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March & April 2021 Wrap-Up

Hola a todos โ˜€๏ธ!! Wow. It’s been soooo long. I cannot believe how long I went without posting anything on here ๐Ÿ˜ณ

In case any of you were wondering, I’m good. Nothing is wrong. It was just the last month of the semester, which means I had about a hundred thousand assignments, tests, and projects to hand in ๐Ÿ˜ช I was a tad bit overwhelmed with everything and decided to take an unplanned break from blogging to concentrate on school. But, I have officially handed in my very last project (a creative writing one, btw ๐Ÿ˜‰), so time to read all the books, do all the tags, and rant all about!!

Regarding my life outside of books, I am still very stressed ๐Ÿ˜… There are a couple of very exciting things happening, which I will tell you about once they’re in process of becoming a more immediate reality. But I’m so grateful and excited about what’s coming, and its amazing to have some good news after such a horrible year and a half.

Anyways, I’m also excited to get reacquainted with all your blogs and to share what I’ve been reading and watching! I’ll try not to write too much, but prepare yourselves to read about quite a few books, movies, and shows ๐Ÿ˜ Thank you guys for being here and reading, I really missed you all!

During March I read 10 books, and although I didn’t have as much time in April, I did manage to squeeze in 5 books (still quite impressive if you ask me! ๐Ÿ˜‰). But, most of the ones in my list weren’t the best. So today, I will only tell you guys about a few of them, but I will link all my available reviews so that you can know more about them if you’re interested โ˜บ๏ธ!

March

๐ŸŒฟ Not My Match by Ilsa Madden-Mils (Game Changers #2) | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… / 5 stars -> In February, I read the first book of this collection and thought it was okay. But the reason I read that to begin with, was to read this second installment. The synopsis for this book called out to me more and it sounded just like my type of story… And I was right. This was such a fun read! The characters were amazingly developed, and their chemistry was unreal. I particularly liked that it was (kind of) a friends-to-lovers situation, and that we got to see them learn to trust each other. Definitely recommend it if you like this kind of romance!! [Goodreads]

๐ŸŒฟ Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare (The Last Hours #2) | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜….5 / 5 stars -> I mean… How could I do this wrap-up without talking about Chain of Iron? I think that, like most people in this community, this book was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it did not disappoint. HOWEVER, one of the main reasons I haven’t written a review for this yet is because I’m not sure if I liked it better than the first one… For me, Chain of Gold ticked every box: great cast of characters, many action scenes, intrigue, infuriating people, etc. But, I thought Chain of Iron focused almost exclusively on three aspects of the plot, and then everything else was kind of up in the air. Also, the ending was INFURIATING. And I don’t actually like to be mad after reading a book (those are not the vibes I look for). And I still hate Grace, in case any of you were wondering. Yes, I understand her, but that does not mean that I agree with her or that any of that justifies what she’s done. I HATE her. [Goodreads]

๐ŸŒฟ Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert (The Brown Sisters #3) | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…๐ŸŒŸ / 5 stars -> WOOOOWWW. Can I say any more about this book that I already haven’t raved and ranted on and on about??? I LOVED this. LOOOOVED it. It is definitely one of my favorite books of the year so far, and Talia Hibbert has officially become one of my favorite authors. I will probably binge read all her novels the moment I have the time to give them the appreciation and respect they deserve. In case you somehow do not know, Hibbert is a MAGNIFICENT author that writes about real people. Her books are all very diverse and tackle many situations that authors usually shy away from. Act Your Age, Eve Brown was hilarious and endearing. You can’t help but fall in love with the characters and yearn for them to finally learn to love each other, but most importantly, themselves. I cannot recommend this enough (if it’s the type of book you usually like, of course). Please give it a shot. [Goodreads]

April

๐ŸŒฟ Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… / 5 stars -> I was so excited about this book because I’ve loved both books this author has released (The Hating Game continues to be one of my favorite romance novels ever). But, that does mean I had very high expectations. Now that it’s been almost a month since I finished this, I realize I actually did like it very much. It was a fun, cute, and a quick read. But when I first finished it, I was disappointed. I really wanted to adore it as much as the other two, but I didn’t laugh as much and there were definitely some parts that dragged on a little for me. Overall, it was good, but I just wanted to love it and I didn’t. [Goodreads]

๐ŸŒฟ The Tempest by William Shakespeare | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜….5 / 5 stars -> My last required reading of the year… and I actually liked it. I mean, it wasn’t the greatest play I have ever read and watched, but it was entertaining and… fun? Honestly, I’m pretty excited to keep reading Shakespeare. If you like stories about betrayal, manipulation, and magic, definitely give it a shot. [Goodreads]

๐ŸŒฟ The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Blood and Ash #3) | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜….5 / 5 stars -> One of my MOST anticipated releases of the year, and I LOVED it and HATED it. I still cannot make up my mind about it. The path this story is taking is one of those tropes that I hate with all of my soul, but the book was pretty good, so I don’t know how to feel. Objectively, I think the plot was much better than the second book and we learned a lot about the background of it all (there’s a spinoff coming soon btw). Still, there’s a lot to process, but this is definitely my favorite series by Jennifer L. Armentrout so far. [Goodreads]

Everything else I read in March:

  • Meno by Plato (from the Five Dialogues)
  • Until Autumn by Sheridan Anne | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… / 5 stars.
  • Until Rex by Shaw Hart | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… / 5 stars.
  • Fighting to Breathe by Aurora Rose Reynolds | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜….5 / 5 stars.
  • Wide Open Spaces by Aurora Rose Reynolds | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… / 5 stars.
  • One Last Wish by Aurora Rose Reynolds | โ˜…โ˜….5 / 5 stars.
  • One More Time by Aurora Rose Reynolds | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜….5 / 5 stars.

Everything else I read in April:

  • Elements of Power by Kate Stoessel | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… / 5 stars.
  • Not Pretending Anymore by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… / 5 stars.

We all know I watch too many movies and TV shows for my own good ๐Ÿ‘€ The amount of content I usually fit in a month is absurd. March wasn’t very different than the usual, considering I managed to watch 6 movies, 9 seasons across 4 TV shows, and 1 stand-up comedy special… I don’t know what to say. I mean… I guess I’m proud? But is this something to be proud of… ๐Ÿค”? I’ll say yes for now. In April, on the other hand, I’m impressed by how SMALL my list was, although it was a lot of content too. Somehow, during April I watched 1 movie, 8 seasons across 3 TV shows, and the final 40 episodes of one of my favorite Telenovelas.

Overall, I did enjoy what I watched much more than the books I read. I had the pleasure of indulging in a variety of great films and shows, and even finished a couple of the ones I’ve been watching for a few months!

March

๐ŸŒฟ WandaVision – Season 1 | โ˜… 9 / 10 stars โ˜… -> I am a HUGE superhero movies fan! So of course I couldn’t not watch WandaVision. Though, I will be honest. At first I was very apprehensive cause I don’t usually like Marvel TV shows, but this one was GREAT. Elizabeth Olsen did a beautiful job, and whoever came up with this concept is a genius. I loved watching them go through the decades and imitate all the TV show formats (yes! they did that), but it was also lovely to see Wanda’s journey and how she processed grief. I will definitely be watching future Marvel shows, cause this was amazing, and it is evident they will all be influential in the movies of Phase 4!

๐ŸŒฟ Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – Seasons 3 & 4 | โ˜… 7 / 10 stars โ˜… -> I finished Sabrina!! Finally! In my opinion, seasons 1 and 4 were MEH, season 3 was good, and season 2 was fantastic. My main issue with S1 is that it was the longest and therefore the slowest. I felt it went at snails-pace and nothing happened until that exciting season finale. Then, S2 was so entertaining and engaging! I wish it had never ended. S3 was ok… There were some weird things that happened that didn’t really make sense, but it had a great ending as well. But, from this season on they went overboard with the singing. Sabrina is NOT a happy-go-lucky show. It’s about Satanic witches, and it was a bit weird that everybody was singing the whole entire time (and that’s coming from a musical theater lover). Lastly, S4… It was an experience ๐Ÿ˜‚ The concept was very interesting, but at the end of the day much of it didn’t tie together. It was kind of thrown in there for us to do whatever we pleased with it. Though, the ending was surprising, but at the same time expected. I imagine many people were mad with it, but I thought it was good enough.

๐ŸŒฟ Modern Family – Seasons 2, 3, 4, 5 and 11 | โ˜… 10 / 10 stars โ˜… -> I also finished Modern Family!! The final season was finally added to Netflix Latinamerica, and I watched it in two days. Obviously, I cried, I laughed, and I cried a little more. In my opinion, this show is the perfect combination of good fun and beautiful messages about life, family, and friends. I liked it so much, that I started watching it with my Mom again! She had already seen the first two seasons, so we decided to begin from S2 so that she could get the hang of it. Honestly, if you like comedy shows (I am a huge fan of Friends and The Big Bang Theory), you will probably love this one as well.

๐ŸŒฟ The I-Land | โ˜… 3 / 10 stars โ˜… -> I will not say anything about this except for DON’T WATCH IT. Do not lose your time, do not lose your energy. Don’t bother.

๐ŸŒฟ I Feel Pretty | โ˜… 9 / 10 stars โ˜… -> ANOTHER wonderful watch! I Feel Pretty is a unique and inspiring movie about loving yourself exactly as you are. I usually don’t try to pitch what I read or watch, but I’m gonna try so that you understand how good this is. So we follow this woman (Amy Schumer cause I can’t recall the character’s name), and she thinks she’s the most unattractive person in the world. However, one day she makes a wish in a fountain to be BEAUTIFUL, and the next day after she falls and hits her head, she wakes up to realize that she is a GORGEOUS woman. The catch is, she doesn’t look any different to anyone but herself. And I think that last line wraps up the message of this movie perfectly. It doesn’t really matter what others think of you as long as you love who you are. I recommend this movie 100% percent.

๐ŸŒฟ Justice League Snyder’s Cut | โ˜… 8.5 / 10 stars โ˜… -> I don’t really understand the ‘beef’ with DC. I think people don’t recognize that they have their own style and can’t do movies the same way they have always been done. I like DC movies. I loved the first Wonder Woman, I really liked Batman v Superman, and I don’t think Man of Steel is that bad. On that note, the first time I saw Justice League (the one that came out in theaters), I had a blast and thought it was a great movie. And then everybody hated it. When I found out about Snyder’s Cut I was obviously very excited, particularly because it was what the original movie should’ve been like. While I did enjoy the latter more (because it was more developed and allowed room for growth in the franchise), I don’t think trashing the 2018 version is good at all. Both films deserve appreciation and respect, because they’re both great. Still, I did like Snyder’s Cut more.

๐ŸŒฟ Eurovision Song Contest: The story of Fire Saga | โ˜… 10 / 10 stars โ˜… -> WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME HOW GOOD THIS MOVIE WAS????? I had seen the trailer, and I remember when it came out (I think it was at the beginning of quarantine), but I’m not a big Will Ferell fan, so I put it in the back of my mind. If I hadn’t seen Christine’s video (aka PolandbananasBOOKS) I probably would have never given this one a shot, and that is UNACCEPTABLE. This was hilarious from beginning to end and the soundtrack is AMAZING. It’s all so ridiculous, but you can’t help but like these characters and want them to succeed. I would definitely watch a sequel. If you like musicals, like me, I recommend it. But again, it is ridiculous, so keep that in mind.

April

๐ŸŒฟ Prank Encounters โ€” Season 2 | โ˜… 8.5 / 10 stars โ˜… -> I honestly think this is the best prank show I’ve ever seen. It’s amazing how elaborate they are, and the time spent on each one really makes people believe that what they’re experiencing is true. I think I liked season 1 more, but this one has some pretty good pranks too. Please check it out. It’s hilarious and hosted by Gaten Materazzo (from Stranger Things)!!

๐ŸŒฟ The Queen’s Gambit | โ˜… 10 / 10 stars โ˜… -> WOOOOOW. It took me so long to finally watch this, but I’m so glad I did at all. This story is captivating, thrilling, and so fantastically written. I kind of want to read the book now ๐Ÿ˜… Also, I’ve played chess ever since I was little, and it was something I always shared with my grandfather, who I miss very much. So this show also had a big emotional impact on me because I know he would have loved it. This is a show for everyone (who is an adult), I can’t think of someone who might not like it.

Everything else I watched in March:

  • Yes Day
  • Raya and the Last Dragon
  • Rob Schneider: Asian Momma, Mexican Kids
  • Justice League (rewatch)

Everything else I watched in April:

  • Modern Family: Seasons 6 – 11 (rewatch)
  • He’s Just Not That Into You (rewatch)
  • Tierra de Reyes – Episodes 120-160 (rewatch)

New section here on the blog ๐Ÿ˜†!! This is not a TBR, so please keep in mind that this does not mean I will be reading these books. Do not hold me accountable ๐Ÿ‘€!! I just want to share with you guys what I yearn to get to this month, and then try to see whether I achieved it or not as time goes by โ˜บ๏ธ! So, some of the books I’m excited for and really want to read are:

This month there is no message because this is long enough, and no highlights on posts I liked because, unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to read anything yet ๐Ÿ˜•

Please let me know what you all have been up to! What are you reading? What books have you recently finished?