About the past few weeks...

365 Days by Blanka Lipińska

So I’ve taken a break from writing and it’s honestly made me feel weird. I was never a writer growing up. In high school, I wrote my college essays and the state tests. In college, I had to take English classes that were taught by graduate students. The first semester had such a joyful experience and learned different writing styles and how to actually write. The second semester was a nightmare. The professor failed my first essay, even though it was the same writing style we ended first semester with, only a different topic - copy + paste if you will. She told me “I thought it was your first essay.” GASP As the naturally determined person I am, I went straight to my graduate student professor with my previous semester essay and showed her how similar they were. She allowed me to make corrections to fix my grade. Granted these corrections were so minor, like run on sentences and passive voice. All that said, writing has never a passion of mine.

The past few weeks, writing has felt like a burden. I wasn’t inspired. I was like meh I don’t have anything to say. I wasn’t even reading that much. You know, I think I was in a series hangover. I had just finished watching Game of Thrones, forced myself to finish the SePtEmBeR book club book and wasn’t doing anything exciting. However, I just finished a book that made me so happy I sparked my writing flame.

I finished the 365 days trilogy. I read the books somewhat spread out and not all back to back. Which was honestly a blessing. I got to sit with the book for a while and process the story. Fall in love with the characters and make up what I wanted with the story that wasn’t written. Then when I opened the next book, I was able to fall deeper into the story and get attached to characters that may not have had the most developed story lines in text, but in my head they did. I would say I’m a very imaginative person - as the true pisces I am living in the clouds.

I also think it helped that they had Netflix movies - book to movie pipeline strikes again - but I’ll be honest those movies sucked compared to the books. The movies only covered 1/3 of the book. There was so much more to the book than the movies led on. They had way too many montages in the movies and the book covered so much more plot. I wouldn’t be surprised if they made a 4th movie to the series because Netflix ended on such a cliff hanger where as the books wrapped up the story so nicely.

The way the trilogy ended was the perfect ending the series deserved. I felt like everything was meant to happen and it made me so happy. I genuinely don’t remember the last story that I watched or read ended and I was completely happy. Sure, I am content with a lot of endings but there’s always at least one thing I want to change to make it more complete. But not with this story.

I absolutely loved Laura and Nacho’s ending. They both deserved it, they were made for each other - they had their flaws but somehow they complimented each other in the best way possible. The split second where I thought Nacho was going to die - I literally was about to close the book and never finish. Now that series ending would’ve made me so angry.

I wasn’t planning on sharing that I was reading this series because of it being a spicy romance novel. I don’t know what it is but there’s such a negative conception of reading spicy romance novels. The movies gave this story no favors - honestly a downgraded 50 shades and that was a terrible franchise (I never finished the first book, but the movies are a big oof). To admit I am obsessed with the 365 days trilogy is taking a lot of courage. But I’m proud to admit it and will bring it up in any conversation I can. A true 5 out of 5 stars series.

It’s brought me back to my writing and I’m forever grateful. I’m starting to feel back to myself. So there’s a lot of pressure for my next book - they have a lot of hype to live up to. But I’m ready for it.

Stick with me moment: Live life in the moment, you never know where it will go next

365 Days:

Taylor Swift Song Association: I Don’t Want to Live Forever

Rating 5/5 Stars

This Day:

Taylor Swift Song Association: Better than Revenge

Rating 4/5 Stars

The Next 365 Days:

Taylor Swift Song Association: Afterglow

Rating 5/5 Stars