Everything I Looked Forward To: January (2023)
This post is extremely belated as a lot of my posts are but here it is! 2023 has so many amazing sounding books so far and I can’t wait to read them. With the new year comes shows returning and new shows premiering. I’m still waiting on the show to fill my Netflix’s The Babysitter’s Club sized-hole.
Books:
~January 3rd~
16 & Pregnant by LaLa Thomas
A Ruinous Fate (Heartless Fates #1) by Kaylie Smith
All That It Ever Meant by Blessing Musariri
Breakup From Hell by Ann Dávila Cardinal
For Lamb by Lesa Cline Ransome
French Kissing in New York by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
Take A Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden
The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos
The Roof Over Our Heads by Nicole Kronzer
The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim
The Stranded (The Stranded #1) by Sarah Daniels
They’re Watching You by Chelsea Ichaso
~January 10th~
A Tale of Two Princes by Eric Geron
Brighter Than The Moon by David Valdes
Cool. Awkward. Black. by Karen Strong (Editor), Amerie, Kalynn Bayron, Terry J. Benton, Roseanne A. Brown, Elise Bryant, Tracy Deonn, Desiree S. Evans, Isaac Fitzsimons, Lamar R. Giles, Jordan Ifueko, Leah Johnson, Amanda Joy, Danny Lore, Kwame Mbalia, Tochi Onyebuchi, K. Arsenault Rivera, Ciannon Smart, Julian Winters, Ibi Zoboi
Friday I’m In Love by Camryn Garrett
The Girl I Am, Was and Never Will Be by Shannon Gibney
The Wicked Ones (Dark Ascension #1) by Robin Benway
We Are All So Good At Smiling by Amber McBride
Who Owns The Clouds? by Mario Brassard,and Gérard DuBois (Illustrator)
~January 17th~
Another Dimension Of Us by Mike Albo
As You Walk On By by Julian Winters
One Last Shot: The Story of A Wartime Photographer Gerda Taro by Kip Wilson
Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by Ellen O’Clover
This Is Not A Personal Statement by Tracy Badua
~January 24th~
6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe
Begin Again by Emma Lord
Live Your Best Lie by Jessie Weaver
Retro by Sofía Lapuente and Jarrod Shusterman
Sun Keep Rising by Kristen R. Lee
The Minus-One Club by Kekla Magoon
Doomed: Sacco, Vanzetti and The End of The American Dream by John Florio and Ouisie Shapiro
~January 31st~
The Black Queen by Jumata Emill
Blood Circus by Camila Victoire
The Davenports (The Davenports #1) by Krystal Marquis
Dream To Me by Megan Paasch
Play The Game by Charlene Allen
Promise Boys by Nick Brooks
Reggie & Delilah’s Year of Falling by Elise Bryant
The Cartographers by Amy Zhang
Then Everything Happens At Once by M. E. Girard
Read: Friday I’m In Love, 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did), Begin Again
Reading: Brighter Than The Moon
Preordered: Begin Again
Recommended For Library: Friday I’m In Love, This Is Not A Personal Statement, Another Dimension of Us, As You Walk On By, The Black Queen, 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And The One Time We Did) and Saints of The Household
Shows:
Ginny and Georgia Season 2
Ginny & Georgia Season 2 | Official Trailer | Netflix – YouTube
I have watched this and I loved it!
That 90s Show Season 1
That ’90s Show | Official Trailer | Netflix – YouTube
I still need to watch this one.
The Price of Glee
The Price of Glee – Official Trailer – YouTube
I am all for documentaries on since ended shows.
Movies:
M3GAN
M3GAN – official trailer – YouTube
I’m normally not a horror fan at all but I’ve heard good things about this so I would like to give it a try? During the daytime. With all the lights turned on. And some squishmallows to hold.
Music:
January 13:
Circa Waves Never Going Under
January 20:
Guided by Voices La La Land
Ladytron Time’s Arrow
Everything Else:
There’s not a lot I’m looking forward to in the physical sense. I’m looking forward to my new reading goal of 100 books, the chance for new shows to come out, and the chance at a new year.
What are you looking forward to this month and year?
It’s My Third Blogoversary!
Well, I have somehow been able to make it to the third year. I think this is the part where I’m supposed to feel like, accomplished and “together”. I don’t really feel like either, but I still felt like a little post was necessary and fun.
How do you sum of three years? 1096 days?, some better than others. You do it in list form, of course. Let’s look at some stats, yes?
- I have read a (low-ish) total of 108 books.
- I’ve posted 473 (now 474!) times.
- I’ve had 75,770 non-unique views.
- I’ve had 55,796 non-unique visitors.
- I have roughly 270 followers on WordPress.
- My most viewed book review is still To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han with the non-unique view count of 12,657.
- I’ve posted 63 reviews.
- I’ve shared 23 discussions for Amber’s Rambles
- I have created nine features (Looking Forward To, Featured Fairytale Friday (now in purgatory, Musical Monday, Wondrous Covers Wednesday, Amber’s Rambles, One Day More, More Than This Provincial Life, Bookish Lists and First Watch).
- I have done one cover reveal solo (Nowhere Near You!) and one cover reveal in part (Game On).
- I’ve taken two hiatuses, one in 2015 and one in 2016.
- I’ve received physical ARCs from St. Martin’s (the first publisher!), Bloomsbury (The second!) and finally Simon & Schuster!
- I’ve received e-ARCs from Dundurn, HarperCollins,, Scholastic,, Simon & Schuster, Chronicle Books, and St. Martin’s!
- I’ve participated in thirteen blog tours.
- I have had fifteen authors on my blog included but not limited to: Kody Keplinger, Corey Ann Haydu, LEAH THOMAS, and Tamara Ireland Stone.
- I have attended BEA of 2016 and ALA (Annual Conference) of 2017, both in Chicago.
- I have met 32 authors.
- Who I Met At BEA – Erica Chapman, David Levithan, Jennifer Niven, Adam Silvera, Stacey Kade, Aaron Starmer, Billy Taylor, David Arnold and Sara Shepard!)
- Who I Met At ALA – Sandhya Menon, Christa Desir, Hena Khan, Eric Smith, Courtney Stevens, Adi Alsaid, Kate Watson, Jason Reynolds, Nic Stone, Brandy Colbert, Angie Thomas, Emery Lord, Samira Ahmed, Gregory Scott Katsoulis, Jen Lancaster, Anna-Marie McLemore, Mitali Perkins, Maureen Goo, Stacey Lee, Jessica Pennington,Duncan Tonatiuh, Sheela Chari, and F.C. Yee!
It’s been a good three years and I made it through despite a lot of stuff going on both online and in real life. I’m happy I’m still here and that I’ve met a lot of bookish people. I love that I’ve had the blessing to go to two book conferences in a row and that I’ve met so many amazing authors. I hope to have many more blogoversaries despite the hard times and obstacles. Thank you to publishers, authors, friends and readers.
Photographers (Wondrous Covers Wednesday)
Wondrous Covers Wednesday is a weekly feature where I choose to showcase three covers with similar attributes and themes. To see past editions, you can check out my page for them here.
It’s another edition of Wondrous Covers Wednesday. It’s been a while, but hopefully I’ll have this feature back on track. I love photographs which can be noted in a past edition I’ve done, but this week, I decided to take on cameras. It helped that a two of the books are being released next year and one was already recently released.
~One~
Busted by Gina Ciocca
~My Thoughts~
This strikes me as a cover that would be a photo on Tumblr. That’s not a bad thing, I love a lot of photographs on Tumblr. It just gives me that kind of vibe. I think it’s the sky in the background and the kind of filter possibly applied to it. I love how it’s sideways and you can’t really see the character’s face. Not being able to see the character’s face though is very in character as I go into the next section. . .
~Cover/Book Connection~
You can’t let yourself be shown if you’re trying to spy. Well what hopefully happens is we’ve got us a girl that spies on guys and takes pictures of them cheating on their girlfriends! Because yes, why not? That is the perfect thing ever. I hope she charges people.
Does this scream Veronica Mars or does this scream Veronica Mars? Originally she accidentally found her best friend’s boyfriend cheating (what a jerk) but then the word gets around and now they all want to “hire” her.
Oh you silly, awful, terrible guys that I cannot wait to see get, wait for it, busted. Ha.
I cannot wait to see how book goes. If you’ve got better luck than I do, you can go and request Busted now on Edelweiss. Edelweiss is an online site that lets publishers upload e-ARCs and reviewers, booksellers, librarians and others may request them.
~Two~
Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
~My Thoughts~
I am really loving the plain white covers with just a couple images on top of them.. I love the style of this drawing. I really love everything the character has. I like how she’s in the center of “love” and “hate” but you still clearly know what they say. It doesn’t make the text hard to read as it’s very big. I think the font is really nice and the black color was a good choice. It seems like a more “serious” font. I may have had the camera on the other side of her, only because it kind of blends into the “A”.
~Cover/Book Connection~
Our main character, Maya here makes documentaries and dreams of going to NYU. This makes the camera accompaniment a perfect choice. In Love, Hate & Other Filters, Maya deals with Islamophobia after a suicide bomber strikes. I am wondering if Maya will be using her documentary skills here as either an outlet or to cover what’s going on or both. This book sounds amazing. You can go “wish for it” on Netgalley!
Netgalley is another online site that lets publishers upload e-ARCs and reviewers, booksellers, librarians and others may request them.Otherwise you can and should request it for your local library or maybe purchase it for yourself, if you’re able to.
Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali
~My Thoughts~
I think this might be my favorite cover. It’s so cute and contemporary and fun. It just makes me smile. Especially since there is an openly Muslim girl on the cover!! In an at least partly fun, light story!
I love the yellow and pink which I don’t see too often on covers. The bright pink font for the title is so eye-catching.
I’m so excited to read this. I requested it for my library because how could I not? They have it as a physical book and also ebook from Overdrive. I haven’t read this, but I really need to do so soon.
~Cover/Book Connection~
Our lovely lady, Janna here is an aspiring photographer. Janna deals with whether or not to date a guy as it is usually against Muslim beliefs. I love how this kind of struggle lays way for the lighthearted look of the cover. It seems like it will be at least a little fluffy, maybe, but also pretty serious given the latter part of the summary of knowing a monster.
Let me know your thoughts on all these covers? Which one is your favorite? Have you read either of these books? I really loved that I featured two books by Muslim authors about Muslim teens. It’s not that it’s a “huge” deal like I did anyone a favor, but I just like that I was able to share the two because of a common aspect of the covers.
The Bold Type – Season 1, Episode 2 – O Hell No
Important Change:
I have changed my First Watch Feature for a later to be revealed feature. This is now Weekly TV Roundup. I created this so I could recap and discuss new shows that I watch live. I do generally live-tweet, so if you’re on Twitter, you can always follow me there. I’ll most likely inevitably have to try to combine multiple show discussion into one post as I do weekly posts. Wish me luck.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images shared in this recap. They are all owned by Freeform.
Here’s the second edition of Weekly TV Roundup! I originally watched the second episode the same night as the premiere. Due to my rambling and such, I broke it into two parts!
Plots For The Week:
- Jane struggles with writing an orgasm article for the sex column.
- Kat is discovering if she’s not as straight as she believed.
- Sutton’s new aspirations with the magazine!
One of the best things about this show so far is the amazing soundtrack. Episode 2 kicks off with a song that just screams NYC if that makes any kind of sense.
Jane:
Jane is definitely a person who would rather write more serious articles from saying last episode “I could handle bigger subject matter, and I want to prove it, so I have some ideas that I was hoping to throw at you.” to this week’s “ Oh, uh, actually, I had this political piece that I wanted to pitch to you.”. Two things are clear: 1. Jane doesn’t want to get too personal with some things and 2. She’s uncomfortable with sexuality.
I related so much to Jane in this episode. Jane is a little inexperienced when it comes to sex. Writing for a magazine like Scarlet which has a big focus on it proves to be a bit hard for her due to this. She feels pressured from this magazine to have sex, to have orgasms, to be good in the bedroom for guys.She criticizes the way a male writer from Pinstripe wrote about sex and women. I love how this was really pushed from the beginning with the lead ladies attempting to re-create this sex scene to pitch to readers. Jane goes on the journey to finding out why she hasn’t orgasmed and goes about getting one. This revelation shocks Kat and Sutton. I love that Jane does tell Jacqueline about her feelings twice about pressure and sex. This doesn’t get her out of writing the article, but she does get the option to go anonymously.
During a call Jane gets from a gynecologist in the middle of the crowded Scarlet offices only to escape to an elevator with bad reception and screams “A problem with my vagina!” in front of who else but. . .
Ryan, Pinstripe’s sex columnist.
Nevertheless, that wasn’t Jane’s last meeting with Ryan as the duo meet two more times. Predictable? Of course but I’ll take it. There was lovely banter between the two. Will these two hook up? Most likely.
I think the pressure Jane feels is so realistic for a lot of women. It’s bad to talk about sex even around our same gender, it’s expected to be experienced and masturbate and have sex. This isn’t the case for all women. Especially if they’re Christian or abstinent for other reasons.
There are other interesting scenes here from the introduction to the porn watching scene they have and Kat removing a Yoni egg from inside Jane. I’ll have to say that after watching this episode, I would not use one and that’s all I’ll say about that.
Jane writes her piece on orgasms which is very much full of science and she tells Jacqueline she’d like to submit anonymously. This is a magazine no-no so readers know they can trust Scarlet. By the end after really voicing her feelings, Jane is allowed to submit the article anonymously. Like a true star though, Jane signs her name at the last minute. Yes, Jane! There’s also the awesome slow motion scene with Jane walking through the Scarlet offices knowing everyone has now seen the article put online. Jane is my girl. Not just Scarlet sees it though as Ryan also sees it. I bet he’ll be making his re-appearance soon and I’m very excited for it.
Kat:
Who hasn’t worried about being ghosted today in the social media age? Adena hasn’t been answering Kat’s messages since doing the first piece. She’s not left in the dark for long though when Adena shows up at Scarlet. We discover that Adena has received death threats, something which is so common among POC especially POC that are Muslim. We find out as well that American Immigration officers have been checking Muslims’ phones and she got rid of it. That is a really good reason for Kat.
Kat tells her the magazine wants a follow-up with her and that Alex would have some time. Adena also invites Kat along leading to Kat causing one of her brightest smiles yet. Kat’s main side plot besides wondering about Adena is helping Jane uncover the secret to an orgasm. This involves taking Jane to the sexologist. During Jane Time though, she decides to bring up her feelings about her sexuality which she always thought was just straight. She later helps extract the yoni from Jane as it may help her figure out her feelings for Adena. She proclaims that she’s not a lesbian, she’s just not. Once again, no mention of bisexual here which makes me a little disappointed.
While at the exhibit, Kat decides to go talk to Adena finally only to see what appears to be a girlfriend show up and kiss her. It doesn’t end all bad though, at least for Kat. The girls give her a pep talk that I think viewers can only agree with.
Kat is brave and strong. She does take risks and she follows her heart. She’s an inspiration to Jane who goes to kiss Ryan. Hands To Myself plays at the perfect moment. I can’t think of a better fitting song. She then leaves him standing there as she goes walking off to write, like the queen she is. Jane doesn’t stop there though as she decides to sign her once anonymous article with her name. Yesss, Jane.
Kat tries to talk to Adena, I think, about her confused feelings and instead just says the show was amazing. You will get there, Kat. No worries.
Sutton:
Sutton is my love. I’ve said this before, but I really do just love all of the ladies. I think Sutton may be the one I relate most closely too. She is the last one to be promoted from an assistant, I could picture that being me. Sutton does attempt to get somewhere new with the magazine as she talks to Lauren. Rather than aim for the fashion department, Sutton talks about being interested in the business. Business? Yes, of course. It’s safe, reliable, and has a lot of money in it. I can completely understand why Sutton would aim for that. It’s a practical guarantee for her. No chance to fail. Lauren encourages her by setting up informational interviews. The person she points her to has to be . . . Richard, the man she just broke up with last week.
Awkward.
Richard pulls her into doing an informational interview about her options. I loved this because it helped learn more about her character. She needs this money which could change her life. Why wouldn’t she aim for the job? Sutton is the character of the millennial generation. She wrestles with the idea of going with her dream of fashion or doing the business side which is a safe steady job. She’s still unemployed after getting a degree and not sure what she wants to do. If that’s not relatable, I don’t know what is. From her money struggles to her parent’s struggles, I relate to her through and through.
There’s also a little tidbit about Richard’s age when Sutton says “Oh, you mean when I graduated into the worst job market in 50 years, thanks to your generation?” Preach the truth, Sutton.
I’m sure everyone had the same thoughts when Sutton talked about moving on. Moving on? Girl you just got here for the viewers. We can tell from The Bold Type’s Premise that Sutton will be sticking around. You’re not spending that $100 on a train ticket. It would be interesting to see a somewhat business side of the magazine though.
My favorite guy, Alex comes back in this episode as he talks with Sutton about her interview and need for a job. She tells him about how she needs the money a business job could get her. She asks if that’s a bad reason to take a job? At this point I screamed No! Because money is important and people need it. It’s not wrong to take a job you don’t really love when you need the money.
Sutton tells Kat and Jane about her interview and while they’re somewhat supportive, they both question why she would work in business rather than fashion. Kat also says it’s “so boring”. Yes, sometimes jobs are boring, but we do what we have to, right?
I remember a friend was just saying a couple weeks ago how a friend of hers says she’s doing a job she doesn’t particularly love so she can do things she does like. That hit me so hard because yes, not everyone can go and follow their dreams. It would be amazing if they could, but there are so many obstacles. No one is wrong for ever taking a “boring” job if it gets them what they need.
I obviously can’t blame Sutton for wanting to do what could change her life. I can understand the student loans Sutton has. There’s such a desperate feeling, especially when you’re not bringing in a lot of money. I think there’s another element of Sutton just wanting to do something more than be an assistant. Both of her friends have moved up and she hasn’t. When she tries to, it’s for something she really doesn’t want to do. So what does Sutton have to do to move up? Well, we’re find out, I’m sure.
She gets her happy ending during the exhibit when she gets the call that she got the job. Her and Alex go out for a very expensive bottle of alcohol and she finally spends that $100 bill. It’s not because she’s taking the job though. It’s for “crazy dreams” and her fully pursuing fashion. I think I could have cried at this scene. I’m so happy to see Sutton be successful and go after what she wants.
~Overall~
I loved seeing the growth with Jane as each episode premieres. My girl is pushing out these articles and being, well, the bold type. All three of them are with Sutton taking a riskier job move and Kat really thinking about how she feels. I love the longer drawn out plots with Kat and Sutton figuring themselves out. I think some things are wrapping up a little fast or going really well. Other than that though, I did like this episode quite a bit.I’m so excited to see what Sutton decides she wants to do. As always, I am loving the Kadena scenes.
- Most Relatable Character:: Tie between Jane and Sutton
- Favorite Character: Sutton
- Most Memorable Scene: The yoni removal, of course.
- Best Music Usage: Hands To Myself by Selena Gomez – hands down. I am pretty sure I screamed when this song played, no lie.
~Favorite Quotes~
“You’re the bravest person I know. You take risks and you put yourself out there. I mean, I wish I could be more like you.”
“Crazy dreams.”
What were your thoughts on the characters this week? What do you think about the plots and development so far? Is your type of show or not so much? I’d love to know.
First Watch – The Bold Type – Season 1, Episode 1 – Pilot
Hey everyone. I’m coming at you with a second new feature in one week. This is a feature I’ve planned to do for a long time, but just never really focused on doing it. Actually, I did focus on it, once. Then my laptop died and that edition died along with it. No fear though, one of the few nice things left for living in the U.S. right now are the numerous amount of new shows coming out.
I created First Watch so I could recap and discuss not only new shows, but also old shows that I watch for the first time. I’ve always tweeted my watching or (before Twitter), recapped my watching on Tumblr (Hello, Pretty Little Liars). I felt this would be a fun little feature to also hear other people’s thoughts. I’ll be doing episode, season, series and movie recaps and discussing the newest episodes of shows I watch. I’ll most likely inevitably have to try to combine multiple show discussion into one post. Wish me luck.
Note/Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images shared in this recap. They are all owned by Freeform.
I’ll be starting the first edition of this with The Bold Type from Freeform. I first watched this show last month when it premiered three weeks ago. The premiere was for the first two episodes but as this recap is already pretty long, I’m going to only discuss the first episode today. I will be hopefully posting the second episode Monday, July 17th.
~Intro~
If you have been missing the too soonly dearly departed shows, The Carrie Diaries and Jane By Design, Freeform may have just what you’re looking for. Fans of Sex and The City and Younger will be interested in this as well as we’re given looks into companies. If you’re looking for a light summer show that talks about important subjects, The Bold Type may be for you.
Inspired by Cosmopolitan editor, Joanna Coles, The Bold Type is about three 20-somethings year old women who become friends as assistants at Scarlet. Two of them are moving up on the fashion industry ladder. Jane and Kat have been recently promoted to a writer and social media director. Sutton is still finding her footing though and we’re not too sure what she’ll end up doing.
There is a lot going on in the world and sometimes it can be a lot to handle. The Bold Type is a fresh breath of air despite the natural New York City atmosphere. The Bold Type is not a superficial show by any means, though it can be easy to mistake it – and Scarlet by default – as such. Both deal with what can be at the first glance appear to be superficial aspects like fashion and makeup, but they’re tools for forming women. Who says a woman can’t love fashion and makeup and be strong, smart, capable and independent? It’s time to set these assumptions aside.
~Jane~
You’ll fall in love with Jane who is all too relatable when she must take a picture of her “first day as a writer” walking into Scarlet offices. She is also the character you would expect to take the show’s lead. The sort of shy, inexperienced, type A, eager, uncertain but confident of what she wants and trying to find her voice.
In the pilot we’re introduced to Jane who we discover grew up without a mom as she died when Jane was a baby. We hear that Scarlet was the older sister to Jane that she never had as she grew up in a home of brothers. In any other case, I probably would have rolled my eyes at the cheesiness. Jane definitely sells this to me though as I root for her. As a reader and writer, I know the impact that words can have, something as simple as a magazine can have a profound impact no matter where it comes from.
I love that the central focus of this show is the strong friendship between these women who support each other and don’t tear one another down. These women who can get in arguments and still apologize and show up
~Jacqueline~
The first Scarlet meeting is kicked off with a little tongue in cheek comment from Jacqueline, the editor in chief as she says to a group of mostly old, white men,
“I am so happy to see all your bright, shining, young, ethnically, sexually, and gender-diverse faces this morning so we can hammer out the issues that really matter to today’s woman.”
I’ll be interested to see if there is more diversity added to this group or if it will focus on the main female characters we have now. Not that I would be against either because these ladies are amazing so far.
At first sight, Jacqueline can seem harsh as she denies all twenty of Jane’s proposals over emails. To be fair, twenty proposals, Jane? Twenty? Knowing Jane’s personality though, I understand why she’d submit more rather than less. In person, Jacqueline continues doing so until Jane hits the one topic she does like – her unstalkable ex. This is also the one topic that Jane does not want to cover as her boyfriend broke up with her randomly.
It is now up to Jane to figure out how to stalk her unstalkable ex. What does she do? She, Kat and Sutton take what appears to be an uber and drive by his house. Jane is very much against this idea but Kat and Sutton think it will be good for her.
“You know, maybe you can finally get some closure.”
“I have closure, it’s closed.”
Whatever you say, Jane.
They are narrowly caught after Jane’s ex starts walking up the street and the uber driver has gone to see if his name is on the call box.
There’s also a nice, quick moment between Kat and Sutton as Kat says “And, hey, look at all this legroom.”, Sutton replies “Oh, my God. I was just thinking that.” and the two share a high-five. I especially love the chemistry between these two.
After a somewhat successful attempt to stalk Eric, Jane tries to pitch a new idea to Jacqueline. Jacqueline will not have that though as she liked Jane’s idea. It’s now Jane’s job to get this article written. Does she? Well. . . She kind of writes an article called “How To Get Over It When the Guy You Love Leaves You Standing in a Train Station.” Jacqueline loves this article and Jane has successfully done her first article. Yay for victory!
~Sutton~
Sutton is the character that we’re not quite sure of right now. She’s still an assistant as Jane and Kat are promoted. I do love this storyline for her though because she could end up anywhere. She’s stated she’s interested in fashion so I wonder if she’ll maybe do a fashion column or more behind the scenes work. I like being able to relate to Sutton because I could see myself not feeling the best if two friends were promoted and I were still kind of stuck.
Despite this though, she’s pretty busy. We see throughout the episode that Sutton is involved in a classic forbidden romance with Richard, a board member. Sutton gets adventurous at Scarlet with Richard with texting photos, not wearing a bra and stealing underwear.
In the pilot, Jane and Kat discover this relationship or fling. Kat immediately tells her that Richard would be fine if the word got out about them, it’s herself she would have to worry about. See what I mean about that tough love? I agree with Kat a million times over. It’s so typical in today’s society for guys to get high-fives for sleeping with people with little regard to the people they could potentially hurt.
I love that while Sutton may not know what exactly she wants at Scarlet, she knows what she wants from Richard. And that’s for “I want to be the girl you can’t stop thinking about.” Yes Sutton, you stand up for yourself! I already love her so much.
~Kat~
Kat is the clear go-getter character of the group from the start. She also seems like she’s a somewhat hard to love character, if you didn’t know her. Of course, she seems like the complete opposite as well. Kat feels like she would be a tough love character too. That friend that kicks you in the butt when you’re doing something wrong or something that could hurt you.
We learn that she was promoted from assistant after two years whereas it took Jane four year. She tells someone her friend “is having a moment” during Jane’s picture outside and the use of the word “Punani” in an article. She pushes about the Muslim Lesbian article as it hits all the boxes Scarlet is about. She quickly puts it on herself to convince the photographer to do the feature piece after hearing they cancelled.
Besides that storyline but also still related, Kat is trying to figure out these new feelings that are growing for Adena. It’s interesting to see this play out. The word “bisexual” has not been used yet in the show. It seems like Kat can either be straight or be a Lesbian, she can’t be bisexual. I hope this changes in the show or it will be very disappointing. This storyline brought out a vulnerable side to Kat in contrast to the rest of her generally-knowing-what-she’s -doing personality.
~Adena~
Finally we meet Adena who is the Muslim, Lesbian photographer. Adena doesn’t initially agree to the article as Kat attempts to persuade her, believing the magazine is superficial and unfeminist. Kat does end up getting Adena to say yes to the article without even pushing it. I would say this was due more to Kat’s personality than Scarlet brand. It seems like if Kat encouraged something, it could only be good.
The two shared a few very cute scenes with quotes to remember. It’s very believable to see that Kat is the social media director, she’s not afraid to stand up for herself and others. Their chemistry is very clear to see.
During a night of deconstructing vibrators to take back to her country, Adena asks Kat her sexual orientation. “Out and proud hetero”. I found the “out and proud” line to be a bit off-putting because there’s never really a question of “out and proud hetero”. This, of course, seems like it will be challenged as Kat wrestles with her feelings.
The pilot throws no punches as it shows the reality that people living in repressive countries face. Kat goes on to encourage her fellow employees to tweet for Adeena after she gets detained for attempting to smuggle the contraband.
“We are going to tweet that a woman is being held against her will simply for wanting to own her own sexuality — #FreeAdena — unless somebody has something better.”
This idea is shut down by Lauren who asks Kat how she thought this would be taken for Adena. Feeling overwhelmed, Kat lashes out at Sutton who says she can deal with it alone. This causes the second argument between our three ladies.
We discover at the end that Adena was released due to help from Alex’s friend and Adena refusing to sign a paper saying she was remorseful of her actions. This made me so happy and I can’t wait to see more Adena. I’m hoping the country where she’s from will be named because as of now it is just a generalized Middle Eastern country.
~Other Characters~
Besides the main cast, we also meet Alex who is a writer for Scarlet. He also seems to be the go-to guy when it comes to anything after watching the second episode. Alex is the one that goes to the party with Jane. He is also the one who helps get Adena released through connections. I love him so far and I hope he’s on the show weekly.
Next is Lauren. Lauren is still Sutton’s boss and she seems a little mean at times. I’m hoping she won’t be the villain for the series, but she doesn’t seem like she will be. I’ll be interested to see her character develop. I almost want to say she could be the kind of character that tries to sabotage Kat and Jane but maybe that’s just aftermath thoughts from watching Pretty Little Liars where no one is really good.
~The Ending~
At the end, we’re treated to the most lovely speech by Jacqueline who tells how she’d always kept Jane’s thought about being an older sister in her mind. We see that the girls have also made up. We reach the iconic train screaming scene too which is my absolute favorite.
~Overall~
I loved how the girls screamed in the subway station as it flew by. I hope that will be something that’s repeated as the ladies deal with various life issues. The representation in the show is pretty good so far with Kat appearing to be biracial and possibly black, Adena being Muslim and a Lesbian and Alex being black.
What really makes the show shine are the women. You’ll be cheering for them and find them all, maybe, somewhat relatable. All three leads have amazing chemistry and I can’t wait to see them more. If Scarlet is the older sister of Jane, then Jacqueline is definitely seeming to be more like her mother now. I mean, she rejects a call from Beyonce. Beyonce. She appears to really care about her staff and I love that. Is it a little too sugary? Yeah, possibly. It’s still nice to watch though.
Being a bit of a Conservative Christian, i was put off by a bit of the sex references, but I do understand that is what goes in magazines. Other than that, I love The Bold Type and I can’t wait to watch more of it. The music in this show is pretty amazing as well. I would love to know what you think about it though!
~Favorite Quotes~
“You know, there’s a lot more inside of a woman than what you can see on the outside.” (Adena) “Yeah, I know ’cause there’s a lot more inside of me, too.” (Kat)
“Why do you still wear a hijab? Isn’t it kind of contradictory?” (Kat) “I choose to wear the hijab. It does not oppress me but liberates me from society’s expectations of what a woman should look like. People tend to get uncomfortable when they cannot put you in a box. But I’ve always liked to make people uncomfortable.” (Adena)
“It’s gonna sound really dumb, but, uh, it’s kind of why I fell in love with “Scarlet,” ’cause when I needed it, it was like getting advice from an older sister that I always wished I had.” (Jane)
“It’s okay to not be fine.”
“But for those of you who say we are just a fashion and beauty magazine, I say, “Here’s the next great mascara “to give you bigger eyes to see the world. “Here’s a fabulous pair of jeans. Now go climb a mountain.” (Jacqueline)
My Latest Library Haul
Hi everyone. Since moving with my family, I live a lot closer to the library now. This is a blessing and a curse. It seems every time I go in, I come out with at least one new book. I thought today I would share my recent borrowings. Prepare yourselves, it may look like it’s a lot, but it’s really, um, not? Just kidding. Half of them are physical and half are on my kindle.
~Physical~
I’ve been going through a sort of road-trip, fashion intern, internet sensation, and serious topic mood lately. I picked up Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour because I’ve been reading Open Road Summer. I’m hoping I’ll read Amy & Roger’s after finishing Open Road Summer so I can do a joint review. Actually, a lot of these books will be joint reviews if I read them fast enough.
I picked up Fixing Delilah and Saving Francesca because they’re fairly short. Also because they were looking so sad on the bookshelf when I walked by. I think I have one of them on Kindle but whatever, that’s just details. They needed to be checked out. I checked out How It Ends because I have been interested in this broken friendship story since it came out. I figured if I check it out, there’s a chance I’ll get to it. Right? Well, one can hope anyway.
I had to grab Tash Hearts Tolstoy which I actually had a hold put on just the other day. As I was leaving the library, I thought I’d go check the hold section to see if it was there by chance and it was! I previously looked for it a few days ago at the library, but rather than look at the new releases section (which I did actually stop by), I looked at it by the author’s last name. I was sad and thought it was forever lost because that does happen sometimes at the library? I bought Eliza and Her Monsters at ALA and I want to review these two at the same time if I can.
If you read my post from the other day, you know that I read Foreign Exposure and Fashionistas already. I thought I would do a re-read though and follow-up with a joint review and/or another feature.
Internet Famous is essentially an inspiration to me now because I may start doing weekly TV recaps along with movie recaps and thoughts. Does that sound like something anyone would be interested in? Either way, I’ll be doing it because I love the idea. I’m not doing it at all to actually become internet famous, why would you think that? This was actually a feature I had drafted up on my laptop, prior to it’s death, when The Vampire Diaries was still airing and The 100 was on.
I thought I would get Kiss Cam too since it was mere inches away and a title I’d been sort of interested in. Rather than recaps though, it deals with vlogging, video blogging as well as kissing. It sounds interesting and of course, a little problematic when things start heating up, as I’m sure they will.
Finally, I checked out All-American Boys last month before ALA and had hoped to finish it by now. Unfortunately, if you have been around my blog or twitter for long, you might know that I kind of switch books often.
Now for the ebooks! Overdrive is the real blessing and curse. I should not be allowed to freely roam on that website with the power to checkout numerous 10 books.
~Ebooks~
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Once again, you can kind of see the trend of music, famous people, social media and serious contemporary going on. I was really excited to see Overdrive had This Is What Happy Looks Like. I bought it when I first started my book blog, but never got around to read it because it just looks so intimidating with it’s page count. I thought maybe I would do better reading it on a Kindle. I threw in Avalon High because I really like that book. I also despise the movie adaptation but that is a whole other story I won’t get into.
If you have read any of these books, I want to hear all about it. With all of that said, I have a question about what you would like to see on my blog more! I’m posting the question on Twitter, but I’ll link it here as well.
A New Feature Debut: Bookish Lists
In honor of, The Bold Type officially premiering tonight, I decided to finally launch this long-thought-of feature. I am creating a bookish list type of feature where I can showcase books with similar storylines or aspects. I love bookish lists because they’re great when you’re just in the mood to read about topics and see how other authors handle it.
Today’s Bookish List is going to be about fashion because The Bold Type is about three women who are friends and begin to work for the magazine, Scarlet. Scarlet is a women’s magazine. I loved everything about the preview of the pilot when I watched it last month so this list was a total given.
To be more specific, this list will be about teens interning for fashion or women magazines.
I’ll kick off this list with the two series that gave me an itch to read books about fashion:
The Flirt Series is a favorite because it’s about several girls who are are interning in different areas at one magazine. I’m partial towards Close Up and Personal and Spin City because the girls are involved in photography and music. Close Up and Personal features a girl from Argentina and Spin City is about a Japanese teen.
Next, there’s the Interns duo.
Like Flirt, The Interns is about a group of interns for a magazine called Flirt. Unlike the previous series, these girls aren’t immediate friends. I remember buying Fashionistas at Dollar Tree for, you guessed it, a dollar. It was one of the best book purchases I made. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I really liked the duology.
Now come the final books:
I loved Foreign Exposure, which is actually part of a trilogy, though the previous two books don’t involve being an intern. I read the third book and didn’t feel like I’d missed out on anything much.
I also read Indie Girl which is about an Indian girl by an Indian author. I’m dying to read Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies as well as At First Blush which I hadn’t heard of before today. It’s interesting to me to see that most of these titles are featured by animated or drawn covers.
Well, how did you like this bookish list? Are you going to watch The Bold Type? Do you like books revolving around fashion? Have you read any of the books on this list, let me know below.
Books I Would Love To Get At ALA
It is so weird to think at this time tomorrow, I will be in Chicago. I have less than seven hours to finish doing everything before I leave on the train at 5am.
I thought with ALA right around the corner, I would share the books I am heavily anticipating. The number is numerous but all these books are definite must-reads.
~August~
Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
The Art of Feeling by Laura Tims
Dress Codes For Small Towns by Courtney C. Stevens
Out of these three, the one I’m most highly anticipating is Dress Codes For Small Towns. I read Stevens debut novel and loved it so much.
~September~
They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera
Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
Madness by Zac Brewer
Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
I’ve loved both of Silvera’s books which were full of so much pain but also that super relatable element, most likely due to all the pain. Madness sounds amazing as well and also sad given the subject matter of wanting to commit suicide. I’ve only read The Truth About Alice by Mathieu but I love how her books always tackle serious subjects. I didn’t care for any of Perkins’ books but I can’t turn down this mystery filled book.
~October~
Wild Beauty by Anna Marie-McLemore
Top Ten by Katie Cotugno
Far From The Tree by Robin Benway
The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed
The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
I’m towards the end of When The Moon Was Ours by McLemore and even from the first page I knew I would love it. Her magical realism is such a must-read that I know I need her newest title. Cotugno is a two times New York Times Bestseller and I love the sound of her books. I haven’t read any of them yet, but I do own them all.
I adored Emmy & Oliver from a few years ago so much that I’ve been dying for another Contemporary from Benway. I love that Far From The Tree is going to deal with adopted siblings because I love seeing that family dynamic.
I recently read Crazy by Amy Reed, a book I’d been meaning to read for actual years. Reed is another author that writes a lot about serious subject matter and I cannot wait to read The Nowhere Girls. Long Way Down and Dear Martin have been getting a ton of attention this year and can’t wait to read these much needed books.
~November~
Here We Are Now by Jasmine Warga
~December~
Three Sides of A Heart by various authors (Anthology)
Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills
Mills, like Cotugno, is an author that I’ve heard a lot about and own books by, but haven’t actually read. Foolish Hearts may just be the first.
~2018~
Meet Cute by various authors (anthology)
Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
Meet Cute sounds like the cutest book ever. I love seeing how characters meet so I can’t wait for this anthology, especially since one of the authors is Lauren Gibaldi and I loved her debut The Night We Said Yes. Love, Hate and Other Filters is the last book that I am like, “I must get you or else it will be such a wasted opportunity”. Even better, Samira is signing at ALA so I will definitely be in line to meet her.
It is quite a bit of books, but I’m not expecting to get all of them, though I wouldn’t mind really having most of them, as you can see. I could do without Girls Made of Snow and Glass and The Hazel Wood just because they’re on the fantasy side and I usually stay away from that genre. I do love the fairytale side of the books.
What are the books you’re anticipating from ALA? If you’re not going, what are the books you’re looking forward to for the rest of the year?
My ALA Schedule!
I cannot believe that in a week from now, I will be 1. In Chicago and 2. On my third and final day at ALA. I am so ridiculously excited. There are going to be so many amazing authors that I’ve followed on Twitter that will be signing and so many fantastic books. If you’re wondering where I’ll be or may want to stand in line (somewhat) together, here’s my schedule! A rough draft of it, I need to make some minor adjustments, like adding both numbers…
Priorities are in Bold. Things I’d really like to do are in Italics. Ideally, this would be in a colored spreadsheet, however, I can’t really do a screenshot on the computer without a ton of extra work. 😦 Which makes me very sad, but this isn’t bad!
| Date | Title | Author | Time | Publisher | Area & Type (Panel/Signing) |
| Sat. 6/24 | Miles Morales | Jason Reynolds | 9:00 AM | Disney | |
| In 27 Days | Alison Gervals | 9:00-10:00am | Blink | Booth #3674 | |
| Strong Female Voices in Publishing for MG and YA | Khan, Desir, Menon, Reed | 9:15-10:00am | PopTop Stage | ||
| The Girl Who Drank The Moon | Kelly Barnhill | 9:30-11:00am | Booth #3620 | ||
| Hello Universe | Erin Entrada Kelly | 10:00-10:30am | Harper | ||
| Crafting Kid-Lit Anthologies | Jensen, Smith, Reed, Watson, Chibber | 10:00-10:50am | PopTop Stage | ||
| The Thing With Feathers | McCall Hoyle | 10:00-11:00am | Blink | ||
| The Sun Is Also A Star | Nicola Yoon | 10:00-11:00am | Random House | ||
| Long Way Down | Jason Reynolds | 10:00-11:00am | Simon & Schuster | Booth #3020 | |
| Warcross | Marie Lu | 10:00-11:00am | Penguin | Booth #3811 | |
| Socially & Politically Oriented Fiction for YA Readers | Bacigalupi, Colbert, Latham | 11:00-11:50 | PopTop Stage | ||
| Welcome Home | Eric Smith | 11:00-12:00 | North Star/Flux | Booth #1951 | |
| As You Wish | Chelsea Sedoti | 11:30-12:30 | |||
| Penguin Young Readers Book Buzz | 12:00-12:45 | Book Buzz | |||
| How Dare The Sun Rise | Sandra Uwiringlyimana | 12:00-1:00pm | Harper | ||
| Dreamland Burning | Jennifer Latham | 12:30-1:30pm | Little Brown | Booth #2611 | |
| Dear Martin | Nic Stone | 1:00-2:00pm | Random House | ||
| Amina’s Voice | Hena Khan | 1:00-2:00pm | Simon & Schuster | ||
| Candlewick Press & Chronicle Books Present Fall ’17 Titles | 1:00-1:45 | ||||
| YA Authors Dish About YA! | Hoyle, Gervais, Foody, Katsoulis, Lancaster, Thomas | 1:00-1:50 |
| Little & Lion | Brandy Colbert | 1:30-2:30pm | Little Brown | |
| Must Go | Buzzworthy Graphic Novels from Scholastic | Jennifer L. Holm | 2:00-2:45 | |
| Would Really Like to | Genuine Fraud | E. Lockhart | 2:00-3:00pm | Random House |
| Would Like To | The Hate U Give | Angie Thomas | 2:00-3:00pm | Harper |
| Meh | The Girl Who Drank The Moon | Kelly Barnhill | 2:00-3:00pm | Algonquin |
| Things I’m Seeing Without You | Peter Bognanni | 2:00-3:00pm | Penguin | |
| The Sun Is Also A Star | Nicola Yoon | 2:30-3:30pm | Random House | |
| Get Graphic With Penguin Random House | 3:00-3:45 | |||
| Solo | Kwame Alexander & Mary Rand Hess | 3:00-4:00pm | Blink | |
| A Short History of The Girl Next Door | Jared Reck | 3:00-4:00pm | Random House | |
| Other Broken Things | C. Desir | 3:00-4:00pm | Simon & Schuster | |
| When Dimple Met Rishi | Sandhya Menon | 3:00-3:30pm | Simon & Schuster | |
| Want | Cindy Pon | 3:30-4:00 | Simon & Schuster | |
| Three Is The Magic Number | Quirk Books, Soho Teen, Sterling’s Children | 4:00-4:45 | ||
| RH Children’s Books Presents the Future of YA Lit. | Lockhart (moderator), Stone, Moore | 4:00-4:50 | ||
| The Nowhere Girls | Amy Reed | 4:00-5:00pm | Simon & Schuster | |
| Scythe | Neal Shusterman | 4:00-5:00pm | Simon & Schuster | |
| Piecing Me Together | Renee Watson | 4:00-5:00pm | Bloomsbury |
| Sun. 6/25 | Challenger Deep | Neal Shusterman | 9:00-9:30 | Harper |
| WNDB Presents: Spooky Tales for MG Readers | 9:15-10:00 | |||
| Book Buzz: New Fall 2017 from RH Children’s Books | 10:00-10:45 | |||
| The Girl With The Red Balloon | Katherine Locke | 10:00-11:00 | AW Teen | |
| The Names They Gave Us | Emery Lord | 10:00-11:00 | Bloomsbury | |
| Passenger | Alexandra Bracken | 10:30-11:30 | Disney | |
| The Hazel Wood | Melissa Albert | 10:45-11:30 | ||
| If I Was Your Girl | Meredith Russo | 10:45-11:30 | Mac | |
| To Infinity & Beyond w/ HarlquinTeen, Tor & Starscape | 11:00-11:45 | |||
| Location, Location, Location: When Setting Becomes… | 11:00-11:50 | |||
| Meant To Be | Julie Halpern | 11:00-12:00 | Mac | |
| Love, Hate and Other Filters | Samira Ahmed | 11:00- | ||
| The Hate U Give | Angie Thomas | 11:30-12:30 | -Booklist- | |
| The Playbook | Kwame Alexander | 11:30-12:30 | ||
| Subverting Gender Stereotypes in YA Romance | 12:00-12:50 | |||
| Buzz about Children’s Books w/Bloomsbury, Disney, HC… | 1:00-1:45 | |||
| York | Laura Ruby | 1:30-2pm | Harper | |
| The Belles | Dhonielle Clayton | 2:00-3:00pm | Disney | |
| Wild Beauty | Anna-Marie McLemore | 2:00-3:00pm | Mac | |
| You Bring The Distant Near | Mitali Perkins | 2:00-3:00pm | Mac | |
| Disappeared | Francisco X. Stork | 2:30-3:30pm | Scholastic | |
| Penguin Random House Publisher Services (Client pubs) | 3:00-3:45 | |||
| Refugee | Alan Gratz | 3:30-4:30pm | Scholastic | |
| Shadowhouse Fall | Daniel Jose Older | 3:30-4:30 | Scholastic | |
| I Believe In A Thing Called Love | Maureen Goo | 3:30-4:00pm | Mac | |
| Mon. 6/26 | Outrun The Moon | Stacey Lee | 9:00-10:00 | Penguin |
| Simon & Schuster Children’s & Adult Book Buzz | 9:15-10:00 | |||
| Spotlight on #OwnVoices titles from ABRAMS | 10:00-10:50 | |||
| Pop Culture Meets Scholarly Research | 11:00-11:45 | |||
| One Million Abolitionists | 11:00-11:50 |
Let me know where you’ll be at! Is there anything you think I might have missed?
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