An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson – Bookish Playlist

Hey there,

Every two months we host a book club on our Instagram page and at the end of the month I will bring you a bookish playlist to go with the book we just finished reading.
Book club pick for the month of March 2024: An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

(The moodboard credits are mine. Please give rights if you use it. The singular photos are not mine, all credits to the owner)

PLAYLIST

–  Dinner and Diatribes by Hozier
“Now that the evening is slowing
Now that the end is in sight
Honey, it’s easier knowing
What you’d do to me tonight”

– ilomilo by Billie Eilish
“Hurry, I’m worried
The world’s a little blurry
Or maybe it’s my eyes
The friends I’ve had to bury
They keep me up at night”

– Fire on Fire by Sam Smith
“Fire on fire would normally kill us
But this much desire, together, we’re winners
They say that we’re out of control and some say we’re sinners
But don’t let them ruin our beautiful rhythms”

– Staying Power by Allie X
“Don’t want to be a victim, but I want your sympathy
Don’t want to be religious, but life brought me to my knees
I’ve got so much to say to you that I want you to know
But I don’t wanna scare you off, I don’t want you to go”

–  Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo
“I should’ve known it was strange
You only come out at night
I used to think I was smart
But you made me look so naive
The way you sold me for parts
As you sunk your teeth into me, oh
Bloodsucker, famefucker
Bleedin’ me dry, like a goddamn vampire”

– Sparks by Coldplay
“My heart is yours
It’s you that I hold on to
Yeah, that’s what I do”

–  No Body, No Crime by Taylor Swift (ft. HAIM)
“I think he did it but I just can’t prove it”
I think he did it but I just can’t prove it
I think he did it but I just can’t prove it
No, no body, no crime
But I ain’t letting up until the day I die”

– When I Kissed the Teacher by ABBA
“I was in a trance when I kissed the teacher
Suddenly I took the chance, when I kissed the teacher
Leaning over me, she was trying to explain the laws of geometry
And I couldn’t help it, I just had to kiss the teacher”

– Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode
“Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who’s there
Feeling unknown
And you’re all alone
Flesh and bone”

– Too Sweet by Hozier
“I’d rather take my whiskey neat
My coffee black and my bed at three
You’re too sweet for me”

–  Kill for you by Skylar Grey
“Even if you are wrong, you are right
Even if it’s a terrible crime
It’s alright, ’cause I got your back, and I know you got mine
I belong to the church of your name
Sing a song, ’cause I worship the ground you walk on”

–  Never Let Me Go by Florence + The Machine
“And the arms of the ocean are carrying me
And all this devotion was rushing out of me
And the crashes are heaven for a sinner like me
But the arms of the ocean delivered me”

–  Lilith by Halsey
“You got me thinking that I was too mean
Well, everything that I say I believe
Tuck a knife with my heart up my sleeve and
Change like a season
Reason for nothing
I am disruptive
I’ve been corrupted
And by now I don’t need a fucking introduction”

Choose a The Tortured Poets Department cover variant and I’ll recommend you a Dark Academia book

Hey there guys, how are you? You very well know that every time something Taylor Swift related comes out, I’ll be ready to talk about it. And maybe recommend you some books in the process.
Today we’re doing a fun little experiment, since I decided to recommend a Dark Academia book for every cover variant of The Tortured Poets Department that Taylor has announced.
Since of course the album will be out on April 19^th and therefore I still haven’t listened to it, this article will go on vibes alone (hence the Dark Academia) and I will write a different book recommendation type of article with every song and bonus track when the album will be out, so keep that in mind.

 

Variant #1: “The Manuscript”

The very first variant, the one that sent the Internet into a frenzy, the one nobody expected, and for this one I decided to go with THE Dark Academia book, The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It’s solid, it’s the classic, there’s a reason it is considered the pillar in this genre, and I still agree this is one of the best books I’ve ever read in my life. And TTPD is giving classical, it is giving literature, and it is giving masterpiece. A win-win.

 

 

Variant #2: “The Bolter”

The Bolter variant to me is softer in vibes, but it’s giving more “thinking about what makes one person sad” kind of vibes. This one strongly gives me The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton vibes. Sadness and anger, and what triggers the both of them, are very strong themes in this book, and it also depicts a very deep-felt insight about female rage, which I’m sure Taylor is also going to include in her new album.

 

 

 

Variant #3: “The Albatross”

This is maybe the variant I’m most excited about, will it be Coleridge adjacent, or will it be Baudelaire? And most importantly, will it have the same themes as the lyrical masterpiece that is Weight of Living (Part 1) by Bastille? We just have to wait and see. And for this one, given the sea vibes, the lighter aesthetic and the cover, I decided to go with one of my favourite novels of the last years: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. It’s such a tender depiction of youth, friendship and humanity and I recommend keeping a box of tissues next to you.

 

 

 

Variant #4: “The Black Dog” (The Sirius Black Variant)

In my eyes this is the saddest and darkest variant of them all, and I’m sure its bonus tracks will make us cry our hearts out, but going with the vibes alone (as that is the theme of this article) I think this one goes well with the book I’m currently reading, An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson. It’s a fantasy tale of vampires, lust, blood and wanting to be the best in every aspect of your life. It also deals with a poetry course at university, and you know, The Tortured Poets Department and all that, I think it’s quite fitting. I still haven’t finished it, but it’s an enjoyable read, even if it’s not blowing my mind.

 

 

 

Okay guys, these were my options for the four variants that Taylor announced for her upcoming album. I hope you enjoyed them, and please let me know your favourite variant. I think mine is a tie between The Manuscript and The Albatross.

 

Thank you so much for reading,

 

The Fairy Tale Book Tag

Hey guys, how are you? I haven’t done a tag article in so much time, so I felt like it was time to do so, and to unite two of my favourite things, fairy tales and books. There’s nothing I love more than a classic fairytale retelling, the tropes, the atmosphere, the drama of it all, everything just calls out to me.
This tag was created by Rachel Reads on Youtube and I will leave her channer here.
I hope you enjoy it and let’s get started.

1. Rapunzel – A long book you gave five stars (over 450 pgs).

This is very easy for me, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, one of my favourite books of all time, and the blueprint for the dark academia genre. It’s so compelling, you won’t even feel the 559 pages it is composed of. It’s a lyrical masterpiece, and a compelling story I will think about forever.

2. The Little Mermaid – A book that took your breath away

Literally The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. I don’t read a lot of mystery books but when I do, I try to search the ones that could appeal to me more, and I loved this book to pieces. Most of all, the plot twist really shocked me, as I didn’t see it coming at all. Sometimes I still think about it and how good it was. Really mind-blowing.

3. Swan Lake – A book with the theme of sacrifice

I literally don’t want to sponsor this author on this blog, so keep in mind I stand apart from everything J.K. Rowling says or does as I could not be more far from her way of thinking, but I can’t help but think about the Harry Potter series. What I want to get from these books, and what I want to remember them by are the mesmerizing acts of love that the characters put in act in order to save the ones they love. And that’s all I have to say.

4. Rumpelstiltskin – A book that changed you

This is a huge question to which I have a simple answer, since it can’t be everything else for me: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. It mesmerized little 12-year-old me and made me see literature in a way I had never seen it before. I always loved to read and to discover new stories, but that one made me want to study this subject for real in my life, and I still think about the very gentle lady that recommended me this book in the bookshop. I hope she’s good and I’d love for her to know she changed everything for me, and I will forever be grateful.

5. Cinderella – A book with a self-sufficient character (but not snobby)

I’m not sure I get this question 100% but I’ll go with Feyre from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas. She is used to do everything on her own and to provide for her sisters, she’s literally the rock in the family and she deserves everything.

6. The Twelve Dancing Princesses – A long series you love (or) a book with a lot of characters

Why not both? And why not another Sarah J. Maas book series? The Throne of Glass series is one of my favourites of all time and I grew so close to all of the characters (and they are a lot). They feel like real people to me and in those seven books I grew so attached to them, it’s insane to think about. I’d gladly read another seven books of their lives.

7. Sleeping Beauty – A book with a slow plot

For this one I for sure have to say one of my most recent reads: Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare. I usually love her writing, but this book was just too slow, and the plot really started at the 70% of the novel, and that is just too late in my mind.

8. Mulan – A book with a lot of action

I usually do not read a lot of action-packed books, so my first answer is for sure The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, a book I read when I was a teenager, and the most popular in that dystopian phase the editorial world had for a while. It for sure is full of action, and it’s never boring.

9. Aladdin – A book that transported you to a whole new world

Love the song reference in this question. And for this one I would say every Sarah J. Maas’ book, but for the sake of variety, I will say The Cruel Prince trilogy by Holly Black. I loved the fairyland, Elfhame, and its lush atmosphere, it really seemed to be there, and I love everything remotely folkloristic.

10. Alice in Wonderland – A frabjous book with a great cast of side characters

For this one I have to go with Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, the main character is Daisy for sure, but it reads like a choral novel, where each and every single one of the other characters has literally its own voice and a great role in the overall plot. I will forever love this book with my whole heart.

11. Wild Card – Your favourite fairy-tale retelling couple

It is a mostly unknown book, but I’ll perish on this hill and say that Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge is the best Beauty and the Beast retelling to this day, so the main couple in this book is my answer for this. They are dark but fit to the story in the real way a fairy-tale couple should be, and the book per se is amazing.

Okay guys, these were my answers to this tag. Let me know if you enjoyed it and please let me know which is your favourite fairy-tale in the comments.

Thanks for reading,

If you like these singers, then read these books #1

Hey there guys, today I would like to introduce you to a new idea I had, and that is to give you three books to read that I think you might like if you enjoy listening to these artists. I will start with some of my favourite singers of all time, and if you like this format, maybe I will do others in the future.
I will say, buckle up and let’s get started!

 

Taylor Swift

Of course I had to start with my favourite singer of all time, Taylor Swift. She has such a vast catalogue, that it would be quite reductive to just offer you three books, but I will try for the sake of this article. If you would like more specific recs, I have various articles on this blog where I give a recommendation for every single song of various Taylor’s albums. For this time being, in honour of her career, I decided to split the recs as one for her country era, one for her pop era, and one for her indie folkmore one.
For the country category, what could be better than the Chestnut Spring Series by Elsie Silver? I think this romance series could really well reflect Taylor’s first albums, where romance was a huge part of the narrative. For her pop era, I decided to go with basically anything by Emily Henry, but in particular her book People We Meet on Vacation, it has that energetic and romantic vibe that Taylor’s pop albums tend to have, and a part of this is even set in New York, so win win. And for the folkmore era I decided to go with my favourite classic book of all time, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The moors, the drama of it all, the big emotions, this book has it all. And also, a lot of rain. What better than that to associate with these albums?

 

Harry Styles

Here we go with another one of my favourite singers of all time. I’ve been a big fan of Harry for years now, I’ve seen him live a bunch of times, and his music really has got me through a lot.
The three books I would like to associate with Harry’s music are The Binding by Bridget Collins, Call Me By your Name by André Aciman and Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
“The Binding” is maybe the less obvious of them all, but in my eyes it really encompasses a lot of Harry’s mellower songs vibes, the imagery is quite beautiful and convoluted, and it reminds me for example of songs like Little Freak. “Call Me By Your Name” is a book I simply had to include because in my eyes it is really tight with Harry’s songs, there’s something about the poetry but at the same time the angst that both convey, that really makes these two pieces of media similar in my eyes. And I think Daisy Jones is quite self-explanatory, right? I mean, we could discuss that Harry is maybe the most rockstar-y pop-star of our time, and his looks and antics really resemble the ones of a 70s band.  That’s just how it is in my eyes.

 

 

Hozier

Listen, Hozier is per se maybe one of the best songwriters of our generation, so his lyrics alone are a work of art, but if you would like to associate his wonderful songs with some books, I will give you my recs.
In my eyes Hozier’s music encompasses three big macro-areas of themes/aesthetic and they are literature references, mythology (in particular Greek) and the folkloristic nature feeling of being in the woods with magical creatures. So I have a book for everyone of these categories.
Let’s start with the literature one: what better than a classic dark academia book? The staple of it all? The Secret History by Donna Tartt is the book for you if you enjoy talks of poetry, glory and a mesmerizing writing style. I swear I think about this book on a daily basis and it’s been years since I first read it.
For the mythology area I had of course to go with The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, I think it is a staple in the Greek mythology retellings genre, and I think its lyricism and the way it’s written, with an otherworldly delicacy, really declares it the best in the sector.
And finally, for the folkloristic area, I think the best choice might be Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier, an historical fantasy novel where nature is its own character and the cottagecore vibes are very present and set the tone for the whole story.

 

 

Phoebe Bridgers

And last but not least for this article we have a singer that also doubles as my therapist lol. Phoebe Bridgers is one of the best singers/songwriters of our generation, and I think she so well encapsul the struggle of being a woman in her twenties and thirties. For this reason, if you like Phoebe I can only recommend a bunch of books from the “hot girl literature” trend of the last few years:
First and foremost, a book I truly think well encompasses Bridgers’ lyrics is Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews, a coming-of-age story, a love story and an ode to Europe all in one. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I would highly recommend it. If you want something more glamorous, I could recommend you Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors. This story is set in New York and it follows a girl in her twenties as she struggles with friendship, love, and a sadness that never seems to go away (like Phoebe perfectly says: “Jesus Christ, I’m so blue all the time”).
And last but not least, I think really resembling some of Phoebe’s earlier stuff, Bunny by Mona Awad is a very fitting choice. It’s something a little bit more unhinged and over the top, with some dark academia vibes and a deep dive into womanhood.

 

Okay guys, these were my book recs if you like the same artists I listen to. Please let me know your advice and recs, and if you liked this kind of article. I could always do more with other singers.
Thank you for reading and for your time.

Fictional Characters (Taylor’s Version) – 3 for each album

Okay guys, today I hope to bring you a fun article. I decided to match three different fictional characters (from various mixed media such as books, tv shows, movies etc) to every single one of Taylor Swift’s albums, and with every character I’ll just associate lyrics that I hope will explain my choice.
I hope this will be fun and that you’ll have a good time, so let’s get started.

Taylor Swift (Debut)

Sophia (The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks) ➔  “The Moon like a spotlight on the lake, when you think happiness, I hope you think that little black dress. Think of my head on your chest, and my old faded blue jeans” (Tim McGraw)

Wes (Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter) ➔ “Our song is the slamming screen door, sneakin’ out late, tapping on your window. When we’re on the phone, and you talk real slow, ’cause it’s late, and your mama don’t know. Our song is the way you laugh, the first date, “Man, I didn’t kiss her, and I should have” (Our Song)

Macy (Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren) ➔ “Well, I was sixteen when suddenly, I wasn’t that little girl you used to see. But your eyes still shined like pretty lights. And our daddies used to joke about the two of us, they never believed we’d really fall in love” (Mary’s Song, Oh my, my my)

Fearless (Taylor’s Version)

Lola Tung (Belly)

Alex (People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry) ➔“So baby drive slow, ’til we run out of road in this one horse town I wanna stay right here in this passenger seat. You put your eyes on me.
In this moment now capture it, remember it” (Fearless)

Belle (Beauty and the Beast, 1991) ➔ “So I sneak out to the garden to see you. We keep quiet ’cause we’re dead if they knew, So close your eyes. Escape this town for a little while” (Love Story)

Belly (The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han) ➔ “But I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain. And it’s 2 a.m. and I’m cursing your name. So in love that you act insane, and that’s the way I loved you” (The Way I Loved You)

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)

Elain Archeron (A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas) ➔ “This night is sparkling, don’t you let it go. I’m wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I’ll spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you” (Enchanted)

Susan Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis) ➔ “Long live all the mountains we moved
I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you. And long, long live the look on your face, and bring on all the pretenders. One day, we will be remembered” (Long Live)

Chaol Westfall (Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas) ➔ “Smoke billows from my ships in the harbor.
People look at me like I’m a monster. Now they’re screaming at the palace front gates, used to chant my name, now they’re screaming that they hate me. Never wanted you to hate me” (Castles Crumbling)

Red (Taylor’s Version)

Evelyn Hugo (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid) ➔ “New to town with a made-up name, In the angel’s city, chasing fortune and fame. And the camera flashes make it look like a dream. You had it figured out since you were in school, everybody loves pretty, everybody loves cool.
So overnight, you look like a ’60s queen” (The Lucky One)

Jo March (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott) ➔ “And run, like you’d run from the law.
Darling, let’s run, run from it all. We can go where our eyes can take us. Go where no one else is, run” (Run)

Clary Fairchild (Shadowhunters series by Cassandra Clare ➔ “I was reminiscing just the other day
while having coffee all alone, and Lord, it took me away. Back to a first glance feeling on New York time.
Back when you fit my poems like a perfect rhyme” (Holy Ground)

1989 (Taylor’s Version)

Never Have I Ever. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi in episode 301 of Never Have I Ever. Cr. Lara Solanki/Netflix © 2022

Billy Dunne (Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid) ➔ “You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye. And I got that red lip classic thing that you like. And when we go crashing down, we come back every time, ’cause we never go out of style, we never go out of style” (Style)

Devi Vishwakumar (Never Have I Ever) ➔ “‘Cause baby, I could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me. And every day is like a battle, but every night with us is like a dream” (New Romantics)

Cardan Greenbriar (The Cruel Prince by Holly Black) ➔ “Loose lips sink ships all the damn time.
Not this time. Just grab my hand and don’t ever drop it, my love. They are the hunters, we are the foxes”
(I Know Places)

Reputation 

Jude Duarte (The Cruel Prince by Holly Black) ➔ “Come here, dressed in black now. 
So, so, so it goes. Scratches down your back now. So, so, so it goes” (So It Goes) 

Kaz Brekker (Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo) ➔ But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time.
Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time, I got a list of names, and yours is in red, underlined” (Look What You Made Me Do)

Manon Blackbeak (Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas) ➔ “They’re burning all the witches, even if you aren’t one. They got their pitchforks and proof, their receipts and reasons. 
They’re burning all the witches, even if you aren’t one, so light me up, light me up, go ahead and light me up” (I Did Something Bad)

Lover

Meg March (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott) ➔ “I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings. Uh huh, that’s right, darling, you’re the one I want, and I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this” (Paper Rings)

Rapunzel (Rapunzel, 2010) ➔ “I don’t wanna look at anything else now that I saw you. I don’t wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you. I’ve been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night. And now I see daylight, I only see daylight” (Daylight)

Liz (Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter) ➔ “I am an architect, I’m drawing up the plans.
It’s like I’m seventeen, nobody understands, no one understands. He got my heartbeat skipping down 16th Avenue” (I Think He Knows)

Folklore

Connell (Normal People) ➔ “They told me all of my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential. And my words shoot to kill when I’m mad, I have a lot of regrets about that.
I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere” (This is Me Trying)

Addie LaRue (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab) ➔ “And I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home. And you can aim for my heart, go for blood, but you would still miss me in your bones. And I still talk to you (when I’m screaming at the sky), and when you can’t sleep at night (you hear my stolen lullabies)” (My Tears Ricochet)

Henry Winter (The Secret History by Donna Tartt) ➔ “Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die. I don’t belong, and my beloved, neither do you. Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry, I’m setting off, but not without my muse” (The Lakes)

Evermore 

Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) ➔ “She would’ve made such a lovely bride, ahat a shame she’s fucked in the head”, they said. But you’ll find the real thing instead. She’ll patch up your tapestry that I shred.” (Champagne Problems)

Marianne (Normal People) ➔ “So we could call it even, you could call me babe for the weekend.
‘Tis the damn season, write this down. I’m stayin’ at my parents’ house and the road not taken looks real good now. And it always leads to you in my hometown” (‘Tis the Damn Season)

Emily Dickinson (Dickinson, TV Series) ➔ “How’s one to know? I’d live and die for moments that we stole on begged and borrowed time. So tell me to run or dare to sit and watch what we’ll become
and drink my husband’s wine” (Ivy)

Midnights

Daisy Jones (Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid) ➔ “From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this. I hosted parties and starved my body like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss” (You’re on Your Own Kid)

Henry Strauss (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab) ➔ “If you knew where I was walking.
To a house, not a home, all alone ’cause nobody’s there. Where I pace in my pen and my friends found friends who care. No one sees when you lose when you’re playing solitaire” (Dear Reader)

Feyre Archeron (A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas) ➔ “Soldier down on that icy ground
looked up at me with honor and truth. Broken and blue, so I called off the troops. That was the night I nearly lost you, I really thought I lost you” (The Great War)

Okay guys, thank you so much for reading, I really hope you had fun and you enjoyed this article. If so, please let me know what you think about my choices.
Thanks again, talk to you soon,

Books as Songs from Guts by Olivia Rodrigo

 

Hey there guys, the moment is finally here, Olivia Rodrigo’s second album came out some weeks ago, and now that I’ve obsessed over it and I’ve learnt most of the songs, I’m ready to do what I like to do best: associate the songs with some books. I hope you enjoy my choices, and let’s get started.

1. All-American Bitch

“Forgive, and I forget
I know my age, and I act like it
Got what you can’t resist
I’m a perfect all-American bitch
With perfect all-American lips
And perfect all-American hips
I know my place
I know my place, and this is it”

 

Book: The City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

The first book I’m going to associate is one I haven’t read yet, but that I own and I can’t wait to dive into it.
I think this story could very well go with this song, it’s a perfect all-american novel for sure, it is set in New York in the 40s and it follows the theatrical scene of the time, and some women related to it. It’s a fictional account, but I think it deals with themes of feminism, love and freedom just like this song does.

2. Bad Idea, Right?

“”I only see him as a friend, ” the biggest lie I ever said
Oh, yes, I know that he’s my ex, but can’t two people reconnect?
I only see him as a friend, I just tripped and fell into his bed”

Book: Blindsided by Amy Daws

This is mostly just for the “I only see him as a friend” lyric, but this is honestly one of the cutest friends to lovers I read in a long time. I loved the story, two friends who decide to be more, since one of them is quite inexperienced, and what that entails in regard to their feelings. It’s such a cute book and the main character really thinks their path is a bad idea sometimes… but, fuck it, it’s fine.

3. Vampire

“But you made me look so naive
The way you sold me for parts
As you sunk your teeth into me, oh
Bloodsucker, famefucker
Bleedin’ me dry, like a goddamn vampire”

Book: The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

Well, this book literally has vampires in it… so this is a given, but it also has a connection to this song I think for a character in particular. I don’t want to spoil anything, but just know that this fantasy novel follows a human dealing with actual vampires, and the power dynamic sometimes feels a little bit unbalanced, both physically but also psychologically, so I think it could be a great choice if you like this song. But don’t worry, our main character, just like Olivia, is surely a badass.

4. Lacy

“Lacy, oh, Lacy, it’s like you’re out to get me
You poison every little thing that I do
Lacy, oh, Lacy, I just loathe you lately
And I despise my jealous eyes and how hard they fell for you
Yeah, I despise my rotten mind and how much it worships you”

Book: The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton

Do you love reading about complicated female friendship, jealousy, adoration and female rage? If so, I got you covered. This is one of the first connections I made while listening to this album, I heard Lacy and I immediately thought about Virginia, a character in this book that made the main character and pretty honestly also me feel in the same way Olivia feels about Lacy.
This book is awesome, and if you like Dark Academia books, but also mainly following a female point of view that’s usually rare in the genre, this is the one for you.

5.  Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl

“I broke a glass, I tripped and fell
I told secrets I shouldn’t tell
I stumbled over all my words
I made it weird, I made it worse
Each time I step outside
It’s social suicide”

Book: Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

This song strongly reminds me of the main character of this novel. Liz is such a quirky and shy girl, and she has her head in the clouds most of the time, often leading her to awkward social situation. Also this book is a lovely YA contemporary set in high-school, and for this reason I really think it could appeal to you if you like this song. I highly recommend it.

6. Making the Bed

“Well, sometimes I feel like I don’t wanna be where I am
Gettin’ drunk at a club with my fair-weather friends
Push away all the people who know me the best
But it’s me who’s been makin’ the bed
I’m so tired of bein’ the girl that I am
Every good thing has turned into somethin’ I dread
And I’m playin’ the victim so well in my head”
But it’s me who’s been makin’ the bed”

Book: Normal People by Sally Rooney

Okay, I admit to having cried the first time I heard this song. It just feels so personal to me, just like Connell’s journey in Normal People. By now I think you know what this book is about, since it has become so famous, but I believe this song represents so well the feeling of being lost in your 20s, without knowing who your real friends are, being so lonely and maybe realising that sometimes what you receive is actually a consequence of your actions. This is such a special song, I could only pair it with a special book.

7. Logical

“Argument you held over my head
Brought up the girls you could have instead
Said I was too young, I was too soft
Can’t take a joke, can’t get you off
Oh, why do I do this?”

Book: My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Please, check the trigger warnings before reading this book. I think this song really describes a feeling of looking back on a relationship and wishing you could have done something differently, even crucifying yourself for not having seen the red signs, and this is something that happens in this novel as well. But this book isn’t easy, it’s a story of grooming, of a very older man dealing with an under-age girl, and this also brings up the lyrics “Said I was too young, I was too soft”. I think the bridge is the part that best goes with this book, but like I said check the trigger warnings beforehand.

8. Get Him Back!

“I wanna get him back
I wanna make him really jealous, wanna make him feel bad
Oh, I wanna get him back
‘Cause then again, I really miss him and it makes me real sad
Oh, I want sweet revenge”

Book: They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

Again, please check the trigger warnings. This book is a lot less youthful and a lot darker than this song, but I decided to focus on the revenge side of this song (that is also a huge huge bop). I still haven’t read this book, even though it is on my TBR, but I saw it marketed as “turning one’s fantasies of revenge into reality” and I think it could fit the theme of the song.

9. Love is Embarassing

“I told my friends you were the one
After I’d known you like a month
And then you kissed some girl from high school
And I stayed in bed for like a week
When you said space was what you need
Waited by my phone like a goddamn fool
And now it don’t mean a thing
God, love’s fucking embarrassing”

Book: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

If I think about high school drama, I only think about this book. Jealousy, petty revenges, drama, a lot of fluff, this has it all. And it gives me a nostalgic vibe, just like this album gives me. I’m a millennial and I grew up with Avril Lavigne, so I will boldly say that Olivia Rodrigo could be nowadays for teenagers what Avril was to me. And I read so many tweets in the past few weeks about how is embarrassing to listen to Olivia if you’re over the age of 20, well, the joke’s on you, I guess I like being embarrassing, cause she freaking slaps with her songs.

10. The Grudge

“The arguments that I have won against you in my head
In the shower, in the car and in the mirror before bed
Yeah, I’m so tough when I’m alone and I make you feel so guilty
And I fantasize about a time you’re a little fucking sorry
And I try to understand why you would do this all to me
You must be insecure, you must be so unhappy
And I know in my heart hurt people hurt people
And we both drew blood, but, man, those cuts were never equal”

Book: Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Hello, is this the best song on the album? Yes, yes it is. I’m literally just obsessed with this song, this was the one that made me listen to the album over and over again at first. Probably my favourite Olivia’s song, it comes only after “Favourite Crime” that to me is her top tier song. This one, though, is literally amazing, and I strongly associate it with two of my favourite characters ever, Daisy and Billy from “Daisy Jones and the Six”. I love them, but they are for sure people who hold grudges, with one another most of all. Listening to this song, I could only think about them. “And we both drew blood, but, man those cuts were never equal?”, this is literally them? I am so very unwell about them and this song.

11 Pretty Isn’t Pretty

“When pretty isn’t pretty enough
What do you do?
And everybody’s keepin’ it up
So you think it’s you
I could change up my body and change up my face
I could try every lipstick in every shade
But I’d always feel the same
‘Cause pretty isn’t pretty enough anyways”

Book: If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

This song is way too relatable for me and I think also for other millions of people everywhere, and I decided to pair it with a book I still haven’t read but that I know to be very similar in themes. Set in Seoul, this book follows four young women trying to live and survive in a word dictated by beauty standards and impossible goals to reach regarding their physical appearance. I think it could be a very good choice for this song, that’s one of my favourites on the album

12. Teenage Dream

“When am I gonna stop being wise beyond my years and just start being wise?
When am I gonna stop being a pretty young thing to guys?
When am I gonna stop being great for my age and just start being good?
When will it stop being cool to be quietly misunderstood?”

Book: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Okay, last song on the album, and it may seem like a bit of a stretch, but I was thinking about books with a girlhood theme at their core, and what better than the girlhood book par excellence? I just think there’s nothing more universally unique than growing up as a girl and finding your innocence shattered and gone, we all go through it, but we all experience it in our own ways. And these four girls surely grow up in very different ways, but they are still so very close to each other, that I think this could be the perfect fit for this song.

Okay guys, these were my choices for the books I think could go well with the new Olivia’s album, “Guts”. Let me know if you liked the album, what’s your favourite song and if you liked my choices.
Thanks for reading,

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake – ARC Review

Title: The Atlas Paradox

Author: Olivie Blake

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Synopsis: “DESTINY IS A CHOICE”

The Atlas Paradox is the long-awaited sequel to dark academic sensation The Atlas Six—guaranteed to have even more yearning, backstabbing, betrayal, and chaos.

Six magicians. Two rivalries. One researcher. And a man who can walk through dreams. All must pick a side: do they wish to preserve the world—or destroy it? In this electric sequel to the viral sensation, The Atlas Six, the society of Alexandrians is revealed for what it is: a secret society with raw, world-changing power, headed by a man whose plans to change life as we know it are already under way. But the cost of knowledge is steep, and as the price of power demands each character choose a side, which alliances will hold and which will see their enmity deepen?”

An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher Tor via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review contains spoilers for the first book in the series, beware.

Well, to say I am disappointed would be the understatement of the year. I loved The Atlas Six, so much so that it was actually one of my favourite books of 2021. So imagine my shock and sadness when I read this and did not enjoy it…yeah, it was not a fun time for me.

The Atlas Paradox sets off to do something, but I’m not really sure what that something is and I do hope the author knows and she’s just keeping it from us just for the sake of drama or something. It breaks my heart to say this, but there really is no direction to the story and there’s no way around it, it just shows in every single page. The plot is basically non-existent, this book is just full of continuous and messy ramblings among the characters that really lead to nowhere and that take way too many pages which could have been used to actually move the story forward. Remember when at the end of book one everyone was on board with saving Libby? Yeah well, forget about that, here only a few are interested and they’re not very proactive in doing something, but at least they seem to care, which is still better than what can be said about some other characters. Another very intriguing storyline from the first book was Dalton’s, I was so curious to know how his mind works and all that Parisa sees in it. Well, they briefly talk about it, but in my opinion it could have been explained a lot better. Overall I got the feeling that all the plot points we had to explore from book one were basically disregarded here in the second book and only briefly mentioned in passing. And all for the sake of what? New alliances, yeah you read that right. These people who barely stand each other decide to mix things up and form new relationships. The result are feeble and just overall unrealistic and sometimes also very boring dynamics, which are only based on weak necessity and which don’t actually serve the purpose of strengthening the characters’ own selves and also the relationships among each other. By the end of the book these characters are no better than when we left them in book one, actually I would say they are worse in more ways than one.

I’m not really sure, but I believe this series was supposed to only include two books and then they got turned into three, which might explain why this is so bad, it might be a good old case of second-book syndrome commonly known as “the second book sucks and that’s because it’s just a filler to get to the third book which was originally supposed to be the second”. I really hope that is the case, because it would mean that this series could somehow redeem itself in the sequel. For now, I’m sorry to say this was a no for me and I will definitely read some reviews before trying to read book three.

If you’re excited for this new release, I do really hope you like it more than I did. Let me know your thoughts in a comment down below.

Talk to you soon,

The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton – Bookish Playlist

Hi there,

Every two months we host a book club on our Goodreads group and at the end of the month I will bring you a bookish playlist to go with the book we just finished reading.

Book club pick for the month of  July 2022: The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton.

 

(The moodboard credits are mine. Please give rights if you use it. The singular photos are not mine, all credits to the owner.)

 

PLAYLIST

– Atlantis by Seafret
“I can’t save us, my Atlantis, we fall
We built this town on shaky ground
I can’t save us, my Atlantis, oh, no
We built it up to pull it down”

– Bury a Friend by Billie Eilish
“Step on the glass, staple your tongue (Ahh-ha)
Bury a friend, try to wake up (Ahh-ha)
Cannibal class, killin’ the son (Ahh)
Bury a friend, I wanna end me”

–  The Tradition by Halsey
“Take what you want, take what you can
Take what you please, don’t give a damn
Ask for forgiveness, never permission
Take what you want, take what you can
Take what you please, don’t give a damn
It’s in the blood and this is tradition”

– Greek Tragedy by Wombats
“Oh and she hits like ecstasy
Comes up and bangs the sense out of me
It’s wrong but surely worse to leave
She hits like ecstasy
So free up the cheaper seats
Here comes a Greek tragedy”

–  Only The Good Die Young by Billy Joel
“So come on, Virginia, show me a sign
Send up a signal, I’ll throw you the line
The stained-glass curtain you’re hiding behind
Never let’s in the sun”

– Freaks by Surf Curse 
“My head is filled with parasites
Black holes cover up my eyes
I dream of you almost every night
Hopefully I won’t wake up this time”

–  ‘Til Forever Falls Apart by Ashe & FINNEAS
“We’ve been living on a fault line
And for a while, you were all mine
I’ve spent a lifetime giving you my heart
I swear that I’ll be yours forever
‘Til forever falls apart.”

– Bells in Santa Fe by Halsey
“Don’t call me by my name
All of this is temporary
Watch as I slip away
For your sake
All of this is temporary”

– Things We Lost in The Fire by Bastille
“Flames they licked the walls
Tenderly they turned to dust all that I adore”

– Roslyn by Bon Iver & St. Vincent
“Down’s sitting around
Folds in the gown
Sea and the rock below
Cocked to the undertow”

–  Ivy by Taylor Swift
“Oh, I can’t
Stop you putting roots in my dreamland
My house of stone, your ivy grows
And now I’m covered in you”

– A Church is Burning by Simon & Garfunkel
“Like hands that are praying, aglow in the sky
Like hands that are praying, the fire is saying
“You can burn down my churches, but I shall be free”

– Wasteland, Baby! by Hozier
“And the day that we’ll watch the death of the sun
That the cloud and the cold and those jeans you have on
Then you’ll gaze unafraid as they sob from the city roofs”

 

The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton – Review (July 2022 Book Club)

Title: The World Cannot Give

Author: Tara Isabella Burton

Synopsis (from Goodreads): When shy, sensitive Laura Stearns arrives at St. Dunstan’s Academy in Maine, she dreams that life there will echo her favorite novel, All Before Them, the sole surviving piece of writing by Byronic “prep school prophet” (and St. Dunstan’s alum) Sebastian Webster, who died at nineteen, fighting in the Spanish Civil War. She soon finds the intensity she is looking for among the insular, Webster-worshipping members of the school’s chapel choir, which is presided over by the charismatic, neurotic, overachiever Virginia Strauss. Virginia is as fanatical about her newfound Christian faith as she is about the miles she runs every morning before dawn. She expects nothing short of perfection from herself—and from the members of the choir.

Virginia inducts the besotted Laura into a world of transcendent music and arcane ritual, illicit cliff-diving and midnight crypt visits: a world that, like Webster’s novels, finally seems to Laura to be full of meaning. But when a new school chaplain challenges Virginia’s hold on the “family” she has created, and Virginia’s efforts to wield her power become increasingly dangerous, Laura must decide how far she will let her devotion to Virginia go.
The World Cannot Give is a shocking meditation on the power, and danger, of wanting more from the world.

Rating: 5/5 stars

This review will be completely spoiler free (except for the trigger warnings that will be extremely spoilery, don’t read them if you want to read the book)

 

TW: arson, suicide, revenge porn, drowning, murder

 

“The World Cannot Give” by Tara Isabella Burton is a novel about ambition, greediness, mysticism and wanting to play God. If you liked books like “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt, or movies like “Dead Poets Society” this book will for sure be your cup of tea.

This novel follows Laura, a sixteen-year-old who decides to enrol in an Academy in Maine, since her favourite writer studied there in the past. When she arrives there, she meets a bunch of interesting characters, and most of all, Virginia Strauss, an enigmatic but very fascinating girl who sings in the choir and seems to love everything that is pure and holy. Virginia puts the boys who sing in the choir with her in a metaphorical spell, and Laura is enthralled.

From then on, the story follows all of the classic dark academia tropes, but it turns them in a way that I thought was very original and not always seen in that kind of novels. First and foremost, this story focuses deeply on religion and mysticism, and on what it means to be human in the face of a god. Virginia, the most charismatic character I had the chance to read about in a while, spends the entirety of the book pondering about what she can do in order to be closer to God, and with that, to be holy.

She was surely the best character in the novel, and I was so glad to see this charismatic, flawed, fascinating girl be, like I said, a girl. Often, in dark academia books, the main character who pulls the strings of everyone is usually a male character. But Virginia overthrew the trope, and I was very interested in seeing pure female rage on page. And just like in reality this female rage was smothered, dampened by people who couldn’t handle it, but sometimes it has to explode, and without wanting to spoil too much it surely did.

I deeply appreciated Burton’s ideas in this one, I get what she was trying to achieve, and personally I think she was very successful in showing us that at the end of the day we are no other than mere humans, and what elevates us to God, or whatever you want to see as a higher figure, is art and the search of beauty. I surely don’t think that this is a concept that everyone can share, so I think that for someone who doesn’t see the world in a certain way, this novel could fall quite flat, and that’s totally fine.
But for me, it worked.

The characters were of course despicable, it’s a dark academia book after all, I would’ve been offended to like even one of them, they have to be snob, selfish and extremely unpleasant in order to survive in this type of books, and this was no exception, so beware going into it, these are bad people, for a reason or another, and they do bad things that are not justifiable in any way.
Even the figure of the priest came out as selfish at times, moved not by holy intentions but by simple human preferences and that could leave the reader a bit shaken, but I think the author’s intention is to show that we are all simply humans despite our role in society or life.

My favourite part, from a metaphorical (of course non ethical) point of view was the ending. I won’t of course spoil it, but I loved what Burton did with imagery and connections. I can’t go into it without giving away too much, but I love when there is deeper meaning in actions, and this was the case. It honestly left me shaken for a good part of a day, and sometimes I find myself still thinking about it. Should I have foreseen the end? Should someone have foreseen it? Could some characters have prevented it? I don’t know, and honestly these questions left me haunted.

In conclusion, “The World Cannot Give” is a masterful work of fiction for the dark academia genre lovers and if you haven’t already read it, I for sure advise you to do so, if it’s something you can handle. I have found a new favourite in Tara Isabella Burton and I will for sure check out her other books.

Okay, we have come to the conclusion of this article. This was my review for our July book club pick, let’s announce what we’re going to read in September. For that month, so close to spooky season, we decided to read “Three Kisses, One Midnight” by Evelyn Skye, Roshani Chokshi and Sandhya Menon, a YA novel about magic, true love and mayhem in the course of one night.

Thank you so much for reading, hope you enjoyed my review, and let me know if you’ve read this book and what you think about it.
Talk to you soon,

My Recent Book Haul

Hi guys, I said I wouldn’t buy a lot of books this year… well, that was a lie. I actually bought some books recently and I can’t wait to tell you what they are and why I’m so excited about them.
Some I bought second-hand, some I bought new, but I can guarantee you they’re all books I can’t wait to read.
Let’s see what they are.

1. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Synopsis (from Goodreads): An incendiary and utterly compelling thriller with a shocking twist that delves deep into the heart of institutionalized racism, from an exceptional new YA voice.
Welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light.
Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Head girl Chiamaka isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power.
Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they’re planning much more than a high-school game…

This book was on my TBR list for so long, I couldn’t actually wait to add it also on my physical TBR. It has the dark academia vibes that I crave for right now, and it has such high ratings, I actually would be surprised if I didn’t enjoy it.
Also, boarding schools are so my cup of tea, can’t wait to pick it up.

2. The Hades and Persephone series by Scarlett St. Clair

Synopsis of the first book (from Goodreads): Persephone is the Goddess of Spring by title only. The truth is, since she was a little girl, flowers have shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hopes to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist.
Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible.
After a chance encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead and the terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever.
The bet does more than expose Persephone’s failure as a goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows—and it’s forbidden.

This series was a lovely gift from my friends for my birthday and I’m so happy to have it in my hands. I’m a big lover of Greek mythology, and for this reason I think this series could be something I so enjoy. The myth of Hades and Persephone is one of my favourites and their love story is always able to make me interested. Also, I read another book by this author and I really liked it.

3. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meet Dracula in this Southern-flavored supernatural thriller set in the ’90s about a women’s book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a blood-sucking fiend.
Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia’s life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they’re more likely to discuss the FBI’s recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.
But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club’s meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he’s a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she–and her book club–are the only people standing between the monster they’ve invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.

When I found this book in the second-hand bookstore I usually go to, I couldn’t help but buy it. Everything about vampires is usually my cup of tea, and even though that’s a horror, a genre I don’t usually reach for, I really like the ‘90s setting and the book club aspect, so I think it is a very good purchase.

4. Rhapsodic (The Bargainer #1) by Laura Thalassa

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Callypso Lillis is a siren with a very big problem, one that stretches up her arm and far into her past. For the last seven years she’s been collecting a bracelet of black beads up her wrist, magical IOUs for favors she’s received. Only death or repayment will fulfill the obligations. Only then will the beads disappear.

Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer to make it happen. He’s a man who can get you anything you want… at a price. And everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects.
But for one of his clients, he’s never asked for repayment. Not until now. When Callie finds the fae king of the night in her room, a grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, she knows things are about to change. At first it’s just a chaste kiss—a single bead’s worth—and a promise for more.
For the Bargainer, it’s more than just a matter of rekindling an old romance. Something is happening in the Otherworld. Fae warriors are going missing one by one. Only the women are returned, each in a glass casket, a child clutched to their breast. And then there are the whispers among the slaves, whispers of an evil that’s been awoken.
If the Bargainer has any hope to save his people, he’ll need the help of the siren he spurned long ago. Only, his foe has a taste for exotic creatures, and Callie just happens to be one.

This is our book club pick for the month of February, and it’s a fantasy romance, one of my favourite genres ever. I’m currently reading it and it’s very interesting. It’s not maybe the most original book ever, but I like the all “King of the Otherworld” vibe, and the mythology is quite interesting!

5. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

Synopsis (from Goodreads): If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life?

It’s 1969 in New York City’s Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children—four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness—sneak out to hear their fortunes.
The prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in ’80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality.

I love books set in the 1960s/70s and if they have a magical realism vibe to it, even better. This is another book I found used at a really good price, and of course I couldn’t help but go back home with it. I hope to find wonderful characters and to feel a lot of emotions while reading it.

Okay, guys, these were my recently purchased books. Have you ever read any of them? Did you enjoy them? Which is a book you’ve acquired recently? Let me know in the comments down below.
Thanks so much for reading, talk to you soon,