Down the Rabbit Hole

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Good morning, friends! I am tired this morning after a pretty stressful work Monday. But I am happy to bring to you this list of fictional male characters I have loved over the years. I didn’t want to phrase it as “crushes” because I think I’ve moved beyond crushing on fictional guys at my age, but I did really like these guys for various reasons as I was immersed in their respective book/series.

If you notice a pattern among these books, I swear, love triangles rattle me BECAUSE I end up liking one guy more than the other and my heart breaks for them if they don’t get chosen.

In no particular order at all, here are the guys who have captured my heart in some way, shape, or form over the years.

1. Ash

Cold, aloof, prince of the Unseelie Court, Ash was everything teenage me loved in a male love interest. He was the guy who could change if the right person entered his life and shook things up. And the insane journey he took in order to be with his love in his own book, where he’s on the cover, and in his own POV was the reason I loved it as much as the first book that started the series. Team Ash here all the way!

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wrap up

August 2021 Wrap Up and TBR

August 30, 2021August 29, 2021 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Good morning friends and fellow book readers! I can’t believe summer is almost over and the month of August has come to its end. I am officially off probation from my job this week (yay!) and hope the busyness at work will go down a little so I can enjoy some more time to read and relax after hours.

With the end of August comes school again, and I wonder how the school year would look this time. I don’t know where you live but here at least, it’s hopefully going still be done safely while balancing kids’ educations and experience.

How have your summers been? Did you have a good month of reading? Because of my work, I haven’t had as much time to read this month but I did manage to read a number nonetheless while juggling weddings and catching up with friends on a patio. Let’s begin, shall we?

What did I read this month?

3.5+ Potions

A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen (review here)

A take on a baking competition doubled as a dating competition for time spent with the protagonist as part of the prize in this Asian, own-voices story featuring Taiwanese culture and food.

3 Potions

Made in Korea by Sarah Suk (review here)

Two student-led businesses compete to be the best during senior year in order to secure money for both students’ personal aspirations in this novel filled with K-pop and Korean beauty products.

You’re So Dead by Ash Parsons

A satire on the Fyre Festival mixed with murder as influencers are invited to an island for a festival only to find themselves at the mercy of a killer – who is one of them.

Sunkissed by Kasie West

Shy, peacemaker Avery goes a summer without internet at camp with her family and meets a cute counsellor who may just challenge her to step out of the comfortable box she has put herself in.

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

When a neighbour is found murdered not far away, a small suburban neighbourhood has their secrets unfolding as detectives dig into their lives, where nothing and no one is exactly as they seem.

1-2 Potions

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake (review here)

A paranormal horror (initially thought as a murder mystery) that follows the sheriff’s son as the supposed spree of a serial killer has come to an end in their town – in the form of a teenage girl covered in blood at the last crime scene.

Current reading list

I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo
Witchshadow by Susan Dennard

TBR list

So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park
Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I hope everyone had a great summer (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere). Here’s to looking forward to fall and the coming of vibrant colours (and pumpkin spice lattes!).

discussion

Let’s Talk Bookish – Having a Blogger Identity Crisis

August 27, 2021 Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

AUGUST 27: HAVING A BLOGGER IDENTITY CRISIS (RUKKY)

Prompts: Have you ever had a blogger identity crisis? What triggered it? How did you get over it? Has an identity crisis ever led you to significantly change the direction for your blog? Do you think having an identity crisis every once in a while can help you become a better blogger, or is it just a sign of insecurity?

Welcome everyone to the last week of August on LTB! Summer is basically over and it’s back to the regular scheduled programming I guess! Today’s topic is a bit interesting, I wonder how many people have experienced it and where it has led them on their blog. Without further ado, here we go!

I haven’t really had a personal blogger identity crisis here. I think I recognize that this really is just a platform for me to express myself in whatever way I see fit, in a way that’s hopefully also interesting to you as an audience. That being said, I think we are pretty comfortable here at DRTH to also change as the time goes – sometimes we’re even too busy for our own blog and I think that’s okay. The blog doesn’t have to be a perfect reflection of our lives, but it doesn’t have to be something stagnant and unwavering all the time either.

I don’t think (although I speak mostly for myself here) that either of us here have really had an identity crisis here with regards to our blog. I think we constantly keep in touch and work together on which way we want to push our blog forward. What new content do people want to see? What content do we want to see? I think these all become important questions and will drive the course of our blog.

However, especially though with bigger blogs out there, I totally understand the need to keep up with what you have always done and what got you there in the first place. I also don’t know what we would do here at DTRH if we had triple or ten times the number of followers. Would we feel differently if we felt a connection between what we posted and what we owe our followers?

Obviously I know most readers don’t actually expect anything unreasonable from the bloggers they follow, but that little bit of expectation can always fester into something more sinister. The obligation we feel as bloggers – I know people can relate – is one that many of us experience. Yet it is definitely still something to be enjoyed so I want to remind any of you who might feel the pressure building, that I as a follower would always be understanding of a blogger’s personal situation! Don’t feel the need to be anyone in particular or a version of yourself that you no longer relate to. We can grow as an audience just as well as you can grow as a blogger.

At the risk of sounding more and more preachy, I will stop here for today. Have any of you had an blogging identity crisis? Or relate to the invisible pressure of having to put out certain content? Let me know in the comments below!