Hello, happy March!
I’m not at all surprised that the shortest month of the year flew by so quickly. How were your Februaries?
Personally, I fell in a blogging slump last month. I actually have nearly 10 draft posts (all are reviews and one is a book haul) and I am hopelessly behind with getting to the comments on my blog and visiting others. I truly miss talking to you guys… School has just kept me occupied. I’m also still applying for internships, which has contributed to my busyness. (And I imagine if I do end up getting a second job, my life will only become more hectic.) However, my spring break is next week. So I’m hoping to catch up with everything then!
Also, you might will notice that in this post I shall be omitting the “events” section particularly because I’ve simply had a boring February. School was my main priority and consequently my non-academic life was pretty stagnant. (I did read some books and, finally, started a few dramas though.)
Anyhow, let’s get into the fun stuff, yes?
– What I Read –
– February Blog Posts –
- Summing It Up: January 2017 [Wrap Up/Favorites]
- RoseBlood [Book Review] 2.5 Stars
- Gilded Cage [Book Review*] DNF
- Wintersong [Book Review] 4 Stars
*This review can only be found on my Goodreads; I don’t have plans on crossposting it on Xingsings. (I don’t publish DNF reviews on this blog.)
I seldom put down a book and mark it as DNF. (I’ve actually only DNFed about five titles in my entire life.) The main reason why I’ve always done this is because I’m someone who doesn’t want to miss out if a book does end up improving. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m going to start DNFing books without hesitation henceforth. Because there’s just plenty of good books out there and I shouldn’t force myself on ones that I’m not enjoying. Haha, sorry for the tangent/rant. I thought I’d just put this out there.
– Favorites –
I was really proud of my A Court of Mist and Fury and Rhysand inspired nails so I think I shared it on every platform I could. On Twitter (as seen above) and Instagram. As some of you guys know my part time job is at a nail salon so I did do my nails myself. The inspiration behind the designs was from this image I found on Google, which depicts the tattoos Rhys has on his knees, the reminders that he will bow down before no one and nothing but his crown. (I was actually so obsessed that I used this very picture for my Instagram profile picture for a while, lol.)
Now, the rest of the favorites from February were actually gifts!
– Video Favorites –
If you saw last month’s favorites, you’d know that I’ve been more than obsessed with Day6. I seriously think they’re one of my top favorite Korean bands (up there with Exo and Lunafly). I love the lyrics for “You Were Beautiful” and that the MV explains the story from Day6’s debut track and video, “Congratulations.” I seriously got chills each time I listened to this before bed. I know it’s a breakup song, but every time I heard it it reminded me of the old friendships I shared with friends I’ve long since stopped talking to. T.T
I discovered this song through one of Cherry’s Youtube videos. And, gah, I’ve been in love with it ever since.
Is it just me or has there been a lot of goblin stuff out lately? First with Wintersong then Goblin, the K-drama, and now this song? Anyway, this track has been a favorite in my exercise playlist. It’s standard K-pop in that it’s super catchy, but I also love the charismatic dance concept. (Also, I didn’t realize how derpy this thumbnail was until now, lol.)
Favorite instrumental goes to… Smyang Piano’s short Studio Ghibli and BTS mashup. No one can convince me that this isn’t beautiful.
I’m not a religious viewer of We Got Married (because I don’t consistently watch any reality TV shows to be honest) but I’ve been watching it again since the addition of the Gong Myung and Jung Hye Sung couple; they are too adorable. Anyway, I found this track because it was the bgm playing in one of the recent episodes.
Taeyeon has proven that she can pull off the cute and sexy concepts, but the one I prefer the most is the casual, girl next door. As a viewer and listener, these type of music videos are more relatable for me. As for the song itself, “Fine” sort of reminds of “I,” which is my favorite song from all her solo tracks. I’ve never experienced heartbreak myself, but I love listening to breakup songs such as this one. (Clearly, since I also mentioned the earlier song, “You Were Beautiful.”)
I’ve been overly obsessed with this choreography for months now but I kept forgetting to add it on the previous favorites, so here it is! Yoojung always dances with such grace and I like that she (unlike most of the 1 Million Dance Studio choreographers) delivers different and varied routines each time. Don’t get me wrong, I love the other instructors, but a lot of the moves in their choreos can be a bit repetitive. Whereas, Yoojung is usually refreshing to watch since she likes trying different things.
I’ll share my thoughts on Three Lives, Three Worlds in the next section of this post but I’ve been replaying this gorgeous piece over and over because of my feels from that drama.
– What I’ve Been Watching –
It feels nice to admit that I started watching a few dramas again. Aside from reading and the occasional blogging, it was nice to do something mindless and easy.
(Sorry about the film poster. I couldn’t find a proper one. And apparently this was originally a shoujo manga, not that I’m surprised.) Happy Marriage would make a good guilty pleasure watch for those that like the forced marriage trope. As expected, for me it was just incredibly cliché and predictable. The female protagonist’s character annoyed me (a lot). She was depicted as a naive and innocent girl but really I just found her to be plain dense. However, like I said, Happy Marriage could be a good pick-me-up if this is the type of series a viewer is in the mood for. The episodes are short and there aren’t many episodes in the one season so it’s not a huge waste of time if you do decide to commit. But, overall, this was just subpar at best. Scum’s Wish is so weird and twisted… and not my cup of tea. (I originally saw the title in Japanese, if I realized it was called Scum’s Wish I probably wouldn’t have bothered giving it a try at all.) It recycles the friends with benefits storyline (but in high school, to my horror) except that the two individuals involved sort of fantasize about their unrequited love interests when they’re with each other. Because the main couple are involved in a purely physical relationship, the romance is mature. There are sex scenes. I don’t really enjoy watching these romances to begin with… so it didn’t help that I soon took note that every single character in this drama was absolutely miserable. (One of them being a complete nuthead. Akane Minagawa is arguably an interesting character but she’s an antagonist I don’t really care to find more about.) All viewers can do is pity them. Though I did like that there’s an LGBTQ+ represented storyline in here, but sadly that storyline hasn’t gone anywhere yet (and I’m not sure if it’ll ever go anywhere by the looks of the other party’s reaction). Anyway, I’m dropping this one at episode 4 because it’s not one that interests me. I believe this series goes by a number of titles including Eternal Love and Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms. I think I prefer Three Lives, Three Worlds the most out of the three because the storyline is exactly that: a love that spans three lives and withstands three worlds. I am genuinely loving this one quite a lot. I don’t think it (or any Chinese drama for that matter) will reach Nirvana in Fire level but I do like this one even more than I did Princess Weiyoung, which is saying a lot because I kind of fangirled over that one as well. Possibly, because I find Mark Chao to be very good looking (way more than Luo Jin), but I’m pleasantly surprised by how convincing his acting is. He does a perfect job channeling Ye Hua’s character. (And omg, don’t even get me started on Ye Hua. He might just take the spot as my favorite fictional male in a drama of all time. His character is that wonderful. Though, it’s kind of hard figuring out if I’m falling for Mark Chao or Ye Hua. LOL. But that’s besides the point.) Yang Mi is still pretty as always but I’ve always thought she lacked in portraying the fictional characters’ emotions. As for the romance, I SHIP IT SO HARD. /flails/ My favorite arc so far is definitely the third one. I kind of hated the second arc because of how Su Su was portrayed. I know she’s supposed to be a clueless mortal but it irritated me how dense her character was written. But I’m glad the intelligent and logical Bai Qian is back and this final arc has me swooning to no end. (There’s also another couple in this series that takes up a considerable amount of spotlight, Dong Hua and Feng Jiu. I adore their scenes together but the angst is reaching the sky and I’m at the point where I feel like flipping tables.) However, after I had started watching this I learned that the novel this is based on is a plagiarized work from what was originally a BL love story. Apparently, in China LGBTQ+ romances (if they’re the center romance) cannot be broadcast on the cable channels so that’s why the producers went with To the Sky Kingdom by Tang Qi Gong Zi and not Da Feng Gua Guo‘s Peach Blossom Debt, a yaoi romance. Saying I’m upset about this is putting it lightly but I’m going to try to continue enjoying this drama anyway despite this disappointing fact. Anyhow, as everyone probably knows by now Asian historical fiction/wuxia are my favorites and this romantic fantasy is proving to be phenomenal so far. I have a good hunch that this’ll be rated highly if the ending also delivers; I’m seriously considering creating a drama series review because I clearly have so much material to fangirl over. We will see!A trailer (with no spoilers):
A trailer (that is still spoiler free but includes more scenes):
We’ve reached the end of another month and another monthly recap. Thank you so much for tuning in. And don’t forget to let me know if we’re fangirling (or fanboying) over the same things. (My promises are sort of moot at this point, but I’m going to truly make an effort to reply to comments on Summing It Up posts faster because I love spazzing over the same things as other people, haha.) Anyhow, have an awesome March, friends! 🙂
I’m sooo glad you enjoyed ACOMAF!! I seriously can’t wait for the next book. LOVE your nails! I epically fail every single time I try to do anything with my nails! xD
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Thanks so much, Poulami! It took a minute to do that nail look since I’m right handed, haha. And graphic sex scenes aside (because you know how much of a prude I can be), I loved it! I’ve had my copy of ACoWaR for about a month now but I still haven’t picked it up yet. T_T
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I hope you do soon, I am loving it so far!!
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Best of luck for everything, Summer, and for finding an internship! I hope things will settle down a bit, or at least that you’re not feeling too overwhelmed and are enjoying your studies and everything, that’s what matters 🙂
You’re so right about DNFing books, I have a hard time doing that but…there are too many good books out there for us to lose our time with the ones we don’t really enjoy 🙂
That nail art is STUNNING! I love it! 🙂
Wishing you a lovely March, Summer!! ❤ ❤
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Belated, but thank you so much Marie! ❤
I still haven’t found an internship since I live in a densely populated area… but hopefully I’ll find one after my June rotations before school begins. And I agree, it’s nice and healthy to take a step back sometimes. Thank you for reminding me! ❤
Exactly! Plus, I hate missing out on good books so I always try to stick around to the end to see if a story improves, haha.
THANK YOU! I’m quite proud of myself too if I do say so myself, ahaha. 😉 😛
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OH I’m sorry to hear that – I know how hard it is to find an internship, I have gone through this too many times ahah. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you though ❤ ❤
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Aww…I’m sorry you were in a bit of a slump this month Summer. 😦 Hopefully March will be better for you! Your photos are absolutely stunning though! 😍 Thanks for sharing, and have a great March! xx
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Gosh, this reply is so late but thank you so much, Zoe! I’ve long since gotten out of my slump (thankfully), and my March ended up being lovely. Aww, thank you! As always, I appreciate your visits and comments. ❤
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Oh my gosh, dem nails!
Happy March to ya!
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Haha, thank you! ❤
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ACOMAF! ACOMAF! ACOMAF! I loved it soo much and Rhys ♥ I want to re read it soon and that are amazing nails!! I love them!
Happy to hear you enjoyed it! Hope you have a great March!
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Rhys is too dreamy! 💙 And thank you so much, Aldii! 🙂
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SUMMER you need to do my nails one day, I love the ACOMAF design sooo much. I mean I love blue and silver in general. ALSO, I love my girl Taeyeon’s new album!! Fine is still my favorite and it’s funny that she has another “Fine” song in the album lmao. But Time Lapse is probably my second fave. Still missing you on the blogosphere as usual. I hope your internship search turns fruitful soon! ❤
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If you ever stop through SC I’ll certainly be up for doing your nails, Carolyn. 😉 And omg, I’m not even a fan of SNSD but adore Taeyeon so much. She’s probably my favorite K-pop female solo artist. I noticed that she had two “Fine” songs on that album, lol. And agreed, “Time Lapse” is such a pretty song.
Aww, I miss you too! I wish we were able to talk more like we used to. 💙
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Hehe! That would definitely be on my bucket list then 🙂
Ah this month has been so crazy Summer..
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OH NO. A good kind of crazy or the bad kind?
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both good and bad 😉 I’ll message you
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That is a great month indeed. I have been seeing negative reviews of Gilded Cage everywhere. :(. And woohoo for ACOTAR and ACOMAf
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Very interesting! All of my Goodreads friends were raving about Gilded Cage so I was shocked when I couldn’t finish it. Oh well, I guess it’s nothing wrong with being the black sheep every once and a while. XD
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Your nail art is so cute! I’ve never read ACOMAF, so I don’t know how that matches exactly with the series, but it looks adorable nonetheless. I don’t think I’d ever be able to do something like that, haha.
Taeyeon’s Fine is also one of my current obsessions. The whole album is so good and mature. It seems to me that this matches Taeyeon’s personality the most; although Why is a great song, it felt like the pop song that would sell; while this one is more personal, with great melodies, not exactly catchy. I still love every song, though! My favorite one would probably be Love in Color. Her voice sounds so beautiful!
I’m glad you had more time to watch dramas and fangirl over them, hahah. Sadly, I didn’t have much time last month and I haven’t found anything that really caught my eye. I hope to find some great dramas this month, though.
I hope you have a fantastic March! 🙂
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Ahaha, well thank you, Lais! I don’t think I’d be able to do my own nails if my dad didn’t have a salon. XD
Isn’t it? I’ve never been much of SNSD fan but I’m obsessed with Taeyeon and her beautiful voice. And great insight! I have to agree with you. “Fine” is much more mellow and isn’t one that’s catchy enough to have a real choreography. And I love that you mentioned “Love in Color;” that one is certainly one of my favorites from that album as well!
I totally understand. 🙂 As for dramas to watch if you’re feeling up for one, I’d recommend Goblin! I can’t remember if you said you’ve watched it or not but it’s one of the few hyped dramas that I found enjoyable. Suspicious Partner with Ji Chang Wook is a fun one that is currently airing, too.
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