July has been filled with assignments, tests, and deadlines but I’m so glad I’ve got God’s peace getting me through these crazy past weeks! Book-wise, I’ve been on a streak of mind-blowing novels (namely An Ember in the Ashes, Stormdancer, and The Winner’s Crime). I’ve started on a couple of new summer animes, not made much progress with TV series (though I did watch the first episode of Outlander), watched the unexpectedly spectacular The Longest Ride, and obsessed over some amazing songs (Apple Music saved my life).
Most importantly, I’m really glad God worked awesome miracles this past month, namely when I wasn’t able to book the radio presentation studio in school to practice for my on-air test but still did pretty well! And like I’ve mentioned before about loving the 3-month Apple Music trail, it was crazy how it was announced right after I had complained about not having enough money to purchase some Christian music I really wanted. He also helped me *finally* get into the habit of reading my bible when a copy of Our Daily Journey was basically thrown right in front of my face – I guess Jesus knows that I can be downright lazy yet he still helps me. Feeling my sheepish smile yet?
And JZ will be joining in this wrap-up, enjoy!
New Animes
God Eater
A: Somehow, I’ve not really been connecting with the new animes this season but God Eater is too awesome not to like. From the same animators as Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Bladeworks and Fate/Zero, the animation in this one’s utterly unique and impressive too (but then again, it is Ufotable). The story’s set in a post-apocalyptic setting where monsters plague the world and only those trained to be God Eaters can wield weapons strong enough to fight them. There’s also quite some mystery going on so it’s not only meat-headed action!
I’ve also started on Charlotte, Rokka no Yuusha, and Chaos Dragon but I’m probably only going to continue with the first. The other two seemed promising but got a little boring after the debut episode, oh well.
tv & movie
The Longest Ride
A: The Longest Ride is the only book that bored me to sleep but got turned into a movie that made me cry like a baby. I couldn’t finish the novel despite loving the trailer and that led to doubts when the movie came out in theatres. I ended up waiting until it was released on iTunes to watch it and I’m so glad I didn’t watch it in cinemas – not because it wasn’t worth the money but because I cried so uglily. I loved how the movie wasn’t cliché *cough*The Notebook*cough* and touched on issues that real couples would seem to face. You should definitely watch this! (Scott Eastwood is so easy on the eyes too!)
JZ: YES YOU GUYS NEED TO WATCH THE LONGEST RIDE I cried so much my younger sis threw a tissue box at me and told me to stop crying (she rarely sees me bawl over movies) so it says a lot.
A: As for TV shows, I’ve watched the first two episodes of season two of Downton Abbey but didn’t make any more progress because school… *sad dying dinosaur noises* And I also started on Outlander! It’s gloriously Scottish and since I have a weird fascination with Scot culture and history, I’m probably continuing this one, albeit slowly. Heh.
JZ: I was quite into Downton Abbey and Orphan Black but I can’t seem to juggle them while reading books at the same time, which I find weird. But I’m pretty sure I’ll go on a TV show marathon once the holidays are here!
Music
I will call upon Your name / And keep my eyes above the waves / When oceans rise / My soul will rest in Your embrace / For I am Yours and You are mine
A: A moment for how the lyrics and vocals for this song are just utterly mind-blowing. I love the sound of it; so haunting yet powerful and personal. Prior to this, my fave song by Hillsong UNITED had been Hosanna but now I honestly can’t decide! I also thought that most of their songs were really concert-y and not really my thing (I prefer a cleaner sound and JZ completely agrees with this) but I guess this one proved me wrong. I’ll be digging through more of their albums – yay Apple Music – and really, you should check out Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) too, I promise you won’t regret it!
Like a small boat / On the ocean / Sending big waves / Into motion / Like how a single word / Can make a heart open / I might only have one match / But I can make an explosion
A: I first discovered this song when I found out Taylor Swift had invited Rachel Platten to one of her 1989 World Tour shows. After hearing it for the first time, I wanted to grab the lyrics, shove it into a padlocked chest in my head, and throw away the key – if only that was possible. Although some parts were a teensy bit too YAY-ME-I-CAN-DO-EVERYTHING, I liked how the lyrics used simple words in ways that made them pop.
JZ: Let me just say that the lyrics written above are SO APT for An Ember In The Ashes (especially for Laia!). Fight Song was playing dramatically in my head when I reached the ending of Ember, which completely killed me but I LOVE IT TO BITS.
Books
A: This month, I had a 300% increase in the number of books I’ve finished as compared to last month (well, I was on vacation in June and I did DNF one book) and it feels awesome! Even better, I loved all of them, a rare occurrence if you ask any booknerd. Reviews will be coming up soon-ish… Depending on how lazy I’m feeling (I’m always in varying degrees of slothing away).
I’m currently re-reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare because I figured I should probably finish the entire series – and not just until City of Glass – before the Shadowhunters TV show comes out next year. It’s pretty cool getting to know the characters all over again, especially after finishing – AND LOVING – The Infernal Devices. Seeing their ancestors’ traits in Jace, Clary, Izzy, and Alec is quite a strange yet nice experience. That is, until you realise most of said ancestors are dead by the time The Mortal Instruments took place. Sigh pie.
JZ: I finished The Young Elites at the start of this month and it wasn’t very feelsy, which was pretty disappointing, but Adelena says it’s because I took too long to read it so the momentum died and the feels went right along with it (A: And I want to throw daggers at you for this. PUN COMPLETELY INTENDED). I also read An Ember In The Ashes (which you can probably tell by now that I’m completely in love with it) and it has officially claimed the top spot as my all-time fav book. Seriously, go read it or you’re just missing out on the best (bookish) thing that could ever happen to you.
Posts recap
7/11 – Review: The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West
7/15 – Review: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
7/17 – Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer
7/26 – The Hype Train is Arriving, Reached and… It Left
Last words
JZ: So Adelena and I decided to make a fan account on Twitter for An Ember In The Ashes! We’re using it to fangirl about the book and anticipate for the upcoming movie. Hehe. As there are a few existing ones, we decided to make ours specifically for Singapore. The handle’s @EmberlingsSG, so do give us a follow if you’d like!
A: And I’m also doing a lot more bookstagram posts! Because I’m a shameless bastard, I will once against say do follow me @adeliscray on Instagram if you love bookish pictures (and don’t mind lots of pictures featuring blue skies, I have a weird attraction to it)! Speaking of photography, I recently started using an app called Snapseed to edit my photos and am utterly in love with it! It might be because of a certain spot editing function and the fact that it is gloriously free… Anyway, here’s to another great month ahead!
A Page of Heaven 
Hii!!! I saw that you liked Rachel Platten’s song! Just wanted to let you know that I recently made my own music video to it with my own interpretation of the lyrics! :)
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Sure!
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i watched the longest ride on my flight three days ago and OH MY GOD i was sooo close to crying. i always end up loving every single nicholas sparks movie that comes out and i don’t know why but i just do. it’s like no matter how cheesy it is and melodramatic it is, I PLAY INTO IT EVERY TIME and somehow never get tired of all the million tropes he swaps in and out each time. but i did enjoy the longest ride! cowboys aren’t really my thing but i thought scott eastwood made for a good one and britt robertson was absolutely adorable. my favourite part was learning about ira and ruth’s story though. that was my favourite favourite part. but i still want to know how he ended up in that car??? like they never explained that which majorly bugged me. you don’t just randomly end up with your head bashed in a combusting car.
i read i’ll meet you there in july as well and really really enjoyed it a lot so i’ll be looking forward to your review to see what you think!
have a good august you guys!
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So glad you loved it too! I got insanely snotty and teary too, haha! The Longest Ride is probably my favourite Nicholas Sparks movie cause the rest seem a little unrealistic to me but this one really touched on problems I think real couples in similar situations face (especially with Ira and Ruth). And Ira ended up in the car because he got into an accident while driving to Black Mountain College (though the college was closed after many years). As for I’ll Meet You There, it was an amazing summer read but the review… lets just say I’m feeling a teensy bit lazy due because I’m in the middle of my exam period and also just finished a bunch of school projects. But hopefully, I’ll get it up by the end of the month! Thanks so much for dropping by!
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