teatimelit

Spotlight: Caitlyn’s Favorite Shakespeare Plays

Well, with April coming to a close as does my William Shakespeare month (though am I ever not talking about Shakespeare?). I’ve really loved focusing on Shakespeare and his works this month. As I said at the beginning of the month, Shakespeare’s works have been so influential to so many, so it’s been awesome to check out works that have been modeled after his as well as reading his works.


Originally my goal was to read all 39 of Shakespeare’s plays by the end of this month, but alas due to just life in general that has not happened. As of now, I’ve read 11 plays, so my goal is to now finish them by June. We’ll see how that goes. While I haven’t read/reread all of his works before writing this post, I do know which plays are my favorites because they’re the ones I always gravitate to and ones that mean a lot to me.

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Spotlight: If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

As we know, this month I am celebrating all things Shakespeare in honor of the Bard’s birth/death month. Today, I’ll be discussing my favorite book, If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio.

Note that this post does include major spoilers, so if you haven’t read If We Were Villains yet and don’t want to be spoiled, check out the book before you read this post.

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Blog Tour + Spotlight: Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olsen

Isda does not exist. At least not beyond the opulent walls of the opera house.

Cast into a well at birth for being one of the magical few who can manipulate memories when people sing, she was saved by Cyril, the opera house’s owner. Since that day, he has given her sanctuary from the murderous world outside. All he asks in return is that she use her power to keep ticket sales high—and that she stay out of sight. For if anyone discovers she survived, Isda and Cyril would pay with their lives.

But Isda breaks Cyril’s cardinal rule when she meets Emeric Rodin, a charming boy who throws her quiet, solitary life out of balance. His voice is unlike any she’s ever heard, but the real shock comes when she finds in his memories hints of a way to finally break free of her gilded prison.

Haunted by this possibility, Isda spends more and more time with Emeric, searching for answers in his music and his past. But the price of freedom is steeper than Isda could ever know. For even as she struggles with her growing feelings for Emeric, she learns that in order to take charge of her own destiny, she must become the monster the world tried to drown in the first place.

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Blog Tour + Spotlight: I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre

Emma is a die-hard romantic. She loves a meet-cute Netflix movie, her pet, Lady Catulet, and dreaming up the Gay Rom Com of her heart for the film festival competition she and her friends are entering. If only they’d listen to her ideas. . .

Sophia is pragmatic. She’s big into boycotts, namely 1) relationships, 2) teen boys and their BO (reason #2347683 she’s a lesbian), and 3) Emma’s nauseating ideas. Forget starry-eyed romance, Sophia knows what will win: an artistic film with a message.

Cue the drama. The movie is doomed before they even start shooting . . . until a real-life plot twist unfolds behind the camera when Emma and Sophia start seeing each other through a different lens. Suddenly their rivalry is starting to feel like an actual rom-com.

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Spotlight: The Loss of All Lost Things by Amina Gautier

The fifteen stories in The Loss of All Lost Things explore the unpredictable ways in which characters negotiate, experience, and manage various forms of loss. These characters lose loved ones; they lose their security and self-worth; they lose children; they lose their ability to hide and shield their emotions; they lose their reputations, their careers, their hometowns, and their life savings. Often depicting the awkward moments when characters are torn between decision and outcome, The Loss of All Lost Things focuses on moments of regret and yearning.

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Spotlight: While I Was Away by Waka T. Brown

Blackbird Fly meets The Farewell in this empowering middle grade memoir from debut author Waka T. Brown, who takes readers on a journey to Japan, where she was sent as a child in the 1980s to reconnect to her family’s roots.

When twelve-year-old Waka’s parents suspect she can’t understand basic Japanese, they make the drastic decision to send her to Tokyo to live for several months with her strict grandmother. Forced to say goodbye to her friends and what would have been her summer vacation, Waka is plucked from her straight-A-student life in rural Kansas and flown across the globe, where she faces the culture shock of a lifetime.

In Japan, Waka struggles with reading and writing in kanji, doesn’t quite mesh with her complicated and distant Obaasama, and gets made fun of by the students in her Japanese public-school classes. Even though this is the country her parents came from, Waka has never felt more like an outsider.

If she’s always been the “smart Japanese girl” in America but is now the “dumb foreigner” in Japan, where is home? And who will Waka be when she finds it?

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Spotlight: Caitlyn’s Most Anticipated February Releases by Black Authors

One of my favorite things about starting a new month are the new book releases. There are some truly amazing books coming out this year, my TBR seems to grow every day. As February is Black History Month, I will be prioritizing reads by Black authors. There are lots of great books by Black authors being released in February, and I thought I’d highlight 5 that I’m especially looking forward to!

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Book Recs: 2021 Releases Based off of Your Favorite Schitt’s Creek Character

Just like everyone else we know, Caitlyn and I have rewatched Schitt’s Creek over quarantine (maybe even a couple times), and it’s really helped us cope during this time. In celebration of Schitt’s Creek first premiering on this day in 2015, we’ve teamed up again to bring you all a book recommendations post, based off of your favorite Schitt’s Creek character. Without further ado, here’s what 2021 release we think some of our favorite Schitt’s characters would pick up! 

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Spotlight: Caitlyn’s Favorite Books of 2020

Well, everyone, we did it. We survived 2020! I am very proud of all of us. With the year coming to a close, I thought it would be nice to look back on all 147 books that I read this year (as of this post) and spotlight my favorites! Picking favorite reads is always incredibly difficult, especially this year, but I wanted to make sure that I took a moment to appreciate all of the amazing books that helped me get through this year. When I was choosing my favorite books of the year, I also wanted to make sure that I chose books that were new to me and not include rereads. That being said, here are my favorite reads of 2020.

  • ✼: ARC
  • ✧ Debut

I have done my best to list all trigger warnings that I can think of from my own personal notes, other reviews, and from websites like Book Trigger Warnings and Trigger Warning Database. That being said, there may be things that I have forgotten and if so I apologize! If you’ve read any of these books and notice that I’m missing some triggers, please please let me know so that I can update the trigger lists!

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Spotlight: Taylor Swift Playlistathon Wrap Up

Hello, yes it is another Taylor Swift related post on teatimelit. We really do love Taylor, folks, and you know what? She has blessed us in 2020. Today I’m posting my wrap-up of the Taylor Swift Playlistathon on Twitter, hosted by the lovely  Lisa (@lisamariereads), Daryan (@daryanreads), and Kasey (@kaseycanread). The read-a-thon took place from November 13th 2020-December 13th 2020, featuring prompts inspired by every song on Taylor’s eight studio albums from Debut to folklore (rip us we had no idea another album was coming). 

With a total of 121 prompts, there were lots of options and I personally am the kind of person who will pick a book to read and then see if it fits one of the prompts as opposed to picking the book because of the prompt. I’m big on mood reading, so if I’m not in the mood to read the book I just won’t finish it. That being said, I completed 25 of the prompts, which is actually way more than I had anticipated reading, so I’m really happy with that! 

  • ✧: ARC
  • ✬: An ARC but as now been released
  • ✢: Reread

I have done my best to list all trigger warnings that I can think of from my own personal notes, other reviews, and from websites like Book Trigger Warnings and Trigger Warning Database. That being said, there may be things that I have forgotten and if so I apologize! If you’ve read any of these books and notice that I’m missing some triggers, please please let me know so that I can update the trigger lists!

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