Tag: blogging

Weekly Wrap-Up: Blogging, Reading, Bookstagram

Aloha everyone – it’s finally the weekend!

I have been tinkering with this blog the past two days, trying to make it look the way I want and getting frustrated. I also debated on whether to take it to wordpress.org, pay for hosting, to give me more freedom, etc…and I did. I “created” a site last night and wasn’t liking it. And I might give up on it (after one day 😂), so much to freedom. To think I built my own website, Freshman year in college, from scratch ugh…my friend pointed out that was 20+ years ago. Thanks friend. 😘 Guys and girls, I suck at it. Or I just don’t have the patience for it anymore lol – these templates and widgets are so convenient!

Image via Giphy

I’ll let that website simmer and stew…until I figure out what I want to do with it!

What I Read This Week:

What I’m Reading Right Now:

  • The Shadow Glass (The Bone Witch #3) by. Rin Chupeco
  • The Lovely War by. Julie Berry
  • On The Come Up by. Angie Thomas

On My TBR List:

  • Nocturna by. Maya Motayne
  • Girl of Glass by. Megan O’Russell
  • Ivory and Bone by. Julie Eshbaugh
  • Crown of Feathers by. Nicki Pau Preto
  • The Gilded Wolves by. Roshani Chokshi

On My NetGalley TBR List:

  • Heartwood Box by. Ann Aguirre
  • The Lady Rogue by. Jenn Bennett
  • The Grace Year by. Kim Liggett

Let’s hope I finish reading all of these books! Sometimes I’m too ambitious. Lately I’ve been reading while working out on the elliptical machine in my room. I need to exercise (ain’t getting any younger and my blood pressure keeps getting higher 😫) and reading while I exercise makes the time go by much faster, thank goodness. ❤️

📷 Do any of you bookstagram?

I love the book community on Instagram because I learn about a lot of new titles that way. Plus some people just have skills with a camera! I wish that was me, I love the book photos. 😊 I’ve been lazy about taking good photos but I’m going to try my best and step up my game. It’s fun finding props to use and it gives me an excuse to buy a bouquet of fresh flowers for my dining table. I use those blooms for my book photo shoots so it’s a win-win! Follow me on ig @ylmpastmidnight to check out my bookstagram photos and leave me your ig in the comments below so I can follow you too!

And that’s all I got for today ~ what are you reading? Do you have trouble making your blog look the way you want, like me? 🤔 I hope you all have a wonderful relaxing weekend. Happy Reading! 😘

What I’m Reading

Or trying to attempt to read… The TBR list is growing on my shelf (hard covers), and also in my NetGalley and Overdrive accounts. That’s a good thing, since I’d rahter have books to read than nothing at all. 😉

The Hardcover Books ❤️ I got these gorgeous books at the library – it’s always a long wait for someone as impatient as me. But wait, I must! Going to start these soon:

Isn’t she gorgeous? This is one thick, heavy book, coming in at 827 pages! 😱 I have to find the right time to dig into this one – after my early Easter Egg hunt party I’m hosting this Sunday should be good.

I’ve heard lots of good things about this book and I hope it lives up to the hype.


I am intrigued with this series because of Zara’s interaction or “relationship” with her ship, Nadim! Yes, I thought I was going crazy that I was kind of falling in love with her ship. A ship. But think of them as big whale space pets that can talk – sounds confusing, I know, but that’s what my son said it sounded like when I tried to explain to him what Nadim was. My son is six 🤷🏻‍♀️😂. But it’s a unique intergalactic adventure and I can’t wait to read this one.

My NetGalley list is growing but I’m trying to finish up these two I picked up on a whim:

I’m trying desperately to finish this book. But it is not for me, yet I’m determined to finish. I think my problem with it is the main character – I just don’t care for her.

I was drawn in with that pretty cover and I thought I was in the mood for a young adult romance, but by Chapter 17, I found myself reading one chapter and then putting it down. I’m going to finish today and send in my review because I really do want to move onto my other NetGalley reads.

This one looks promising – it hooked me at Michaelangelo, the Sistine Chapel and secret societies. It reminds me a bit of The Da Vinci Code, which I obsessed over when it first released.

Having visited the Vatican 7 years ago, it reminds me of that amazing trip and just the glory of that fresco in the Sistine Chapel. So I hope this is a good one full of action, the setting is perfect for a thrilling adventure!

And last but not least – the books on my Overdrive:

I just finished this one yesterday and it was pretty good! It has romance, steamy sex scenes, and a pretty fascinating world out in space. This is definitely a series I will be continuing when the sequel comes out. Check out my review here.

Have you read any of these books? What are you reading now? Leave me your comments below! 😘

Reading Past Midnight

I haven’t kept a blog in years so I’m a bit rusty at this but I have lots of time to relearn how to do all this.  Bear with me!

I’ve created blogs about my life, blogs about my crafting (when I used to do a lot of crafting) and I’ve always wanted to do a book review blog, so why not start now?

Ever since I was a pre-teen (back in the early 90’s) and stumbled upon my older cousin’s Teen Dreams young adult books, I was hooked.  Then came Sweet-Valley High and books by R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike!  Wow, I’m really taking myself down memory lane here.  I can see the library at middle school just at the front of my mind, the smell of the paperback books, that sense of calm perusing the library shelves.  And then L.J. Smith wrote The Vampire Diaries and I wasn’t only hooked, I fell in LOVE, hard.

If that shows my age, so be it!  I know the story has been made into a successful tv series, but I was 12 when that book came out.  Those Salvatore brothers – swoon.  And Elena and her friends – loved them!  I read and re-read all of her books, over and over and over again, well into my late 20’s.  My original copies of the books fell apart and I bought the new editions.

Many years later, now I’m a mother of two children, E is 6 going on 7 this year, and L just turned 2.  I went from a working woman to a stay-at-home mom.  It’s been filled with challenges, fun times, hard times and I’ve never had my sleep cycle tested so much until I had kids.  Some nights I’m just crazy exhausted, but I’m getting back into the groove where my sleep cycle is getting back to what it was pre-kids.

Yet even through life’s changes and challenges – the one thing that stayed constant is my love of books.  I read.  I read so much.  I started logging how much I read on my GoodReads account and last year I read 60+ books alone.  Why so much?  Reading online through the kindle app in the past few years has given me chances to read while putting my kids to sleep.  I still love physical books but leaving the lamp on all night – past midnight – wasn’t ideal for me, my hubby or my kids (wherever I parked myself to sleep at night for the past 6 years haha).  Reading on my iPad is so convenient – I’m usually reading past midnight while everyone sleeps.  Hence the title of my blog.  Appropriate, don’t you think?

I read a lot of romance and young adult genres lately, it used to be more varied.  I had phases growing up: mysteries, horror, suspense, thrillers, fantasy, but lately I just want to read happy endings.

If you have recommendations on new romance and young adult books you think I’d like, please let me know in the comments below!  I’m always looking for new books to read.  post