Love like a crow: happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you're able to spend time with your friends and loved ones. I, on the other hand, will be yearning for my lovely boyfriend through FaceTime until we're able to see each other again in some months. Long distance ain't for the weak but he's so worth it. Once we finally have a Valentine's Day date for the first time, you will not hear the end of it LOL. 

In the mean time, I like to look at pictures of crows and think this is us:

Since crows, ravens, and grackles have been my latest favorite birds, I'd like to include more wholesome pictures. I don't know why but although they're generally known as mischevious and for holding grudges, they're so intelligent and sociable. To me they're so mysterious and loyal to each other, it's so adorable and romantic.

This was a very random post, but I wanted to write something even though I find myself without any words to share lately. I have picked up sewing as well, though, so I might give you an update on what I've been up to later.

I hope you've had a great day! ♡

What I've been reading ♡

I don't think I've given a reading update since my rant about romance losing the plot, so here it is: January was a terrible reading month LMAO. But it's okay, because I take pride in saying that I was able to DNF books without feeling guilty. I simply reminded myself they're not gonna self-destruct after I DNF them, and that I can always give them another chance if I wasn't simply in the mood. 

But that is all in the past, because I'm excited about the books I'm already reading and the ones I can't wait to get into.

What I'm currently reading:

 Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

After my frustration with the romances I read in January (and My Year of Rest and Relaxation), I decided to dive back into Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series. This one always brings me back from an impending reading slump so here I am, staring Queen of Shadows (book #4 within the series). 

Also, I wanted to share this picture because that cookie you see there is a guava cookie. Yeah, you read that right.

My favorite indie romance bookstore is run by two sisters whose hands are blessed by God; they just make the best chewy and moist cookies almost the size of my hand! My favorite is their guava one and I just know they hate to see me coming because they know I'm only there for the cookies. Now that I think about it, I've only bought one book from them ever since they opened in December.

Mile High by Liz Tomforde

Listen... I know what I said about reading too many romances. But I think this one is pulling me out from the romance slump. While I do not find lust romantic at all, it's the plot and humor that pull me into the story. 

Since the beginning I already know Zanders is a player (literally and relationship-wise), so it saved me the disappointment of lust being disguised as love. And also, I find him kind of hilarious. Characters having their own flaws and insecurities is something I appreciate in this current state of the romance "industry," if I should call it that. 

I think knowing that this is supposed to be "spicy" beforehand, allowed me to just sit back, relax, and enjoy without the expectation of a life-changing love story.

Inhale Exhale by Nicole MacPherson (HI NICOLEEE AAAHH!! <3)

The first person I've ever followed when I got into blogging has released her first novel!! I bought it for my kindle as soon as she let us know it was available for purchase. Even though so far I've only read one chapter, something has already resonated with me when learning about Livvy, the protagonist's daughter. I can't wait to keep going and see other fellow bloggers talk about it! ♡ 

Nicole if you're reading this, congratulations once again! I love reading your words.

Another book I want to get into:

Burn Bright by Krista & Becca Ritchie

This is the first book I would be reading by these co-authors. I decided to buy it after reading the first
chapter in the bookstore (something I've developed the habit of doing lately), and the writing style was pretty smooth. The punk, "not like other girls" FMC is something I can ignore... I think. I found it cringy but in an endearing way. So I hope I feel the same way as I continue through the story.

You're probably wondering, girl, why in the world are you reading three books at the same time?

BECAUSE IT KEEPS ME SANE! 😭

Okay but for real, I like having different genres to jump back into if I'm not feeling the sports romance, for example. I have to also read John Milton's Paradise Lost for one of my literature classes and my professor doesn't make the discussing experience in class any more enjoyable. Which is a shame, this is a really interesting book and I wish I had another professor who wouldn't go so fast and yap for 80 minutes straight, 30 of those spent talking about his time in law school. 

It's always during stressful times that I read more than ever. And to think the semester is only starting... *sigh* I just need to remind myself how much I want to be a librarian, so I can push through the time I have left.

What about you? What are you reading?

Back to knitting!

 One of my goals this year was to return to my abandoned hobbies, one of them being knitting.

I started around 2022 after feeling heavily inspired by Marzia, whose husband (Pewdiepie) I used to watch religiously on Youtube. Marzia has been a huge inspiration when it comes to fashion and creativity since almost forever; although I’m not the most creative person (yet), everything she did and how she did it always resonated with me. 

I’ve always been curious about trying other hobbies other than sewing, so when I saw Marzia learning how to knit, I took it as my sign to learn as well. Her sweaters always looked so cute!

I was just beginning to learn how to do squares with a garter stitch when Marzia posted about her own sweater pattern from her Maì Accents account. Of course, me being me, I instantly bought it. I mean, look at how cute it is!

Obviously, this was too advanced for me. But I wanted to have it beforehand, and I’m glad I bought it before she closed her store. 

When I opened my old big box where I store my yarn, I found four squares knitted together. I think I was trying to make my first blanket, so I decided to continue it for practice. It’s really wonky (and disastrous), but I love it; I decided to call it my Frankenstein blanket, or Franket for short. It has the face of a child only a mother could love.

As I kept working on the next squares for my Franket, I couldn’t help but think about other projects I wanted to do. For example, book sleeves or… a book thong. 

However, I grew a little frustrated after noticing that all these cute Pinterest tutorials are for crocheting. I know I could benefit from learning both but I don’t want to until I master knitting a little more. Am I delusional for hoping these could be done by knitting? Maybe.

I’m aware that knitting and crocheting make different textures but I’m insanely curious. If a cute kindle envelope is one big [maybe tighter] square away, I’m gonna try!

Friends, you have been in the blogging community longer than I have, so if you have any blog recommendations from any fellow knitters, I’d greatly appreciate it if you could share them!

The Analog Life Project: My Flip Phone Dilemma (Part 1)

 I may be only 23 years old, but I remember life before smartphones, convenient streaming services and social media as we know it today. For some reason when I was 4, I would always get excited to get home because I enjoyed watching my mom chat with her friends on MSN. It's not that I wanted to read her messages (I couldn't read much anyway), but I was obsessed with the animations, especially the water balloon boy.

If my mom had to leave the computer, I would just stare at it in case anybody nudged her. I would also yell, "Mom they're knocking!" 

 

Although MSN and MySpace were already thriving when I was 5, and when I was old enough to have social media these weren't a thing anymore, the reason I bring up this anecdote is because I miss when the internet was a place to visit. I miss feeling excited to get home to play FarmVille with my grandma (my mom had to make me a Facebook account that said I was born in 1980 so I could play and leave my grandma's farm alone), who we also lived with at the time. My mom also said she remembers being eager to get home from our cruise vacations to check her Facebook and post all her digicam pictures.

8-year-old me and my mom posing in front of Royal Caribbean's
Adventure of the Seas. 2010.

That's what I miss.

It's not impossible to go back to that, but now that I NEED my smartphone for college, money transfers, public transportation updates and Uber in case of emergency, I find myself in a little predicament. In Puerto Rico, WhatsApp is the main form of communication, but jeez how much I despise it. It's impossible to not get overstimulated with all those group chats, so of course one of my many fantasies is chucking my iPhone across the Pacific Ocean. I guess Do Not Disturb will do for now. 

For the month of July in 2024, I wanted to try a $20 Walmart Family flip phone. I can guarantee that at this point my friends were sick of me wishing society made the collective decision to go back to dumb phones. But I didn't care, and got the flip phone.

And blinged it.

My precious TCL Flip 2 (✿◠‿◠)

Getting this phone implied having two phone lines, but I saved my friends and family the hassle of saving the new number by setting up call forwarding from my iPhone. Sadly, it isn't the same for texts so if they really needed to text me, they had to use the flip phone's number. By then, college hadn't started yet so I felt comfortable leaving the house with just my flip phone. 

And, honestly, I loved it.

Some may have been frustrated with my obsession with going more "analog" and trying to live offline as much as possible, but it was a great experiment. I'm already a nostalgic person, so by default I often think of how things used to work back when I was a kid. 

A few days ago, Anne Butera talked about The Analog Life Project by Lori Roberts from Little Truths Studio, and it reminded me so much of the No-Phone Summer [challenge] I did in Summer 2024. I was spending the whole summer at my dad's in Florida (and a week at my boyfriend's in Texas). So, after such an overwhelming spring semester, I took this long trip as the opportunity to disappear.

I focused on decentralizing my phone, so I dusted off my digicam, my kindle, and my iPod. I only accessed social media on my dad's laptop, so it's not that I disappeared entirely. I couldn't, because it's how I could check on my online friends and see what my long distance family members were up to on Facebook. I also started reading magazines on Libby and subscribed to Cosmopolitan.

My challenge consisted of pretending it was the early 2000s, but I focused more on owning my music and my DVD's. I also went back to crosswords, fill-ins, and word-seeks. I bought the first Murdle volume I saw at Barnes & Noble during my trip, and it's honestly so fun.

So, what is this Analog Life Project?

Lori Roberts calls her project "an exploration of living more deliberately offline through making, noticing, writing, and human connection," and it's something that I could relate to when I think back to my summer challenge. Life finally slowed down, my eye strain was nonexistent, and I had more energy to interact with people around me (bonus: my shyness somehow vanished sometimes?).

I wanted to talk about this project because I think I read about it at the right time. I've been considering bringing back my offline routine but now that my uni classes started, I can't be completely offline. God, I fantasize about never having to open Outlook in my life ever again. So, this time I need to come up with a new offline routine, which I will [hopefully] get into in my next post. 

About my flip phone

I really don't know what to do yet.

It's been on my drawer since 2024 and I haven't reactivated the plan since then. I really miss using it but I think I should just keep it for time off and vacations. We'll see.

Are you doing anything to stay offline?

Texas: Ducks (and a dictator goose) and Books

 On December 26th I flew to the U.S to visit my amazing boyfriend, who lives in Texas. This is the second time I've visited him since we started dating, and I just want to say that Texas is so beautiful, especially Austin. 

Sunset from Austin. Yes, this is with no filter!

My boyfriend (hi poookieeeee) took me to watch ducks at Mueller Lake Park. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about this here so here it is: birds are my favorite animals. I may not be able to name specific species from the top of my head like I would do with dinosaurs, but whenever I see those cute babies waddling and hopping around, it’s enough to make my whole week.

*insert jurassic park theme song*

Ducks are generally known as curious and playful. I read on Sally’s Duck Rescue that ducks also grieve and are capable of forming lifelong bonds. However, just like people (and cats) they have individual personalities. “Some are bold and adventurous. Others are cautious observers … while others are chatterboxes who like to be the centre of attention.” Sally writes.

As for geese, they usually tend to be more assertive and protective.

I crouched near an approaching duck, thinking I was gonna accidentally scare it away, but instead got a little closer before it went on its way. Meanwhile, on top of a rock near the lake was a geese being the loudest, other ducks reacting to it as if they were laughing (or telling it to shut the hell up, who knows?). It made me laugh because I imagined it as some sort of dictator giving a speech. It was a very long and emotional one, I’ll tell you. 

As opposed to Instagram, where we always see the white Pekin Ducks (I had to look the names up), there were many different types around the lake. The predominant ones were the Muscovy ducks (the cow-colored ones), and I also remember seeing Mallard ducks (the ones with the green head).

The geese that were hanging around I think they were all Egyptians. The way you can tell ducks and geese apart are by their necks and beaks. Ducks have flat beaks while geese have triangular beaks and longer necks.

left: two pekin ducks and a muscovy duck; right: egyptian goose

While we watched them, me and my boyfriend enjoyed some rice balls. I didn't take a picture of that exact moment, unfortunately, but I have this one. They're sooo damn good.

After that, we went to Austin's indie bookstore called BookPeople. I love coming here, and love knowing how often they host author events. One day I might be lucky enough to catch one; I'm still trying to get over how Ali Hazelwood was coming the evening of the day my flight took place. Sigh.

I always thought they had the cutest table displays, they were very creative. This time they had a Valentine's day themed display with a box where you could insert a note with your favorite book boyfriend's name, or a note to him (I think). Another thing I always look forward to seeing in bookstores are their trinkets. They had the funniest-looking claw clips of which I regret not taking pictures of because they had hot-dog shaped ones and fruits. Then I saw the $28 price tag and I didn't find them funny anymore.

These cat ornaments were so cute too, and a little more affordable.

I ended picking up Kafka's Diaries. I was so happy because they never have Kafka at my local bookstore, so I HAD to take it. I've only read The Metamorphosis by him but after the emotional damage from that short story, I need to know what's in that man's mind.

Another thing I was excited about during my walks with the dogs around the neighborhood were the Little Free Libraries. I always thought the concept was so smart and helpful to others. It made me wish I had brought books of my own to leave there. Except for Zodiac Academy, that book pissed me off so much my boyfriend took me to sell it for $3.67 at Half-Price Books. I think this was the moment where my dislike for these "dark romances" started growing, eventually leading me to consider Fiction and take a little break. I spent a total of two weeks and a half in Texas, so I returned on the 13th. Time went by so fast and I just can't wait to spend time with my boyfriend again and visit more bookstores and libraries. He was able to get a library card from his neighborhood's library. They were undergoing renovations so they were working from their mobile library at their parking lot. It was the cutest thing! 

I asked the librarian about the requirements to work there, because I'm looking to pursue an MLS at Texas Women's University. She was so nice and helpful, and it turns out she also studied there.

Man, I love Texas.

Selfie of me shushing and my boyfriend mewing.

I've also posted a vlog on youtube about my days here (I sadly didn't include the ducks and the dictator goose).

I had such a great time, so I hope you enjoyed reading about it! Until next post <3

- Alondra 💌

When Romance Loses the Plot

Y’all… I need to get this off my chest.

I don’t know if it’s because my frontal lobe is developing prematurely, or if I’m simply outgrowing dark romance and novels with romance as the primary plot.

Or maybe I’m just not in the mood!

But I haven’t been in the mood for a couple of weeks now.

My first read of the year was How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn, and obviously, it was a Christmas romance. However, I enjoyed it because of the competitiveness between the main characters, and knowing about the everyone’s business in the town (so I love gossip, sue me!). But when it got to the ~steamy~ parts, I was just… bored. 

I was listening to the audiobook as I cooked/baked, my boyfriend unfortunately falling victim to hearing Storee and Cole get busy with a candy cane. It was just hilarious, but the chemistry? Don’t ask me where to find it.

I usually pick romances as a pallet cleanser after binging fantasy books, but lately they’re not hitting as they used to. I’m currently reading The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore and it’s not bad, but I can’t help but fantasize about Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas.

As I was miserably walking around the airport last night (God, I miss my boyfriend), I started listening to Lights Out by Navessa Allen and I didn’t get past chapter 2. This is all I had to say:

Lights Out by Navessa Allen


yk what it’s my fault.

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Instead of desperately jumping into other reads (which I kind of did in the past 48 hours), I thought: what if I try some fiction? It’s not my usual genre of preference, but I have to admit I’ve been drawn to it ever since I read Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Malibu Rising. If it has messy family drama, I’m all in. 

During my trip to Texas my boyfriend let me pick some books, honorary mentions being Franz Kafka’s diaries and My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh. The Hotel Nantucket I bought at Office Depot’s bargain books bin, and I’ve seen it so many times it felt like it was waiting for me to finally buy it. These were my picks:

Books in picture:

• Franz Kafka’s Diaries
• The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand
• Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
• The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore
• My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

I don’t know if it’s the over-saturation of porn without plot on TikTok, but I think it’s time I return to my fantasy books and also explore the fiction genre beyond my academic assignments. My comparative literature professor was the one who recommended Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, and I ended up crying to my boyfriend about Gregor Samsa. “He was such a good man,” I would say. 

Don’t get me wrong, I do love a good romance story with well done character development (like Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez). But lately, it feels like the popular romances are written on a rush to get to the spicy parts. It’s not insta-love anymore (a trope I already hate), but insta-lust. So, in the meantime, I’m staying away from the #Booktok table displays in bookstores. Life is too short to not read books with characters you root for and love stories that make you smile to yourself like a dumbass whenever you think about it. 

I have a feeling 2026 will be a good reading year! 

- alondra 💌

Review: The Awakening

The Awakening by Caroline Peckham
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

DNF at 75%

I’m sorry but… although it was entertaining I felt ZERO attachment to these characters. I wasn’t expecting the professor x student, which is a trope I already despise. I didn’t read far enough to see an actual romance develop so someone please enlighten me and spoil everything to me.



At the same time I was listening to the graphic audiobook and as a puerto rican, listening to Diego using random Spanish words annihilated me every time.

There were some parts were I assumed I was supposed to cheese over, like when these abusive characters would say things like "you're mine" "she's mine" "my source" etc. I just cringed. I didn't find them attractive at all. And them admitting it's not fun anymore when the twins just accept the bullying? No thanks.



never talk to me or my son ever again

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Mourning Doves on a Sunday

 How do you cope through grief?

Do you use humor to the point your relatives begin to wonder about your sanity?

Do you clean the house like a maniac?

Do you distract yourself with baking, knitting, or reading? 

Or do you journal, as if writing a letter to your godfather will let him know you wanted him to see you graduate?

I do all of the above. 

I was so happy when the universe granted me one more Thanksgiving and Christmas to spend with my godfather; because I spent nights begging while praying, "Just one more."

Once 2024 arrived, I knew I looked like a fool asking for another.

Just one more.

But the universe knew I would be asking every year, had it granted me my wish again. 

But I couldn't bring myself to be more selfish as I grew more aware of how much he was suffering while he continued to get ill. So I came to terms with the fact that the man who raised me was going to die.

The man who's responsible for my dinosaur obsession, my passion for fantasy and useless knowledge about the history of the Earth. He would've loved to see the Jurassic Park lego set I built with my boyfriend.

During my 21 years of life, I have grown to cherish sunny Sundays that made me feel so nostalgic. When I was a kid, whenever he had errands to do or family to visit during Sundays, I tagged along. After he would offer me a mint from his ridiculously abundant candy stash (the middle armrest's only purpose), we would hit the road. Then, as he tapped the armrest along any Salsa song that was playing, I would stare at the sky and repeat words in my head until they no longer felt like words. I don't know what was wrong with me, but I knew I was happy. 

And somehow, for some reason, the skies were always so blue and crisp. As if God himself took his time painting it for me. As if He subconsciously prepared me for my godfather's absence once I learned to associate the blue skies with the smell of his car's leather seats, and being awakened by mourning doves during a Sunday nap.

I've been so busy with college and traveling to the hospital that I haven't noticed it's been weeks since I heard a mourning dove. Until Friday, which was the day he passed away. But I promised myself to take it as a good omen, of love and comfort. That everything is going to be okay as long as I don't forget to look up and not take for granted the skies he–from now on–will clear for me.

Life Update and New Beginnings

Consistency is my worst enemy, lol. 

Anyways, long time no see!

I've been focusing on college, and it has brought me nothing else but joy. Because I've finally switched!

For the second time, I transferred to another university and this time I'm here to stay until it's time for the exchange I hope to do; studying abroad has always been a goal and I can just feel the possibility inching closer.

I transferred to the University of Puerto Rico (Rio Piedras) and despite the judgmental looks of pity from my previous private university classmates, I am so happy to be here. Those judgemental looks stem from the university’s reputation, which often brings out differing opinions from the people I talk to. Some think of it as the best university in Puerto Rico, meanwhile others only offer me a stank face.

First day of class at UPRRP (August, 2023)

The humidity as I walk around campus will be the death of me, but–once again–I couldn't be more happy to be here. I'm so proud of myself for having the courage to act quick as soon as I find a new passion and not feel ashamed of my desire to study in as many places as my scholarships will allow me to, LOL.

I currently have 15 credits, and I have to admit that although I have been nothing but responsible with my assignments, I'm struggling to find a balance between work, college assignments, studying, my social life, and other hobbies. I've been meaning to get back to my YouTube channel, so we'll see how that turns out.

I've also been reading A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, which is the third book in the ACOTAR series, and I have been HOOKED from the start; so expect a good review on this one :). Audiobooks have been of great help lately to get more reading done, and it's actually motivating me to read more. Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to surpass my reading goal this year by a few books :D.

Do you like audiobooks? Which books have you been reading lately?

Twisted Love (Twisted Series #1): Review

Before I share my Goodreads review, I'd like to point out that y'all didn't lie to me about Alex Volkov, lmao. 

Twisted Love by Ana Huang is a grumpy x sunshine trope where we're introduced to Ava Chen (Miss Sunshine) and Alex Volkov (Mr. Grumpy). While Alex likes to drown himself in his own angst and the world's darkness, Ava is a ray (ends up being his ray) of sunshine, softhearted and always searching for the good in people. Even in Alex's multilayered heart.

My Goodreads Review:

Twisted Love by Ana Huang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure when or how, but I'd started seeing Ava less as Josh's baby sister and more as a woman. A beautiful, pure-hearted but feisty woman who might be the death of me one of these days.

Okay... I understand what people said about the book's pacing; it was a little weird. I wouldn't have minded if the book was around 500 pages if it meant all the plots in the story would've been developed with more detail. It felt like they rushed through Alex and Ava's relationship's development just to get into the bigger stuff (Ava's trauma and Alex's revenge, or whatever); and it truly just felt... bland. I think the spicy scenes saved it a little bit.

Overall, it's not that it was a bad book, but it could've been better. What the fuck was Operation Emotion? It was so dumb, please 😭.

Either way, since I loved Bridget so much I'm so excited to get into the second installment, Twisted Games. Hopefully, it's even better! :D

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