June Wrap-Up + Life Update!

Hello lovelies!

June has been my busiest month so far. It started with me getting the responses back from my applications for my master’s degree in International Relations. I have had a lot of positive results and I got into France’s best Law School in Paris! I will begin in September! It was the best news I have received this year. Also I had my last semester’s exams from the 22nd to the 29th of June. Each day, the exams lasted six hours on end for six days and it was very demanding psychologically and physically and I’m still trying to get some rest from that. I had been preparing for the exam for two years and it was supposed to be the final step for my bachelor’s degree but due to covid-19 in was postponed from April to June, at the same time as I had my master’s applications’ results. It was very hectic. That is all thankfully over.

Then there has been the Black Lives Matter movement which has taken a lot of my time and mental health. I used to get lost in the ” bookverse” (Bookstagram, book bloggers, Booktube) has an escape and now everyone was talking about racism everywhere. It was so painful seeing everyone coming forth and sharing their stories of racism and it revived some of my own trauma so I have tried to disconnect with the Internet and everything that was going around but I was also soaking up all the resources (podcasts, books, interviews, essays…) because they were precious. It was both painful and soothing. And I’m very grateful that the world is slowly changing and moving.

9 Ways You Can Support the Black Lives Matter Movement — The Paradigm Press — Rae’s Reads and Reviews

Rae has compiled a very good and important list of how you can help at your own scale!

Hey everyone, I know I’ve been pretty quiet on this page for the past week or so. There’s been a lot going on with the world as a whole and my focus has been on social media (mainly Twitter) to find ways that I could help. Here’s a list that I’ve compiled of 9 ways […]

9 Ways You Can Support the Black Lives Matter Movement — The Paradigm Press — Rae’s Reads and Reviews

The Importance of Speaking UP

I haven’t been very vocal on here because the past few days have awakened old wounds and created new ones. I even shared a little bit of how I felt on Instagram a few days ago on this post.

Seeing so many people speaking up and coming together to claim that Black Lives Matter has warmed my heart. But I cannot help but feel anger because I have been suffering from these issues from a long time. I have tried to raise awareness to these issues for years and I was always seen as the “Angry Black girl”, which was degrading and frustrating. I was always conflicted because I would meet new people, confide in them, love them and they would randomly say something racist and I didn’t know how to react: speak up? Call them out? Laugh It off? Lose friends? I felt like I was betraying who I was when I didn’t, but I also didn’t like how I was being seen. Learning about racism is a privilege, young Black children do not have.

I ask you today to be allies, to speak up, listen to Black people and their experiences, believe them, support them, call out your racist friends, relatives or even strangers. Speaking up is never easy, it costs you but it matters. You will make mistakes, you will hurt people but take comfort in the fact that you are doing the right thing. As they say “practice makes perfect”. You can listen to interviews, podcasts, read books, essays or have conversion with Black people and it will help you in knowing what you can say when the time comes. And remember Black Lives Matter, and they have always mattered and they will always matter.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi – Book review!

Hello lovelies!

I am very happy that the past few days have allowed Black poeple to come forth and allowed their voices to be heard. I have always wished for more representation in the book community, especially in YA. Children of Blood and Bone is the kind of book I would have loved to grow up with and I wish there had been more books like this, that is to say featuring fierce, strong and brave Black characters, especially women.

Title: Children of Blood and Bone

Author: Tomi Adeyemi

Synopsis: Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy. (Goodreads)

Rating:

Hiatus

Hello everyone! I hope you are all well. My life has been hectic lately and I have a life-changing interview on Wednesday which has led me to be in a constant state of stress. I am also in a reading slump because of that and I haven’t been able to read books or write reviews. I hope I will be back soon.

In the meantime, take care of yourselves!

Karla xx

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman – Book review

Hello lovelies!

I have seen the movie Call Me By your Name by Luca Guadagnino when it came out and I have wanted to read the book ever since. The movie left me so heartbroken that I was a little scared to read the book. A few days ago I finally decided to read it and it was the best decision I ever made. Without further ado, let’s dive into this review! (It rhymes).

Title: Call Me By Your Name

Author: André Aciman

Synopsis: (Goodreads):Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents’ cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. But during the restless summer weeks that follow, unrelenting buried currents of obsession and fear, fascination and desire, intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them. What grows from the depths of their spirits is a romance of scarcely six weeks’ duration and an experience that marks them for a lifetime. For what the two discover on the Riviera and during a sultry evening in Rome is the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.

WWW Wednesday -May, 6th 2020

Hello lovelies!

I hope you are all well and safe. Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words. Enjoy!

The Three Ws are:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Goodreads Monday – May 4th, 2020

Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th be with you!

I am back with a Goodreads Monday tag! Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners. The meme is pretty easy to follow, to participate simply choose a random book from your TBR and explain why you want to read it!

Author: Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1)

Summary (Goodreads): In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Timesbestselling Mortal Instruments series.The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them…

General rating: 4, 33/ 5 Stars

April Wrap-Up!

Hello lovelies!

I hope you are all well and safe. Being quarantined is starting to be a little hard but I am so grateful for everything I have and the conditions I am being quarantined in. One of the highlight of my quarantine has definitely been my free time, and by free time, I mean reading time. I had an amazing reading month, not necessarily in terms of quantity but certainly in terms of quality.

Favourite “Feel-Good” Books/ Series

Hello lovelies!

I hope you are all well and safe. In times like these, I have never been more grateful for books and the escapism they offer. I thought I would share my “feel-good books”, that is to say, books that bring me comfort and warmth. Hope you will enjoy this list!