Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen Book Review Now that we’re well into 2020, and I’ve been reading everyone’s list of anticipated reads for this year, I’m starting to realize how much people want to read this novel – and I can confirm that I’d definitely recommend you to do so. This book was a beauty. Goodreads Blurb For fans of Crazy Rich Asians or Jane Austen Comedy of Manners, with a hint of La La Land When eighteen-year-old Ever Wong’s parents send her from Ohio to Taiwan to study Mandarin for the summer, she finds herself thrust among the very over-achieving kids her parents have always wanted her to…
2019 Wrap-Up, #YARC2019 Results & 2020 Goals
Happy New Year! 2019 is over, and what a wrap-up I’ve got in store for you. There is so much to talk about because so much happened this year. I graduated from university and somehow managed to read 55 books, on and off keep blogging and do so much more – so here is my 2019 wrap-up. My Reading in 2019 It was definitely hard to keep myself reading this year. I was struggling with mental health and really didn’t feel like it much for like 80% of the year. The fact that I achieved my goal of 50 books is kind of amazing to me and I’m so proud…
Summer Christmas Book Recommendations
Christmas is tomorrow! I actually can’t believe it, I have been so busy that it has seriously crept up on me this year. I guess you guys might think it’s a little late to do a post on Christmas Book Recommendations but in my family, and most it seems – you have some kind of big lunch or dinner on Christmas and then you basically have the rest of your day to chill and savor your presents. In the past 3 years, I have spent most of those afternoons sitting by my family watching tv and reading a book – not to mention that I’m usually seated near a fan…
Serpent & Dove Book Review
A book I had been anticipating and so excited to get to because of all the hype in the book community but also because – who doesn’t love a good hate-to-love romance? plus witchy vibes? yes please and yes I can officially announce that YES – I freaking loved this one. Goodreads Blurb “A brilliant debut, full of everything I love: a sparkling and fully realized heroine, an intricate and deadly system of magic, and a searing romance that kept me reading long into the night. Serpent & Dove is an absolute gem of a book.” —Sarah J. Maas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Court of Thorns and Roses series Bound…
The Need for Speed // Why Does Reading Speed Affect Us?
I guess you could say it’s natural and part of the society’s competitive nature that one could assume that if you’re good at something or that you at least enjoy it a lot, that you would do a lot of it. I think most of us may have felt it – that nagging guilty feeling that we could be reading more or that we’re not reading and/or finishing books fast enough. However, reading shouldn’t be a race but instead something to be enjoyed. It occurred to a week ago when I managed to get a friend to get a library card and borrow a book (bringing more people into the…
A Dish of Mini-Reviews: YA & Romance
While I was on hiatus, basically a pile of books I meant to review began to appear and just grow bigger. So, to catch up on sharing my thoughts on these novels – I’ve compiled a dish full of mini-reviews for these reads. Let us begin! The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren Rating: ★★★★☆(4/5) After reading Autoboyography, I had a pretty good feeling that I’d enjoy another novel from Christina Lauren. This novel turned out to be incredibly enjoyable with such a cute plot and the best romance I’ve read since my last Helen Hoang read. This was so cute and so well written, I highly recommend this to any romance…
Chasing the Shadows Book Review
In case you didn’t notice, I was so lucky to interview Maria V Snyder (!!!), the author of Chasing the Shadows (the second novel in the Sentinels of the Galaxy trilogy). I had previously read the first book last year, called Navigating the Stars (review here!) and really enjoyed it! So it was great to be able to read the sequel ahead of its release last month and interview Maria, so huge thanks to Harlequin Australia for that. Goodreads Blurb New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder returns with the next page-turning instalment of the new sci-fi series: Sentinels of the Galaxy Year 2522. Lyra Daniels is dead. Okay,…
My December TBR
I cannot believe that it’s already December! I’m writing this the day after I have finally reached my Goodreads reading challenge – which is an amazing feat considering the crazy year I’ve had. I was trying so hard to finish Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston before the clock ticked over to from November to December but alas, I finished it yesterday on the 3rd of December. I’m honestly just glad that I finished it, I’ll be honest in that I wasn’t really enjoying it and only forced myself to keep going because a friend of mine said I’d warm up to it. Despite all that, it is…
Author Interview: A Chat with Maria V Snyder
Author Interview: A Chat with Maria V Snyder Today, I am bringing you guys an exclusive interview with none other than Maria V Snyder! You might recognise her name from her famous series Poison Study. Around this time last year, I read her novel Navigating the Stars, the first novel in her Sentinels of the Galaxy series (you can find my review for it here!), and today this Q&A is to celebrate her sequel in the same series; Chasing the Shadows. I’m currently reading it and loving it, so I hope you enjoy her interview answers as much as I did: Author Interview: A Chat with Maria V Snyder 1. Hi! How…
Spring Wrap-Up | My Holiday in Korea & Finishing Uni
Truffles is back! It has been an action-packed couple of months this spring in Australia. I finally finished my last semester of university and went on an amazing holiday to Seoul, South Korea. My trip was amazing. I loved it. It ended up being a huge workout because we went shopping and sightseeing, struggling with practising our choppy Korean with locals, walking so much that my feet were bruised by halfway through (tad painful but worth it). I’m not sure whether I’ll upload photos from my trip on my blog but you can find some that I did post up during the trip on my personal Instagram (@trufflelives). More will…
