Posted in Lifestyle

The Power of the List

Posted on by Rachel Hall

Growing up, I was one of those kids who was strangely attached to certain objects. At first, it seemed normal, like stuffed animals and dolls. But as I grew older, and was introduced to the world of scented hand sanitizers, it was clear that I wasn’t just a fan of certain brands and products, I was a collector.

I remember very clearly, my mom asking me for some hand sanitizer, from Bath and Body Works of course, and counting the number of drops I would give her, because according to my research, the black caps were limited edition. They were in the original packaging and everything. I still have some left. 

This also became a problem with stickers. And chapstick. And many more things I just won’t get into because the list would go on forever. 

But what exactly is the point of collecting things if you aren’t using them?

This was something that my mother would ask me often, but as a young child, I again did not want to imagine the worst thing that could happen to me: my hand sanitizer being empty. Or even worse: having to throw it away. 

You would think I would outgrow my collecting phase eventually, at least my parents sure hoped so. But I must admit, I still am very much a collector. 

However, I am more open to sharing now. To use things up. To give things away. To throw things away when I’m all done with it. 

And this was because of the power of the list.

Yes. I am serious.

It once again started with Bath and Body Works. I tend to get their stuff during their Semi-Annual Sale that is twice a year. It can bring 15 dollar products down to 2 dollars (and I’m sure as hell not paying 20 dollars for a candle.) Once I realized their sale wasn’t just a day, or even a week, but a whole entire month, I began to write down how much of certain products I had. This list began to be known as, “the stock,” which resides in the back of my planner. 

Once I realized how satisfying it was to write everything down, seeing what type of products I needed more of, and what I definitely didn’t (looking at you body lotions), I began adding lists to everything else I collected often, and began my plan of what is now commonly known as Project Pan.

From what I know of, Project Pan originated from the beauty community. As beauty gurus and skin care lovers were constantly shilling products, consumers fell for it. Because their internet favs had a makeup cabinet for just their eyeshadow palettes, well of course they had to have one too. But unfortunately for consumers, it became clear that they really did not need that many items and there was no way they could use them all. So, people made a trend of using products until they were empty and making weekly, monthly or even yearly goals. They would then post what they used up and make a new goal.

One of my biggest collections was my scented hand sanitizer. So I started there once I went to community college. It  was very easy to do, seeing as my campus was definitely not clean enough by my standards, so I started with using and sharing it. It became even easier once COVID started, and sellers were price gouging hand sanitizer up to 70 dollars online. I gave some to everyone I knew, and definitely used mine more often. And of course, if my hands got too dry from obsessively sanitizing my hands, I would use lotion. 

What my, “stock,” made me realize very quickly was two things: 

  1. How many items I truly had and needed to use.
  2. How quickly I would use certain items I owned.

For example, I tend to finish body wash after one to two months. However, it takes me longer to use lotion. This dilemma made me have to use problem solving skills, which I think no matter the situation, can be an important tool to have. So, I decided to stock up on body wash more than lotion, and use lotion every night during my night time routine. 

What my lists also made me realize is what I needed to do more of and what I needed to do less of.

In regards to books, I need to stop falling for those book sales and finish reading the books I ACTUALLY OWN first. (I say as I look at Black Friday deals online.) I need to stop buying thrillers, even if they are good books, if they make me go into reading slumps because of the disturbing content within them. I need to stop buying books that involve witchcraft or magic. (Yes i read Harry Potter as a kid, no I never got over my witchy phase.)

I must admit, even with my harsh critiques over the United States and capitalism, I too cannot resist a good deal at times. It’s hard to shop ethically and minimalistically when nothing about the United States and their corporations are either of those things. But, if you are mindful about it, have a list for it, at least you are more aware of it. 

Posted in Lifestyle

Donald Trump and the Case of the Reading Slump

Posted on by Rachel Hall

If you look at my blog posts you’ll notice that my last post was in June. I don’t have a big following on here, or really anywhere for that matter, but for my own conscious I’d like to explain why. 

It all started once I joined the online book community. I came in with fresh eyes, expecting that I would be able to share my love for reading and writing and the likes. As I continued on though, it became clear that people would take other book preferences and would rip others to shreds just to get a quick following. 

It became worse as time continued on, especially once COVID wasn’t just “fake news,” anymore and people all over the world had to quarantine. The kicker was, when our voices actually mattered, people stayed silent. Stayed silent on Black Lives Matter. Stayed silent on transphobia. Stayed silent on homophobia. Stayed silent on the Trump administration. Stayed silent on so many things that the books we read taught us to fight against. 

At the time I felt hopeless. Why is it that so many people are failing at the bare minimum? How hard is it to post some information on these issues? How hard is it to retweet an article? 

It was even more exhausting to hear some of these influencer’s excuses. Every day it seemed, the reasoning was worse than the next. I still remember once a bookstagramer saying that having BLM information didn’t fit the “aesthetic,” of their posts.

As time continued I became more aggressive on these issues and day by day, read less, blogged less, and focused more on human rights, especially disabled rights, on social media. I was determined to do everything I could to get Trump out of the White House, even if there was a large possibility he’d get four more years. Even though Biden won, I still hope that we, as people, can continue to call our political leaders out, and not reduce them to the idea that they’re better than the guy we had before. 

Now, I realize, as a white woman, there is still much I have to learn in regards to many issues. I do not believe I am some white savior, ready to save the world by doing the bare minimum. But I am happy to learn everyday, and that I shall continue to do. 

It became apparent to me then, as I scrolled day after day, week after week, how exhausted I felt reading about author after author, influencer after influencer make manifestos of their hatred or apologies on their iPhone Notes app. Overtime, I didn’t really see the point in the book community, and even books themselves. My passion was dwindling as the world around me became more and more corrupt by the day. 

So…I took a break. 

Granted, it was a lot longer than I expected, but then again a lot of the events we are experiencing were either deemed impossible or a short inconvenience at the time. 

What brought me back though was once Biden won. Now of course, I am aware that things aren’t just going to be rainbows and sparkles and unicorns. The United States, from the very beginning, was as corrupt as they come, and continues to be so. But I think I felt a weight was off my shoulders in the sense that there was hope for at least change. My only fear now is that the change will not be big enough and we as a country are doomed to repeat ourselves.

At my prime though, I was posting around once a week, maybe once every other week. And I hope, since I have this semester off, I can write and read again once more. After all, I am an English Major. Unfortunately, I will have to dig deep and see if there are book influencers who, despite their good nature and content, I may have to unfollow. I too, am a victim of comparing myself to others, which can lead to my number one fear as a reader: a reading slump. 

Hopefully as I come back to blogging I will get my confidence back with it. I meant to post this Friday, which is my usual updating day, and ripped myself to shreds when that didn’t work out. I even lost sleep over posting ideas, so you can say I am very much excited to be writing again. What I’ve been writing lately has been essay after essay in the same format, with the approval and stylistic choices of professor after professor, so I’m happy to do things my way. 

Posted in Uncategorized

A Letter to White People in the Book Community

Posted on by Rachel Hall

Dear WBC (White Book Community),

As a fellow white person I must say that we need to do better. Not because Black Lives Matter is popular and a trending hashtag online and we could get tons of likes for speaking out, but because black people are human beings. The bottom line is, that caring about black lives isn’t a political statement. Trying to end police brutality and the murder of our black brothers and sisters shouldn’t be a controversial issue. Stopping racism as a whole, including police brutality, is something we should all agree on, whether you are a minority or not.

I understand if you had no intention to talk about race when first making your account, I understand you may not be 100% educated when it comes to minorities. But that does not excuse you to use your privilege to stay silent about what is going on here. Many minorities face the idea that their lives are all about race and their mere existence is considered contreversial within itself. I ask you to please use your privilege to share and sign petitions, protect black people in protests, and most of all listen and share content by black people in our community.

The Book Community should be open to different minority content creators no matter the color of their skin. It’s never too late to look for creators and even books to open your eyes. I know for me, I’ve been putting off reading books about POC and ultimately, there is no real excuse for this. There are plenty of books that have POC. There are plenty with even good reviews. There are probably even free ebooks online featuring POC.

Below I will provide links for those who really want to support black creators.

myonna reads made a black booktubers playlist. Hopefully when you click the link, it plays the entire playlist. If not just comment below and I’ll fix it!

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/black-authors

Here are some other things you can do to help the black community.

https://www.adhoc.fm/post/black-lives-matter-resources-and-funds/

Please use this time to reflect.

Sincerely,

Rachel Hall.

Posted in Wrap Ups and Challenges

The Stay at Home Book Tag

Posted on by Rachel Hall

I originally saw this tag from Amy’s Bookish Life (amysbooksishlifeblog.wordpress.com), and because the person I wanted to interview for this blog was busy this week, here we are. Feel free to check their blog out.

  1. Laying in Bed–A book you read in a day

When I was doing my 24 hour reading challenge, I read both Slay by Brittney Morris and Happyface by Stephen Emond in a day. Even though it was exhausting, it was a lot of fun getting so much reading done in so little time. I felt super productive. I’m tempted to do it again…

2. Snacking–A book that is a guilty pleasure read

I have to say any Jenny Colgan book. I tend to read very dark books but decided to read The Bookshop on the Corner and later The Bookshop on the Shore since I wanted something more wholesome. To be honest, even though some of it was predictable, I really liked them!

3. Netflix–A series you want to start

There are so many series I want to start but one on the top of my list is to reread the Percy Jackson series. I read the first series and really liked them but the second series was a miss for me. I’m hoping if I reread it, I’ll think differently. Also, because I read it around 10 years ago, I honestly don’t remember much.

4. Deep Clean–A book that has been on your TBR for ages

There’s quite a few but on the top of my head I’d say the Harry Potter series. I’ve read it before, but I planned to reread it when I turned 18 but my health problems got in the way. The only reason I can recall anything from Harry Potter is because of the movies and because of tumblr.

5. Animal Crossing–A book you bought recently because of the hype

I bought The Institute by Stephen King for 50% off at Barnes and Noble because I kept seeing ads for it on my feed. I also bought The Handmaid’s Tale as well. Both are also on my TBR for The Percy Jackson readathon and I’m very excited for both!

6. Productivity–A book you learned from or had an impact on you

The first thing that comes to mind is Slay by Britney Morris. I didn’t really know a lot about what it was like to be a minority really besides reading posts on Twitter so Slay was definitely an eye opener on what it was like to be a black woman. So much so that I almost cried.

7. Facetime–A book you were gifted

My friend Jay and I trade books and return them once we’re done so we can talk about them together and have our own book club. Happyface by Stephen Emond was one of those books.

8. Self Care–What is one thing you have done recently to look after yourself

I’ve been doing a lot of crafts such as coloring, extreme dot-to-dot pages, and finger knitting. I like feeling accomplished after finishing a piece.

9. Bonus–An upcoming release you are looking forward to

I tend not to focus on books coming out because my TBR is so big and I’m seriously behind because I stopped reading a couple years when I had serious health problems and was unable to. However I am looking forward to the new Percy Jackson show Rick Riordan is in charge of. I don’t watch a lot of shows, but I may make room for this one.

Anyone who is reading this is welcome to participate in this tag!

Posted in Wrap Ups and Challenges

Olympic Games Readathon

Posted on by Rachel Hall

After being gone on here (and the internet in general) due to exams, one of the biggest things I missed was reading. Even though I’m still a part of a reading group (please check out Literary Society of Alexandria on Twitter if you’re into Egyptian mythology and readathons) I still didn’t have motivation to read as much as I did before my exams. Mainly because I’m just….tired. So when I found The Olympic Games on Twitter, a readathon based on Percy Jackson and Greek Mythology in general, I was more than excited.

To be quite honest, I haven’t read Percy Jackson in a hot minute. But, it is definitely on my list for a reread. I was not fond of The Heroes of Olympus, but I’m willing to give it another shot. What I am fond of is mythology. Mythology in general is definitely an interesting topic, and I give kudos to Rick Riordan for writing books about ancient mythologies that gravitate towards kids and young adults alike.

Anyway, I was hoping to do a readathon based on Hecate, Artemis, or maybe even Apollo, but almost as if I was chosen by the god himself, my books ended up best alligning with Zeus.

Yes. That Zeus. As in, King of the Gods, major player, Mister Lightning kind of Zeus.

To be quite clear I always saw Zeus as a jerk, but in Percy Jackson, if I remember correctly, the Zeus cabin was quite small. And even in the discord, the Zeus cabin is indeed small. As of today there are three people.

The Advanced Challenges are also themed book challenges for when you’re done with the other 5.

To honour the king of the gods, read a book featuring a king Honestly for this prompt I have nothing on me. But when I’m done with the other prompts I’ll probably make this one an audiobook or ebook from my library app.

Thalia’s Tree: Read a book with a tree on the cover For this book I have Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell which is about a mother who lost her child 10 years ago and is reminded of all the questions regarding her disappearance when she meets her lover’s child.

Read the longest book on your TBR For this book I chose The Institute by Stephen King which is over 500 pages. It’s about a kid who is kidnapped after his parents are murdered and is trapped in the Institute, a place where children are forced to test their supernatural powers or suffer severe consequences.

Zeus’ lightning bolt has been stolen again and you must set out on a quest to find it. Read a book that features a high-stakes quest. The book I chose was Witch and Wizard by James Patterson. It’s about siblings torn from their family and put in jail for witchcraft along with thousands of other people. I have a feeling there will be a quest to defeat the regime and evil tyrant involved.

Heracles: Read a popular book that everyone talks about. The book I chose was The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, which features a dystopian future where women who are fertile are enslaved to repopulate the nation.

If you would like to check out either the reading group I’m in or the Percy Jackson readathon, here are the official twitter accounts:

Posted in Lifestyle

Crafting to Survive Corona

Posted on by Rachel Hall

With the news constantly giving updates on how the government leaders are going to respond to the corona virus, it’s very easy to get stressed out by it all. I know for me, I have to watch it very limitedly and can only be on Twitter for so long before losing my mind.

That’s why I thought it was a good idea to talk about some crafts. Crafts have helped me in the past in terms of my anxiety, and they are still helping me now. There’s just something therapeutic about focusing your mind on a project and making a product out of your pain. You don’t have to be a prodigy to do these things, and please don’t expect yourself to be. This is all about the process and having fun!

  1. Finger Knitting

Finger knitting is something I learned when I was a shy little girl in music camp. One of my close friends taught me how to make little scarfs out of yarn and I have been picking up the craft again. There’s just something nostalgic about it. Not only is it very simple, it also helps you fidget safetely with your fingers without harming yourself. Here’s how to make one yourself:

https://www.wikihow.com/Finger-Knit

If you don’t have any yarn on you, may I suggest Sugar N’ Cream yarn? It’s very soft on the fingers, has plenty of different colors, and come in small sizes.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sugar+n+cream+yarn&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
I’m thinking of connecting all of these and making the longest finger knitting chain in the world. Once I beat the record I may either make a very large blanket out of it, or make a mural out of it.

2. Coloring Books

Another activity I like to do is color adult coloring book pages. I especially like the ones with sayings and mantras on them. I know it’s kind of an old trend, but it is very calming as long as you aren’t too perfectionistic about it. If you are (I know I am sometimes) remind yourself that this is only for fun and that it’s not about the product, but more about the process. If you don’t have any adult coloring books on you, kids coloring books are just as fun. If you have neither, there are links online to print free coloring pages. You can simply go on google images or type in, “free adult coloring pages,” and there’s a wide selection.

This one I did a while ago in a mini coloring book my mom gave me. I’m thinking of ripping the pages out and putting them on my wall somewhere.

3. Junk Journal

If you have a lot of art supplies lying around that you’re not sure how to use, I suggest making a junk journal with the supplies. It’s like an art journal but with random things you have around the house, whether that be magazine pages, washi tape, extra paint, etc. Here’s a link of videos that show you how to make one and some ideas that you can use.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+make+a+junk+journal

I don’t necessarily have a junk journal myself, but I do have a multi-media art journal I use whether I need to create art in a therapeutic way. I do a lot of collages, which are easy just as long as you have a lot of magazines or a printer around. Stickers are definitely a plus too.

If you guys want a part 2 for this let me know. I have plenty of more art ideas to give!

Posted in Book Reviews, Wrap Ups and Challenges

24 Hour Readathon Results

Posted on by Rachel Hall

Hi, I meant to post this on Friday as I usually do, but I wasn’t finished with all my book reviews yet from this readathon, and honestly I just needed sleep. If you missed my 24 Hour Readathon vlog, feel free to see it on my Instagram. It’s in, “OWLS 2020.”

instagram.com/reliving_rachel

My goal for this was to finish at least one book, but what I really wanted to do was finish my OWLS for the Magical Readathon, which was 3 books total. What ended up happening was that I finished two and was 75% done with the last one, “The Immortalists,” by Chloe Benjamin. After a couple days of rest I finally finished it and managed to write all three reviews.

“It was the same mask though, wearing this smile even when I didn’t mean it that opened me up to talk and how I felt inside but wasn’t always able to show. In some ways it made me actually more genuine.”

I finished Happyface by Stephen Emond in less than a day. It was like Diary of a Wimpy Kid but with what makes YA so great to me, dark themes such as alcoholism and divorce. I rated it 4 stars. If you would like to read the full review, here’s the link:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3244766521?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
“As we duel, as we chat, there’s an understanding that “your black is not my black” and “your weird is not my weird” and “your beautiful is not my beautiful” and that’s okay.”

This book I finished most of at the end of my first 12 hours and then some of the next day for my next 12 hours. There’s not a lot of books I would rate 5 stars but this one is one of them. Although I know what it’s like to be a woman, I wasn’t knowledgeable what it was like to be black or even a black woman, but this book definitely educated me. Most of all, it made me scream, nearly cry, and of course root for the main character. If you would like to see the full review here’s the link:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3068890867?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
“Character is fate–that’s what he said. They’re bound up, those two, like brothers and sisters. You wanna know the future?” She points at Varya with her free hand. “Look in the mirror.”

Dark books about life,death, and mortality are like my bread and butter, so this book has been on my TBR for a while. Some parts of it were fantastic and I adored most of it, but it wasn’t perfect in my eyes and had some glaring issues that I just didn’t like. I rated it 4 stars. Here’s my full review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2962251333?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Now that I’m done with my OWLs should I try another career? I was thinking of doing the Writer career, which also requires 3 books.

Posted in Wrap Ups and Challenges

2020 Magical Readathon

Posted on by Rachel Hall

Quick Announcement: Seeing as the Corona Virus has given me more time to blog, my goal is to post once a week. After the virus is done for, I will try to continue that, but if I cannot I will go back to posting once a month.

Now let’s talk about the Magical Readathon. The readathon is a Harry Potter based challenge where you, “study,” your OWLs and NEWTs (they’re like the SAT’s of the Wizarding World.) Each subject you study for corresponds to a prompt, and this year, the certains subjects you study for correspond to a specific career you want to pursue.

Although this is my first year doing this, the readathon has occurred for 3 years, so they have plenty of prompts and career options. This year I’m going small and studying to be an astronomer.

Arithmancy: Read outside your favorite genre. For this book I am choosing Happyface by Stephen Emond. I normally don’t read Young Adult, seeing as it gets too repetitive for me and I tend to not like the tone, but my friend Jay recommended it and let me borrow it.

Astronomy: Read a majority of the book when it’s dark outside. For this book I am choosing Slay by Brittney Morris.

History of Magic: A book that features witches/wizards. For this book I am choosing The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin. Technically speaking it features a psychic, but psychics tend to study witchcraft so I figured it counts.

By the time this is uploaded I will also be participating in a 24 hour reading challenge with these books as well. On Friday 4/2/20, I will start Day 1 with reading for 12 hours. Then on Day 2, I will continue to read for another 12 hours. If you can’t do the math, 12+12=24! I will frequently post updates on my Instagram story, which you can find through this link:

instagram.com/reliving_rachel

If any of you would like to join either of these challenges with me, let me know in the comments!

Posted in Lifestyle

Studying During the Corona Virus

Posted on by Rachel Hall

Hopefully, if you’re listening to the news, you are staying home while all this hullabalo is happening. For some people, especially Americans, it’s a big change to go from constantly moving around and doing things to just staying at home.

One of the hardest hit with this new reality is students. Most students go from being given a schedule and following it all day to life being more…freeform.

I’m very lucky that I’ve done online school before (around 2 years in fact) so I have, for the most part, no problem with doing work from home. However, I’m not going to lie, it can be very difficult, especially now since my chaotic family is doing work from home with me. But despite this, I do have some tips that may help you.

1. Make a Work Schedule

You’re going to have to make your OWN schedule throughout the day. There’s a lot of freedom in that, and it can be very daunting. What I suggest is first thinking about the schedule you normally follow when you’re at school. What do you like about it? What do you hate about it?

If you think you wake up too early, make some alarms for what time you would prefer. If you want to have lunch sooner, have lunch sooner! You’re going to need a lot of alarms when first starting your new schedule, but soon, you’ll find you’ll get the hang of it. If it helps, draw a chart or make one on your computer to visualize it. You can also talk to your friends about schedules. Keep in mind, this is YOUR schedule! So if you want to change things, feel free to do so.

2. DO NOT BE SNUGGLY

Since you’re at home often and no one outside of your house is seeing you, it can be very tempting to wear your pajamas all day and work in your room with some comfy blankets and clothes. This may work for some people, but for the most part DO NOT DO THIS.

Dress as if you ARE going to school.

Set up a study spot as if you ARE working.

For most people, they already have a study spot in their house. Use that! If you don’t have one yet, if i were you I would NOT use your room, since I associate that with relaxing and sleeping. I’ve tried working in my pajamas in my room and I end up falling asleep and using my textbook as my pillow.

3. Plan Ahead

When looking through your work, like at school, you have to figure out what is due when and figure out what order to get things done in. If I were you, I’d get the hardest work done first as well as what is due the earliest.

If you have a planner, utilize it to write daily goals you want to check off or finish. Write any goal, school or home related, no matter big or small. The thing about being home all the time is that you can have more variety in your checklist! You can be sure to clean your room AND finish an essay all in the same day!

Write down on a piece of paper, in your planner, or on your phone what is due and when right away. Seeing as there is no teacher with you to remind you when things are due, it’s important you write dates down so you don’t forget and plan accordingly.

4. Take Advantage of This

Many students feel test anxiety or anxiety in general when it comes to school. Take advantage of this opportunity to work from home. However, that does not mean you should become lazy. Write notes however you please, but still write notes. Use the textbook during tests but still read the textbook. Eat and drink during lectures but still pay attention.

5. Avoid all Distractions

This will probably be the hardest one. Despite being very disciplined and having experience with online school, I still get distracted VERY easily.

Before even working, set your study space up. Have all the utensils needed to complete your tasks for the day, so you don’t have to keep going up and down from your seat to find what you need. It may be difficult with family around, but try to plan when to do fun activities with them and when to do serious work. Be sure to tell your family ahead of time your schedule so they don’t yell at you during lectures.

PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY.

Yes I’m serious.

Unless you need your phone to work, put it in another room or only use it during breaks (which you can put in your schedule or decide for yourself at the moment.)

I hope these tips helped you in any way. Be sure to be kind to yourself during this time and more importantly, take care of yourself, both physically and mentally.

Posted in Book Reviews

The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan Book Review

Posted on by Rachel Hall
It took me a while to finish this because of school and because I didn’t want to leave this universe but I finally managed to! Hope you like my review!

The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan is a Sound of Music-esque type novel with nuisance children, a clueless new nanny, and a mysterious and questionable father, except without all the singing, and fear of nazi takeover. Despite this, Colgan manages to write some hard-hitting drama, which is why I gave this novel a 4 out of 5 stars. 

I was gravitated to this book because I figured this would be a sequel to The Bookshop on the Corner. However, Colgan makes it clear that this is not a sequel, rather that it is a book in the same universe. This is rather unfortunate because what drew me into Colgan’s books was the bookish main character Nina and her bookshop. Although Nina is still in this novel, she is very much pregnant and insufferable, taking some of the magic away that was in Colgan’s previous novel. 

However, I did find love for the new main character Zoe and her toddler Hari. Although I am not a mother myself, I did relate with her and rooted for her just as I did in Maria. However, despite the title of the book, the bookshop is not the center of the plot, rather Zoe and her relationship with ex Jaz and the children she is nannying. 

I will give Colgan props for this: she knows how to make someone completeley unlikeable, and that person was none other than DJ, ex, and baby daddy Jaz. If I were to describe him as a person, it would all be language that is not appropriate for a book review. I nearly had to stop reading because of how much of a jerk he was in Part 1. 

I was very grateful when the book shifted focus to Zoe’s new life nannying the Urquart family. Although the children were absolute nightmares, their relationship with both Zoe and Hari and the growth they went through in the novel was very well written. Some of the best plot twists and dialogue are with her and the Urquart children. 

Ramsay, the father, however I have multiple feelings about. It’s quite clear he’s not a perfect father. Throughout the book he makes serious mistakes that are almost borderline offensive but at the same time, it’s clear he cares about them and has no intention in harming them. Seeing as I am not an expert in parenting, I don’t feel comfortable giving a blank statement on him, and certainly do not want to give spoilers, so whether he is a good or bad father I think you should decide for yourself.

Despite some of my own personal critiques I do think this is a book that should be picked up. Even if it did not contain as much magic as the Bookshop on the Corner, I would still rate it a 4 out of 5 stars. However, I do think it would be easier if you read it in chronological order even if it doesn’t affect the plot too much.