#BESTIE BESTIE come back august for more i’ll have like 6 more books read by then to rec to u LMAO

[loverofallthingssmart]

hii bestie <333 can i have bookrecs maybe my tbr is ??? going empty ??? wh how??? but yeah mwah<333

omg hiiiiiii bestie <33 and KABVAGSJEB valid okay okay here we go !! i’ll rec 5 and disclaimer: most of these are going to also be on my tbr LMAO whoops bc i haven’t read in so long so 😭

1. the empress of salt and fortune

this is just??? so good??? like first off they/them protagonist !! and it’s so !!!! like the first two chapters make you go huh? but once it get through that it becomes so interesting !!! it feels like you’re being told a story bc you are!!! and it’s so <333 like wowwwwww it’s just. great like the story is everything even though there’s no technical ‘plot’ like you think. also this one scene in the book with her seer…like uh. empress?? you got something you want to tell us?? 👁👁

overall id rate it 4/5 points taken off purely bc the writing style is everything i love it !! but it’s not quite memorable like certain lines don’t just stick to you after you read it like how six of crows did… yk?

2. and then there were none

i. i uh. haven’t read this yet ADSHFSHSVSHD but everyone’s telling me it’s wonderful and amazing and also mysteries are just like?? so fun especially with agatha christie writing it and it’s just. very wild i can just feel it can’t wait to read it !!!

3. the ghost bride

another one i haven’t read but isa loved it and i trust isa so yeah <3 basically this post should cover why it’s amazing and so i’m also very excited to start this next month

4. i’ll be the one

listen this is. it’s a fun cute little read if you’re bored bc this was so nice i had to pause to squeal a bit a LOT like the mc is so !!!!! she’s fat and she’s not like insecure about it like she has her moments thats so normal but she’s confident and it’s just !!! she’s basically trying to be an idol and addresses the fat phobia in the kpop industry with a healthy smacking of white girl bashing (white girl obsessed with korean culture to be specific), asians gfs as background relationships, and complicated mother daughter relationships that aren’t just ‘omg i forgive you and then we love each other’ no the resolution between them is 100% realistic and i just :’) and then !!! and then bi4bi main couple!!! CANONLY!!!! THEYRE BOTH SAID THEYRE BI IN THE BOOK LIKE !!!! they’re both korean too like <3

it’s rated 3/5 bc the writing is juvenile at time (and ngl im fine with it!! the author has written children’s books with an asian protag so the whole YA thing is new to her and it’s rlly good for her foray into this genre honestly!!!!) and also the harry potter and bts references were -_- i know the bts was going to be a thing but the hp??? when the book was made in 2020??? like in this day and age??? no thank you keep that away. there are like uhh less than 10 so a blessing ig

sorry i talked too much about this one i just have many thoughts bc this was THE book that got me out of my slump and it’s nice !! best listened to with kpop playing on low in the background <3

5. finally, the lunar chronicles

this is a nice series !!!!!! the way all the male characters are side characters and each book surrounds the girl yeah <3 the third book is kind of :/ bc there’s a relationship with a 16 yr old and a 22-23? year old i think idk but basically she’s isolated and idolized him and he’s… idk it’s weird but if you just keep in mind that ajd try and ignore how that’s the driving factor for a lot of this it’s fine !!! the plot is nice !! but yeah the rest of them are <33333 and the plot is so !!!! each book is a sci-fi retelling of a fairytale and they all blend into each other seamlessly its just so !!!! the characters are everything as well i don’t care for like half of the men ensemble but the women. aaaaah beloveds 3/5 mainly bc it’s been SUCH a long time i don’t think i can accurately judge it so we’ll stick with a decent rating yk?

also! read heartless by the same author it’s like her retelling of how the queen of hearts became the queen of hearts it’s rlly good !!! cant for the love of me rmbr most of the plot nor can reread it bc it hurts but still. rlly good !!!! 4/5 definitely

ALSO FUCKING WAIT LAST ONE

read xiran ray zhao’s book i don’t remember what it’s called but it’s coming out september 21st and it’s gonna be so fucking good like. i just know it so yeah <3

okay that’s it have fun reading <3

[klainebrittana]

Chapter 1 of seperated!

Enjoy!

Chapter 1!!

August’s pov

We ran around the table, giggling like the little children we were. That was all we had to worry about then, one tagging one another. We were 7 what more did you expect from us. She was my best friend. We were brought into the orphanage at the same time you see. Both abandoned like the others. We understood the pain the other was going through, we always had, always will. We both wondered the same questions, why would anyone ever give me up? Why did they do it? Didn’t they love me? We kept each other going, made each other laugh when we were sad. Kept each other alive. What I would do without her I don’t know. But in that moment life was good we had not a care in the world. No consequences, no troubles, now all I want is to go back to that. I want it so badly. I would do anything.

“I’m going to catch you.” I giggled.

“Not on my watch.” She replied before squealing as I pushed her down to the ground and tickled her senseless.

“Stop, stop.” She chuckled. I stood up and layed beside her. “Let’s be besties forever.” I whispered. “Forever.” She echoed. Then the matron came in. “Time for bed girls.” She smiled warmly. She was always so kind to us. She said we were her favorites. Now I know what a lie that was. She wouldn’t have done it if we were. She wouldn’t have forced us to make that decision. She wouldn’t have ruined our lives like that. She wouldn’t have ruined everything. I hate her for that and I will never forgive her.

We had our own dorm together. We had begged and begged and eventually we were allowed to. Together we made a sign out of paper that was stuck on the door with sellotape. It read May and August’s room, we found it hilarious that we both had names named after months. My name is August and hers is May by the way. The sign was rainbow striped and our handwriting wasn’t the best and it was all wobbly. We also hardly coloured inside the lines. I remember it vividly, like it was yesterday, even though it’s been years. We would talk late into the night; a lot later than we were supposed to. I have no idea how we always found something without fail to talk about. We spent every day together, what thing happened to us that the other couldn’t possibly know?

That night we stayed up until 1:00 AM in the morning. We created a fairytale together. I scribbled it down in my notebook as May helped me think of all the words I didn’t know. She was super smart for her age, way smarter than I was. I remember wishing and wishing I could be as smart and as pretty as her. It never happened though. She was always the better, prettier, less troublesome, version of me. I admired her so much for that. She inspired me to be a better, although not perfect person.

We sat there whispering, with a torch that I had bought a few days ago for this very reason. We were lucky we didn't get caught. Especially when we both started howling because I fell out of my bed. It didn't hurt, it was just hilarious. When that happened, we heard matron stir and we just had a moment where we stared at each other, eyes wide, I saw tears brim in Mays eyes, she was never told off, I slowly reached out and wiped her eyes, she gave me a small smile. Luckily Matron never came in but, in that moment, we were both so terrified. She never told us off, never raised her voice, excluding a few times at me. When there was silence again, we both let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close." She whispered and I replied with a quiet yeah. Then we carried on writing our fairytale, of which we had only written a paragraph of because we got distracted very easily.

I've kept the notebook ever since then, too many memories are contained in the pages for it to have been thrown away. I'll attach the story here. Later on in life I wrote messy notes all over it, which I will also include here.

Once upon a time there was a pretty princess called May. My idea as I was trying to tell her in a discrete way how beautiful I thought she was. She lived in a massive castle and had servants to help her do whatever she wanted. All she had to do was snap her fingers and they would come running. May said she had seen this in movies and books. They had to do whatever she said or she was allowed to send them to be executed. May had to explain to me what this meant. But one day an evil witch came to the castle. She kidnapped the beautiful princess! Now they needed someone to save her or her kingdom may go into chaos. In the end they sent her best friend. A poor servant called August. Although even though she was poor she was beautiful as well. Again, May's idea. August found her very easily and had to fight off the evil witch to save her. She did it quickly and then ran to get May. May thanked her and they were best friends for forever more. The end.

It's very short and not great but we enjoyed creating it and that was all that mattered.

May’s pov

I woke up at 6:30 AM and like I promised woke up August as soon as possible by jumping on her bed. It was my birthday! I was so excited as all young children are when that time of the year comes around.

"Happy birthday May!!" August screamed and I looked down at my feet embarrassed from all the attention. Even though it was coming from August. Then we both looked across to the door. One by one all of the other children in the orphanage walked through the door singing happy birthday. They were being quite rowdy and their voices were raspy and completely out of tune, it was sweet that they tried though. I chuckled. "Thaaannkk yoouuu" Then matron walked in rubbing her eyes, she was in a nightgown and I fought the urge to burst out laughing. I could see the others were in the same situation. Her cheeks were rosy red and her hot pink nightie dragged across the grubby floor.

"Why are you already awake?" She groaned.

"It's Mays Birthday!" Peter piped up and the rest of the group nodded animatedly. She sighed.

"Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that. Let me get ready then I've got a suprise for you all." All our faces lit up.

"What kind of suprise." I said.

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” Matron replied and winked as she spun and walked briskly out of the door.

I wonder what the suprise is." I said to August.

"Me too!!!" She replied. She was super excited. She was always so cute when she was excited. She would jump up and down or dance around. Or she would be grinning from ear to ear and speak really fast. She would also grab my hand and drag me everywhere with her. She would be clingy and on the verge of whiny. I didn't mind though. I was nearly always excited as well. And if I, wasn't I didn't mind entertaining it because she was my best friend, my sister. I could never stay angry at her for long.

The room was noisy. Thunderous almost. It was chock full of about 30 chattering children. It was so claustrophobic as well. Most people were pushed against walls or stuck in a group of people since it was only a small dorm room. I dreaded having to actually get out of the room. "Shall we go to our secret hiding spot?" I yelled to August. "Yeah, it's too noisy in here." She said, she'd grabbed my earmuffs and had clamped them on top of her ears. I had shaken my head giggling quietly. That silly girl.

We pushed through the crowd. No one even noticed we had gone. I guess they were all too intrigued by what Matron said. I looked at August behind me. She was giving dirty looks to the room. She hates loud noises and was very claustrophobic. I burst into laughing just looking at her. I remember it clearly now, like it was yesterday. August said “what” huffily. She had put on a fake scowl only so she wouldn’t laugh as well. It was still showing a bit though. I half laugh, half sigh at the thought of it. “You!” I replied. We could say stuff like that to each other because we were such great friends. “Have you seen what you look like? Giving dirty looks at the door and holding bright pink ear muffs against your ears, in summer, and holding on like you’ll die if you let go.” She let out a snigger.

“Ok fine that is pretty funny.” Then we both doubled over laughing.

We had about an hour to ourselves before Matron came in breathing heavily. “There you are girls; I’ve been looking for you for ages.” She said. “Sorry Matron.” We chorused. “Right,” she said sighing. She was still out of breath? “We need to go into the other room so we can leave. We are going to the theme park.” Me and August squealed and grinned at each other. Jumping up and down. The theme park! We have never been there before!

“Oh, my goodness May, the theme park!” August said to me. I don’t think I had ever seen her smile so much. This made me grin too. Seeing her happy, it made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. “I can’t believe it, its really happening, after years of begging!” She punched the air in triumph. Then tried to shake her fringe out of her eyes. She had really short hair, a pixie cut. It suited her quite well. She had cut it herself. Matron refused to do it as it was too ‘boyish’ but August was having none of that. She stole the kitchen scissors that same night and cut it as well as she could.

August really was a tomboy though. I wasn’t apart from the fact I love to play video games. Me and August would sit for hours on end playing them. Our favorite one to play at that point was Minecraft. August though. She wore trousers, never skirts or dresses, plain black things or stuff to do with our favorite tv shows. We loved anime. Especially my hero academia and my promised Neverland. August also was very casual she would stand leaning against the wall with her hands in her pocket. She thought she looked ‘cool’ and at the time I thought she did as well. Looking back now is another story though. I’ll just say it did not look cool.

As we walked in the room, I noticed an increasingly worried look was appearing on August’s face. Her palms were getting clammy and she was trembling slightly. I squeezed her hand tighter and whispered in her ear “Don’t worry, the crowds won’t be too big, I promise, it will be fine.” August relaxed her posture and she gave me a small smile. “Now that’s the August I know.” I whispered and we carried on walking into the other room where everyone was standing.

“About time!” Alexa, the oldest, said. She wasn’t being horrible though she had a big grin on her head. “Now come her my little monkey.” She said and I had run into her arms as she gave me a massive bear hug. She squeezed me tight and I could smell her perfume. After approximately a minute I went back to August.

“Right get your shoes on everyone and we can go!” Matron shouted.

“Ok!!” We screamed back. Then everyone scrambled to get the shoes from the box. There was a lot of pushing and shoving, I had got Augusts for her. The room was actually quite big but as we all had to go to the same part it was chaos. When at last everyone had their shoes on, we left to go to the theme park. What we didn’t know though was how that trip would be the start of the horrific events to come.