Tag Archives: rachel morgan

November Highlights

Posted in Fun, Holidays, Life, Married Life, Novels, Work by

Oh my gosh, it is December already!? Whaaaat!

October was a big month for me, but November was just as busy and eventful. This month brought some great, new changes to my life, and it was also a bit of an awakening for me as well. My blogging and reading time entered a bit of a lull, but if you keep reading on you’ll see that it’s been worth it :)

November Highlights!

This month I read 7  books! (Which might not seem like a lot, but it surprised me because I felt like I hadn’t read anything this month)

thebeautifulamerican thetroublewithflirting waroftheworlds thewonderofallthings
            robinhood weddingnight somethingstrange

I still need to get my review up for The War of the Worlds, and later this week I will be hosting a blog tour for The Beautiful American, which I am so excited to talk about!

What I Watched In November

Like I talked about last month, Matt and I have been binge watching Supernatural. We watch a couple of episodes most nights, and right now we are halfway through Season 5. The first two seasons were amazing! I am totally in love with Sam and Dean and I LOVE their relationship. I think the fact that they are brothers as opposed to best friends makes the show so much better. But seasons 3 and 4 were kinda disappointing. Season 5 is better, but honestly, every time Castiel pops up, I know the rest of the episode is going to go downhill (except for the Trickster one! Oh my gosh, that’s one of my favorite episodes so far).

I also started The Blacklist, and I think I’ll be binge watching the rest of Season 1 next month (I have SO MANY QUESTIONS!).

I saw The Maze Runner finally (and broke my cardinal rule by seeing the movie first), and loved it, but I also saw Nightcrawler with Jake Gyllenhaal and was creeped out. Good movie, but not the kind of thing I want to see twice.

Most Popular Blog Post

My most viewed post from November was my update on my 25 Things list! I’m slowly crossing off things from my list of 25 Things For My 25th Year, and I’ve done some pretty big and exciting things throughout the past couple of months!

Favorite Memories From November:

  • I GOT A JOB! Woooooo! I talked about this in my 25 Things Update post, but I’ve been employed for nearly 3 weeks now and I love it so far. My husband and I are very thankful for God’s provision.
  • YALL Fest!!! I could go on and on about this amazing experience, but I sort of already did that ;)
  • Thanksgiving! This was my first Thanksgiving in 3 years that I got to spend in the States, and since it is my favorite holiday, I was very excited about it! My grandfather came to visit us for the long weekend and it was really nice getting to spend some time with him. I spent Thursday morning watching the parade and cooking up all my favorite dishes from last year.
    thanksgiving

Biggest Challenge From November

NOT ENOUGH READING TIME! This is the one downside to working full-time: I don’t have as much time to read and blog. My commute to work is about 1 hour and 15 minutes, so I’ve been listening to audio books to make up for it, but not all of the books I want to read for reviews, for example, are available on audio book. Hopefully this month I can catch up on my TBR pile :)

December To Be Read:

I listed most of my TBR for next month on last week’s Top Ten Tuesday post, but I also plan on finishing the books on my Back to the Classics list, which includes North & South, The Journey to the Center of the Earth, and For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Things I’m Looking Forward To In December:

  • Matt and I celebrate our 3rd Anniversary later this month! Hopefully we can spend a 3 day weekend somewhere nice.
  • CHRISTMAS! But mostly Christmas decorating! I love Christmas, but I really love getting ready for Christmas. Usually we would have gotten our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, but we were busy visiting family, so we’re doing that one night this week instead and I AM EXCITED! Matt and I have a tradition of decorating the tree, making Christmas cookies, and watching It’s A Wonderful Life :)

What were some of your favorite moments/books from November??

The Trouble With Flirting by Rachel Morgan

Posted in Book Reviews, New Adult, Novels by

thetroublewithflirting

I had everything perfectly planned for my first year of university…That, apparently, was a mistake.

The Trouble With Flirting by Rachel Morgan
Published Sept 9, 2014
New Adult (clean) Romance
Format: e-book; 332 pages
Also By This Author: The Trouble With Flying, The Trouble With Faking, Trouble With Falling
Goodreads | Amazon
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

Labelled a nerd for most of high school, Livi sees her first year of university as a chance to redefine herself. She can finally enter the popular crowd and maybe even land herself a super hot boyfriend. But Livi’s about to discover that the price of popularity may be more than she’s willing to pay, and that what—and who—she wants most has always been right in front of her.

Thoughts:

Doesn’t this (really pretty) cover match my blog colors perfectly? YES I’M OBSESSED WITH PRETTY COVERS! I have a problem.

The Trouble With Flirting was a really fun read! I just finished the book moments ago and I have those warm fuzzy feelings you get after reading something cute. Livi, the main character, is a college freshman in Cape Town, South Africa, and although she can be somewhat frustrating at times, she’s also easy to identify with. I loved that she was a nerd, because I feel that so many girls who read this (including myself) are nerds as well, and may also try to cover that up when making new friends.

The whole theme of owning yourself and not being ashamed to admit you’re into specific hobbies or interests just because you want to impress or fit in with a clique was really encouraging. I used to think that was only an issue you’d have in high school, but then I noticed it in college, and later with coworkers, and more and more this year I’ve found myself thinking, “Who CARES if I’m a nerd? If I listen to the same song on loop for an hour? If I watch A Walk To Remember and bawl my eyes out and STILL want to watch it again?” I shouldn’t be embarrassed about any of my interests, as long as they’re not unhealthy or harmful, and as Livi’s best friend Adam reminds us, I shouldn’t change who I am to make friends.

Wow, I was not expecting to say all of that in this review. But I really needed to, I guess! :)

If you’re looking for a book that’s light reading but not too light, this is a great one! Some scary things happen to Livi, but some great things happen as well, and the book focuses on those things.

Read This Book If…:

…you’ve ever wanted to redefine yourself
…you’ve ever felt unnecessarily embarrassed or ashamed because of a specific friend, hobby, or interest
…you’re a college freshman (or can identify with one)
…you enjoy reading books that touch on more serious subject matter yet are still comforting reads with “swoon-worthy” moments

“Because you know that place at the back of people’s minds where they keep their secret fantasies? That’s where I kept you, Livi. And if I finally get to make that a reality, I want it to last.”

Final Musings:

Rachel Morgan writes about conflicts that everyone will go through during life: peer-pressure, drug & alcohol abuse, self-love, self-confidence, and how to make worthy friends & love interests. The thing I really loved about The Trouble With Flirting is that it touches on all of these deep subjects while also bringing out the “silver-lining.” This book won’t make you cry, but it’ll make you self-reflect. And also, it’ll make you swoon because the main romance is filled with all sorts of geeky adorableness :)

A breathy laugh escapes me. “Don’t be nervous. It’s just me.”
“Exactly,” he says, and his face is flushed as he looks up and adds, “It’s you.”