little sparkles from April
I read a lot of books this month & you're gonna hear about 'em!
phew, is anyone else tired? I don’t know about you, but April was an extremely busy month for me.
(hence why I haven’t been writing nearly as much as I’d like to… but I promise I’ll do my best to come back around when I’m not so busy in my real life! soon, okay!!!)
here’s the rundown:
the first days of April were consumed by the Summer House scandal and joint statement that decidedly proved this was no longer an April Fools stunt, and somehow, a real-life nightmare that sucked us all into it. I am foaming at the mouth waiting for the reunion to air in just a few weeks.
then came Easter, which was a lovely, jam-packed weekend full of friends, family, and faith. my best friend’s fiancé invited us over for an Easter dinner of risotto, roasted carrots, chicken, and greens. I’ve dreamt about that perfect bite every day since.
fast forward a tiny bit to mid-April, when I tagged along to my BFF’s law school barrister’s ball as her date. we danced the night away, I accidentally broke a wine glass on the dance floor (I don’t want to talk about it), and ended the night eating McDonald’s at 2am and watching Love on the Spectrum. a nearly perfect Saturday!
I went on a date days later (and got ghosted after, as I would later discover).
then, I jet-setted off to Florida for a family trip spent soaking up the sun and eating popsicles while reading romance novels.
and now I’m back to my normal-ish life for a brief stint before May flips my life upside down: my bestie’s bachelorette trip, my two best friends getting married, and me subsequently moving apartments and becoming a Solo Gal In The City™.
though April was more packed than I normally allow my months to get, I had such a blast and so much to tell you about (specifically all the books I read). indulge me!
sparkly reads
I spent 5 glorious days of April doing some of my favorite things imaginable: catching a tan poolside with a bowl of frozen grapes nearby, and devouring breezy and predictable romantic comedies. I read 4 books this month, and yes, I do feel like I’m better than everyone else on planet Earth.
here are some of the pages I dove into, in chronological order:
before my departing flight boarded, I did a drive-by of the Hudson News nearest to my gate (as is my travel day tradition) — even though I already had 3 books packed in my carry-on and wasn’t sure I would even finish one of them. I scanned the entire literature wall of the fateful shop, not seeing anything particularly worthy of taking up the extra space in my bag… until my eyes landed on the most recent Abby Jimenez release, The Night We Met. in a necessary impulse buy (necessary because my flight was boarding as I was checking out), I grabbed a bag of hot fries, a pack of m&ms, and this delightfully decorated hardcover of Abby’s newest story. I spent the next three days trying to get through the book, distracted by flight attendants, interjections from my sister, and breaks to dive in the pool. while I enjoyed the book overall, I have to say it’s my least favorite Abby Jimenez (and after just having researched my own GoodReads history, it turns out I’ve read seven of her books, so that’s not a hard title to earn, probability-wise). it’s not that the story was bad, it was just… not good either? the slow burn was so slow that it forgot the burn part, I didn’t particularly enjoy the FMC, the tension buildup was fun until it never really got released, and there’s kind of a LOT going on with the plot. it was actually kind of tea for five seconds, and then we flatlined. I mean, the guy adopts a dog and asks his best friend’s girlfriend to be the dog’s mom. that’s literally in the first 50 pages of the book. not my favorite plot that’s predicated a romance, but it was good for a breezy read by the pool — 3 stars from me!
I then moved on to a book that I purchased simply because I liked the cover (and the branding of the publishing company, which I’ve seen in Instagram ads every now and then): Set Piece by Lana Schwartz. the basic synopsis of this book is that it’s a reverse Notting Hill situation: a Hugh Grant-esque actor from London’s star is rising when he meets the girl of his dreams in a one night stand at a bar, who happens to be a set designer. fast forward until they end up working together on a Great Gatsby film adaptation five years later and “will they / won’t they” until — you guessed it! — they eventually do. a Notting Hill trope and Hugh Grant are two of my favorite things in this world. I grew up on Wattpad fanfics, after all, you can’t blame me! I, however, gave this book a mere 3.5 star review (which is actually low for my typical 4-star review of a romance… my standards are pretty low, especially by the pool). the main flaw in this book was the FMC, who I found so cold, stubborn, frustrating, and unromantic, compared to the MMC who was upbeat, sensitive, outreaching, and very romantic. it was an unlikely match, in my eyes. also, the book was a shorter novel — only 200 pages — not leaving a ton of room for complex plot and satisfaction, at least for me. again, another great read by the pool, but not award-winning in my eyes.
I finished Set Piece and immediately picked up The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center, a swoony-not-smutty romance about two script writers who begrudgingly work together to make the script of an abysmal It Happened One Night remake a little bit better. the tropes are enemies-to-lovers (ish), grumpy x sunshine, with a dash of fanfic. it was really light, silly, and certainly swoony — though the lack of physicality and childish banter made me feel at times that I was reading a book from the YA section at my grown age of 26. I think this one could have used quite a bit of editing and a little bit more of the pull part of your typical push-and-pull, but I absolutely devoured it nonetheless. I felt very seen by the FMC and the narration which, at times, functioned as a love letter to romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally or It’s Complicated — a love letter that I have co-written myself. one of my most adored tropes in romantic comedies (or fiction in general) that most books I read share is the FMC having a career in writing. bonus points if the MMC does, too! I just feel so seen by my fellow word-lovers and I love that we’re so represented in the fiction world. naturally!
I’m now re-reading Book Lovers by Emily Henry in an attempt to ~actually~ like it this time. let me back up. you will not find a more loyal EmHen stan than I. I have read each of her books, multiple times, and literally rearrange my work schedule when a new one drops so I can devour it ASAP. I see her and she sees me. I love every book in her catalogue like they are my own children. however, as if they were my own children, I have favorites — and least favorites. when I first read Book Lovers back in 2022, I really didn’t connect to it at all. I found the characters to be unrelatable to the 22-year-old version of me. they were harsh, dry, sarcastic, career-driven to a fault, and a little frustrating (can you sense that enemies-to-lovers isn’t my favorite trope? lol). I ranked it at an abysmally-low-for-me 3 stars. after 4 years, I’ve decided to revisit it with fresher, older, slightly more cynical eyes — and now, I’m actually really enjoying it. the banter, the dark brooding man, the sisters of it all! I’m just getting to the halfway point and I’m feeling optimistic this time around. will update later, once I finish!
sparkly watches
one of the greatest movies ever made came out in theaters this month and I had the pleasure of seeing it with my friends the day after it premiered. that movie is the Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and no I’m not kidding. a little-known fact about me is that I grew up on video games, particularly those by Nintendo, and consider myself to be a bit of a video game nerd by average standards. my loyal favorite was always Pokémon, but I dipped my toe in many other waters — including Mario. I played most Mario games as I was growing up, beating them multiple times. one of my absolute favorites was the Super Mario Galaxy game for the Wii, which I still consider to be one of the best mainline Mario games ever made. the game was so faithfully and beautifully adapted to the big screen: its perfect soundtrack made for a wonderfully nostalgic movie score, characters came to life in such big and beautiful ways, there were a thousand Easter eggs that the untrained eye might have missed, and it was funny. like, laugh out loud funny. I walked home from the movies feeling kind of sad that it was over because I enjoyed it so immensely. I then texted everyone I know to tell them to go see it immediately no matter how they feel about Mario in general — because anyone would enjoy the film, if they had an iota of taste. my unexpected fave character was Kamek, who clearly performed well in the first movie’s test groups and they decided to amp up his lines for comedic effect. truly no notes, guys.
one of the most marvelous shows ever created (and I stand firmly on this hill) is Love on the Spectrum. I believe I’ve seen every season of every iteration of the show. in the age of doomscrolling and fear mongering, LOTS is just truly delightful, wonderful, hopeful, hilarious, and wholesome content to consume. when the newest season’s trailer dropped a month ago, I squealed. my roommate and I devoured the season in just about a week, intending to pace ourselves more, but there’s just really no stopping the train once it’s left the station. I get this sort of happy ache in my stomach while watching the show, where I physically have to exert some sort of movement in order to release the build up of immense joy that I feel when I watch these silly, confident, amazing young adults conquer the dating world. this season (their fourth!) is possibly their most fantastic because it is so joyful. there were new additions and big moments and so many funny, quotable lines. “per se” is now forever in my vocabulary. I love you Dylan!!!!
a defining show in my life is Love Island. I love reality TV and this show is the best of reality TV. it truly deserves awards, it’s so innovative and addicting. (edit: after a Google search, I learned it won a BAFTA in 2018. praise be.) granted, I’m a UK loyalist because US honestly shows off the worst specimens of our country and makes me embarrassed to be a part of Gen Z. alas, I tuned in last summer to catch Love Island US, and I’m soooo glad I was able to witness history along with the rest of the country. I’m a mommy, mama’s little meatball, gratituilly, we don’t wanna do that, my dream date cute?! this cast deserved every single cent they collected, even if they drove me to insanity. naturally, I tuned in to watch season 2 of Beyond the Villa, where we watch the cast (basically the B-team of the cast, lol) adjust to normal life in the fall/winter and engage in various drama to continue earning paychecks towards their LA influencer lives. I once had no interest in starting this show, but of course I turned it on and was hooked immediately. I believe I even said “this show is the best thing that ever happened to me”. there’s just something about the franchise, man. it sucks you in! I pine for more than two episode a week!!!
I constantly have a sitcom streaming in my house. whether it’s Friends (my tried and true) or Brooklyn Nine-Nine (a new favorite introduced to me by my best friend), you can count on me having a comfort show in the rotation. my current rewatch is Schitt’s Creek, which I would put in my top 5 shows of all time. there’s something about how they so effortlessly married sharply witty writing and deeply moving story development that puts it among the best of the best. every time I watch it, I relate to a different character. this time around, I feel like I’m 75% David Rose, 20% Alexis, and 5% Moira. truly, nobody sees David Rose the way I see him. Dan Levy deserves one million more awards for how he created, wrote, and portrayed this character to perfection. I’ll be sad to finish this run, as we’re finishing up season 5 soon, but I can’t wait to see what’ll be next in the queue (likely Friends, let’s be honest).
sparkly listens
one of my favorite hacks to enhance a rom com reading session: listen to a playlist created for the two specific characters you’re reading for. of course, the more niche books you read, the harder this becomes (though you’d be surprised), but I find that there are pretty much playlists made for every romance release I indulge in. it just sets the tone so right and immerses me into their fictional world for maximum tummy tickles and toe curls. I did this specifically as I read Book Lovers and listened to this Charlie & Nora playlist, which was the perfect vibe-setter. pro tip: this hack also works when you’re obsessed with any fictional character across any medium — I had a Conrad Fisher playlist I listened to ritualistically every day last summer and it really kept me grounded (as much as it possibly could).
what a month for new releases and singles and album announcements! most notably, Olivia Rodrigo has finally announced her third album (and the one I’m most excited for), you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. the cover is simply perfection, and I couldn’t be more excited to see Olivia evolve from teen angst to young adult yearning (going from purple to pink as a result !!!!!!). I had high expectations for her first single, “drop dead”, which really delivered for me. I love how the lyrics feel like they were taken directly from a password-protected journal, penned in that heartsick first-crush frenzy. it sounds so perfectly girlhood. I wish I was twirling around the streets of Paris every time I listen to it.
when I fly, I love to take the aisle seat so I can maximize my people-watching. I love to snoop and see what people watch, read, or listen to — and I’m not proud of it, but yes, sometimes I look at what’s on their phone screens. I got the most wonderful glimpse at this older man (maybe 65?) ahead of me and the playlist he was listening to for the entire flight (see reference photo above), which was very clearly an amalgamation of all his old iTunes playlists from the 2000s and 2010s. my heart squeezed with a sort of happy-sadness every time I saw him scroll through the track list, which was his only activity on the flight. this throwback inspired me to listen to this playlist, titled “she’s so mean, a specific genre of music” and have the time of my life pretending I was the star of my own little 2000s coming-of-age film.
for some reason, I have never before listened to the entirety of Taylor Swift’s potentially most iconic album, reputation. like, of course I know most of the songs on their own, but I’ve never given it a proper, front-to-back listen, even though my roommate has begged me to do so for the entire two years that we’ve lived together. for some reason, I just never thought it would be my cup of tea (I was Team Kim at the time of all the drama and I had drawn my line in the sand, which I now know is very problematic of me). this month, I finally gave it my undivided attention, and was pleasantly proved wrong by how much I enjoyed the whole thing. there are many songs I already loved on the album (I’ve always been a “Look What You Made Me Do” superfan, because I have taste), but now I love every single song and how they each serve as a chapter of Taylor’s overarching story. my notable new favorites are “Gorgeous”, “King Of My Heart”, and “Dress”. I may be late, but at least I’ve arrived!
other sparkly things
breaking news that is absolutely not breaking to anyone except me: I went on a date this month (!!!). for the first time in a year (!!!!!!!). my last date (in 2025) is a story I’ll tell you about later, but as a result, dating took a backseat in my life and I’ve enjoyed spending this last year soaking up basically every other aspect of my life. that, and I honestly have pretty high standards, which makes it difficult for any man to get through my screening process and meet me in the flesh (why does every single man want to go out to “drinks”? can we be slightly more original and interesting please, thanks??). so, long story short, I went on a date. we went out to a board games bar (my idea, because I’m original and interesting!) and played Scrabble. actually, he beat me in Scrabble. green flag, I hate to admit. we had a great time talking and had a lot in common! I posted a note asking my community for tips on how to not feel so awkward and anxious on a first date and you guys really delivered with so many good tidbits of advice — the main one being, don’t focus so much on if they like you, but figure out if YOU like THEM! it really took the pressure off and let me have a lot of fun just talking to this person and not feeling like I was being put under a microscope. and when I walked to get my iced coffee the next morning, I had the sexiest little Carrie Bradshaw-esque feeling of “nobody on this street knows that I went on a date yesterday”. single city girl life at its finest!
as I’ve mentioned too many times in this post, I went to Florida for a long weekend of poolside lounging and hanging out with my sister and parents. our adventures included going to the local farmer’s market (where I stumbled across a little book shop with “Blind Date Books” — one of which I took home, only to find out I had, in true fashion to myself and my brand, chosen Beach Read by Emily Henry, a book that I have read no less than five times in the last five years), night swimming in technicolor lights with my sister as yacht-house music blasted from the speakers, drinking mocktails and watching reality TV on the deck, beach sunsets and coffee walks, and above all, much needed time with my favorite people. and it doesn’t hurt that I got a killer tan while I was away.
at the aforementioned farmer’s market bookstore, the kind shop owner gifted me a free bookmark that she made herself, out of broken jewelry charms. she had a big beautiful stand filled with all different styles and color schemes and patterns. I, always true to myself, chose the most neutral one with pearls, gold adornments, and just the right amount of sparkle (see the photo in my sparkly reads section to see what I mean!). I’m usually a dog-ear-the-pages kind of girl, but I have absolutely adored this sparkly little addition to my reading habit. of course, you can’t get the same one I have, but do a lil Etsy search and I’m sure you could find a ton of cute ones that tickle your fancy — like this tulip-y one!
my queen mother Ariana Grande announced, mere days ago, that her eighth studio album, petal, will be released this July. and if she stays true to history, we can expect the first single within the next couple of weeks. go check on your annoying friends, they aren’t okay (it’s me, hi). I have this notion that I am somehow cosmically connected to Ariana, who I’ve loved since I was 10 and I first saw her on Victorious. the fact that she’s releasing this album about growing and blooming under harsh conditions only further confirms our interconnected souls. she knew I needed this album this summer. I can’t wait to be changed (for good). x
sparkly inspo
this month’s roundup of sparkly pins!
springy pinks and greens have really been speaking to me this month, along with the blooms that have so magically hit the city (along with cherry blossoms!), delicate details like gold pendants and engraved watches, considering getting curtain bangs as always, and wishing I was a little lap dog with a thoughtfully-chosen accessory.
there was a lot happening in April, and I feel like a lot of growth was happening behind the scenes, too.
I pushed myself out of my comfort zone many times, made sure to prioritize my relationships with the people I adore over the silly things (like work, EW!), and I’ve even started to have some hard conversations with myself about my future and what I want it to look like.
as busy as April was, I think May is going to be an even busier, potentially harder month for me… but somehow, I think it’s going to be the open door that leads to the life I’m envisioning for myself.
…I guess we’ll just have to see.
can’t wait to see what next month’s recap will have in store! hopefully lots and lots of little sparkly things. ⭒
this is the cutest title I ever did see! Wishing you a sparkly May <3
you’ve inspired me to re-read EmHen as well!! What’s your favourite of hers?