real as if the book was gifted some emotions for itself.

At the end of the story, I’m not sure if I am happy or sad. The ending was a mixture of both of these feelings. It was beautiful. I’m definitely recommending this book for anyone who wants a light read to cheer you up or to sadden you because this book can do both and I myself haven’t decided if I’m happy or not.

My Favourite Quote:

”You can’t approach your whole life like its a homework assignment, Baby Girl.”
When You Were Everything-Ashley Woodfolk

So see you all until the next time!

-Hermione

P.S. I am going to read The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher next!

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