9/10 💕 I finally ordered Bringing Down the Duke after seeing so many positive reviews on #bookstagram. Victorian-era romance featuring a royal and a badass female lead of inferior birth? Most ardently 😏
I loved this one. Absolutely loved it. I’ve never really ventured into historical romance, other than Pride and Prejudice, and after this read I feel like I’ve opened myself up to a whole new world of romance novels!
Annabelle was such a strong intelligent woman in an era where that was completely rejected. The Duke, aka Montgomery, aka Sebastian, was introduced as a cold, calculating man, who was also witty and had the same values as Annabelle.
I loved seeing Sebastian warm to Annabelle and slowly begin to thaw his icy exterior, while Annabelle also found herself wanting the Duke against her strongest efforts.
I would absolutely recommend this read for historical-romance lovers and romance readers alike.
Do you visualize the characters as actors or people from your life?
I’m a very visual person and tend to have an overactive imagination. With that in mind, I ALWAYS visualize the physical details of the characters of the books I’m reading. Usually, without realizing it, I begin picturing a specific actor in the role, or sometimes people from my life.
Rant Warning: One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is when the character descriptions come later in the book. At that point I’ve already imagined the characters a certain way and then out of the blue in chapter 3 the author will describe them as having glasses or being tall with black hair or something and IT COMPLETELY THROWS ME OFF!
Rant over.
Now I thought I would share the characters as I’ve imagined them for Bringing Down The Duke, because so far this book is AMAZING and I can perfectly picture both Annabelle and Sebastian as Rachel McAdams and Charlie Hunnam all done up in Victorian garb.
Maybe it’s just me, but I absolutely love planners, checklists, to-do lists, templates, guides, notebooks, all of it!!
Basically any opportunity to keep a record, plan, check something off a list, or doodle. I feel like I am understood in the bookish community regarding this quirk, as we booksters tend to enjoy a good written or visual representation of our efforts, record keeping, etc.
It is for that reason that I started seeing and LOVING the bookish instagram templates that have been popping up on my feed. I’m not exactly a graphic artist, but I have some experience and I thought I might try my hand at a few templates of my own to share and put back into the bookstagram world.
Without further ado, please feel free to share any of the templates below! If you have any ideas for a template that you’d like me to put together for you, just let me know 🙂
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal 👵🔥 8.5/10
This story was not what I expected, but I really enjoyed it. These grannies are so scandalous!
I loved the element of mystery with this one, it kept unfolding what really happened to Maya… and it had me on the edge of my seat to find out!
Setting aside the humour and the sizzling sexy stories, it also opens your eyes to the current cultural landscape and some of the generational differences in the Punjabi community. Commenting on the misunderstandings and stereotypes of these immigrant women, it’s a timely read.
Where some parts were so upsetting and frustrating, the overall theme of feminism, and the empowerment of the widows was so satisfying to see.
I understand that re-reading books is a polarizing personal choice. Some readers love to re-read their favourite stories again and again, while others might have a TBR pile a mile long or feel there are too many books in the world and too little time to spend re-reading.
I get it.
I however, am one of the re-readers. I am all about revisiting my favourite literary world over and over like seeing an old friend or hearing a song that brings you back to a certain time. I am here for the nostalgia.
With that in mind, I am also a MASSIVE fan of Fall. All things Autumn make me tremendously happy from a warm cup of tea, to blankets, cozy sweaters, changing colours, darker lipstick, and watching Practical Magic for the billionth time.
Which is why, in my quest to capture all the nostalgia and feels of Fall I present to you…
My top 5 books to re-read this season…
#1 – Harry Potter
Obviously. Witches and Wizards, trolls, that back to school feeling, MAGIC. The list goes on and on. But more than these themes, is the feeling returning to Hogwarts, like coming home after being away. There’s such a comfort in reading this magical story that brings you right back to where you were when you first read it. It’s hard to explain it but if you’re a #potterhead you get me.
#2 – Twilight
Vampires. Duh.
The setting of Forks is the perfect gloomy backdrop for a fall read. As overdone as this series was, I feel like enough time has passed that jumping back in to Edward and Bella’s story is enjoyable again. The hard part for me is to picture the original characters as I’m reading rather than KStew and Rpatz…
Still, the first book is one of my favourites and setting aside the issues their relationship presents IRL, it was an engrossing romance.
#3 – The Witches by Roald Dahl
This childhood tale is a throwback in the best way. Mice, Grandmas, evil witches, and The Grand High Witch I.e. the grand daddy of all witches?! Reading this classic as an adult makes me realize how dark it truly is, with a newfound appreciation.
#4 – To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
This one may not be a re-read for everyone, but if you haven’t read it yet you should! This romance gives me the fall feels because of it’s back to school theme. One of my favourite things about Autumn approaching was the return to school and all that entails; the notebooks, the binders, the highlighters, sticky notes, PLANNERS <3, etc. The high school backdrop, combined with love letters, and a ski trip all make this one a solid fall re-read.
#5 – The Handmaid’s Tale
This dystopian tale is a classic for a reason. From the eerie themes, and the costumes it gives me a distinctly Autumn atmosphere. This one should also be on the top of everyone’s re-read list because after 34 years, Margaret Atwood has released the sequel to the original called ‘The Testaments’, officially available as of September 2019. Perfect timing right?
Blessed be the fruit, and don’t let the bastards grind you down!
Twilight is one of my favourites. I don’t even give a care. And when I found out rereads count towards @goodreads challenge I knew I had to bring it with me camping. The Rockies are the perfect setting!
Walking through the foggy trails instantly reminder me of gloomy Forks. Although it is hard to re-read now without picturing KStew, I had to struggle to picture the characters how I originally saw them.
Although I realize their relationship dynamic is flawed I still love this series, it brings me right back to early adulthood obsessing over Edward.
Spoilers ahead! This one was not for me. I felt like it was really current, well written and Melanie the MC was this cool coder chick enjoying the dating scene in NYC, super modern and realistic. But I couldn’t stand how neurotic and insecure she was when it came to Alex! Maybe that was the point, but it just felt like she was the embodiment of “women are crazy” (the very rhetoric she tries to rally against) every time she jumped to conclusions about him over nothing. Example: He was texting a colleague on their 2nd date and she immediately got super hostile as her internal dialogue assumed he was texting another girl.
.
She was her own worst enemy and perhaps the lessons learned reflect that but I couldn’t completely connect with the character here. The sex scenes were also cut short every time with just a hint at what was going down and a fade to black. No tension no build up no chemistry. Gimme the steam! 🔥
I’m giving this one a 6/10 because I like the general story but I personally think the character flaws were too much to handle.
September is here! My favourite time of year, from cozy sweaters, to changing colours, cooler nights, watching Practical Magic on repeat and having a few too many Pumpkin Spice Lattes. So I’m joining in on the autumn theme stack challenge with my #PSLstack 👻 🎃 🍂 great idea @molliesbookshelf @queenbee_reads
I hope everyone is enjoying this last long weekend of summer and the change of seasons. Fall is my absolute favourite time of year and I’m loving all the autumn vibes already taking over book blogs, it may not look like fall where I’m at yet, but I’m ready for it!
Georgina fell in love with Lucas at 18 and after a high school dance never saw him again. Now at 30, she’s just been fired from her awful job and walked in on her boyfriend cheating on her. She’s soon working at a bar in Sheffield and Lucas turns out to be her new boss! Thing is, the love of her life doesn’t remember her at all…
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Such a palette cleanser, I finished this book in 1 day, and it’s been a while since I’ve done that! Mhairi’s Scottish humour is hysterical all the way through. I absolutely loved Georgina’s emotional transformation and all the secondary characters throughout. You end up truly despising the ex boyfriend and a few others, that I was actually getting angry reading certain parts. There is such a build up in this one and the story of Lucas and Georgina is pretty romantic. I just wish there was more scenes of them together. Still this was such a feel good story, I’m giving this one 8.5/10 ⭐️
The Romance Reader 