Milk and Honey - Poetry Made Palatable

Here's something controversial - I think Rupi Kaur is overhyped. I open with this because it is the crux of today's post, in which I will address the rise and consequent fall of poetry in a 21st Century setting. Of course, I am no expert in poetry or the history of it; I am merely someone who appreciates and consumes poetry and wants to have a bit of a rant at the way the general populous responds to poetry in today's society. And since this blog is my own personal screaming chamber, I feel no remorse for mouthing off about how much the glorification of Rupi Kaur irritates me. With that said, let me begin.

I discovered milk and honey in early 2016, shortly after its republish by Andrews McMeel in October 2015. I had seen Kaur's poetry previously, around and about on Tumblr back when she posted it there. If I am completely honest, I liked her poetry, and if I am even more honest, I sometimes still do. I am not here to slam Kaur's poetry, the quality of it, or debate its merits. I thought her poetry was incredibly real and didactic if a bit cheesy and lazily written at times. I thoroughly enjoyed reading milk and honey and even found myself adoring some of the poems individually. This was, of course, prior to the worldwide phenomenon that the book became, so I felt as though I'd discovered a real gem.

As more and more people flocked to the works of Kaur over 2016 and 2017, I found myself excited for her sophomore poetry collection. I also found myself irritated by the pedestal the audience of her work had begun to put her on, but I could not really verbalise why I found it frustrating.

Skipping forward to The Sun and Her Flowers, in October 2017, I was at the end of my tether with Kaur. The book is, in short, underwhelming and incredibly lazy. The writing is mediocre, the poetry is pretty much the same as milk and honey - no growth, development, or new themes were incorporated. I was disappointed in The Sun and Her Flowers, but it did bring my attention to what my underlying issue is with Rupi Kaur, and poets like her (I'm naming and shaming Michael Faudet here too). What bothers me about these poets is not their writing, which though average and derivative, is perfectly fine to publish. I am not here to tell people what they can and can't like. What truly bothers me is the reception society has given these authors - as if they are somehow reinventing the art of poetry, as if they are god's gift to literature. Kaur is worshipped as the queen of 21st Century poetry, particularly by younger audiences.

Not only do I think this attitude is undeserved and just generally irritating, I think it actively affected Kaur's writing in The Sun and Her Flowers, and not in a positive way. Whilst reading the book, it felt like the poems were written to be "clickable", to be short, sweet, simple, cliche - the kind of writing you can take a quick snap of, upload it to Instagram or Snapchat. To me, it feels as though Kaur's goal is not to write collections of intricately written, cleverly constructed poems, but rather, create sound-byte poetry which is easily read and easily shared. And though I do not inherently disagree with creating such content, it frustrates me that it is received as ground-breaking and genre-defining.

What frustrates me even further is that there are poets out there who create good, breathtaking content. Poets who slave over every word, who carefully construct long poems about pressing issues. There are young, 21st Century poets who delicately weave prose in beautiful ways, and they are ignored in light of poets such as Kaur, who write five-line poems designed to be easily consumed and shared. To me, that is not what poetry is about. And I understand that what is popular is often not what deserves to be, but the fact that poets like Natalie Wee get ignored in the shadow of poets like Kaur feels unfair to me (please go and check her out, her work is amazing).

I maintain that Kaur has a place in the 21st Century poetry scene. She is undeniably the most famous female poet amongst my generation, and presumably those younger than me, so I know that she will continue to ride the wave until the last minute. Kaur isn't going anywhere, and that's fine, but what I hope is that other writers, poets with untapped unseen talent, are able to step up and showcase their work on the platform Kaur has created. Because though her poetry is, in my opinion, overhyped, it is her who has helped to reshape the 21st Century perception of poetry. She has, in some ways, brought poetry back to pop culture, back to mainstream content. For that, I commend her. Now, I am just eagerly awaiting the poetry of writers who will be the true heroes of 21st Century poetry - I know they're out there.

If you agree or if you don't, feel free to sound off in the comments (politely please!), or hit me up on my socials. You can email me at mywordsarearrows@gmail.com with business enquires, or even just to say hi.

Thank you for stopping by! If you've been around for a long time, please let me know what you think of this new kind of content. I will hopefully be back soon with another post!

Lily

I Spent the Morning in a Bookstore...

A brief preface...
I wrote this post a month or so ago. It is part reflection, part self-centred ramble, but I hope it explains where I've been, and is an indicator of the direction I wish to take with this blog in the future.

I am writing this after spending the morning in a bookstore. There is nothing usually notable about me in a bookstore; in fact, my body used to gravitate towards the entrances even when my bookshelves were bursting and my bank account was weeping. However, it had been a while since I had been in the store; I did not quite remember the titles like I used to, where they were, how they were stacked. It was strange because once, the store had felt like home and I felt at home in it, but this morning, wandering the aisles, something felt amiss. 

This blog post is unusual for me, but I think it’s important. I have, and it pains me to admit, fallen out of love with books, with young adult, with all of that which I used to so wholeheartedly adore. I have not finished reading a young adult book in about half a year, and even then the books I have completed are far and few between. Though it pains me to admit this, I think I must, because as the modern philosopher of our generation Dr Phil says, "you can't change what you don't acknowledge". And Dr Phil is never wrong.

Part of the reason it was so easy for me to fall out with fiction is the changes in my life. Going into my final years of school and then transitioning to university took a toll on me in many ways, but most relevantly, it took a toll on my ability and excitement to read for pleasure. I found myself busy and tired and combating all the common ailments to the everyday person’s relationship with literature, and I hate to say that I fell victim to them, but I did.

However, the falling out has prompted me to this revelation, so I suppose from the ashes I rise? I do not know, ultimately, how helpful my months away from this world I used to love have been, but at least I’m here now, defibrillator in hand, zapping the chest of My Words Are Arrows. 

Another thing I will address is my home within literature because as I grow and as I change, my place becomes less and less clear. I have, for the last ten years or so, found my home and heart within young adult fiction, and especially this blog has been dominated by my engagement with YA. I have built my brand on YA fiction. From a young age, YA offered me the kind of vast adventures, relatable characters, strong and intricate relationships that I wanted to see and wanted to read about. Young adult fiction became my passion and my pride, and I would show it off to all those I met, proudly reviewing and recommending and dedicating a lot of time to reading and writing YA fiction. And I swore I would never leave YA fiction because I had such a strong unwavering belief in and love for it. So here is where I make a declaration - I will never leave YA fiction, but I will not stay within its walls exclusively. And on this blog, from here on out, I will not be afraid to address books and works that lay outside the realm of YA.

I am in a strange place in my life right now. I am 18 years old, my debut novel came out three years ago, I am studying creative writing, but I am entirely lost and often sure I have already peaked. The world we live does not lend itself to creative writers anymore, female writers especially. However, I think giving up would be inconsistent with who I am, even after all this change. I also do not have a backup plan, so there’s that. But truthfully, I miss my home in the literary scene, I miss writing posts, and I miss tearing through books. So here I am, after months on my own, standing in front of my old place in YA literature, my new place in mainstream fiction, and I am back to stay, even if I have to work it out as I go.

I hope anyone who has kept up with this blog can bear with me, and I hope the new content I produce can appeal to a whole new branch of individuals! Also, for anyone new having a peek at my blog, I apologise for any cringey posts I may have made previously. And hopefully, I'll see you all soon.

As I Descended Book Recommendation

Hello there! Today I have for you a recommendation of a book that recently came out, As I Descended by Robin Talley. This book is, in my opinion, a very cleverly written, fast-paced and spooky read that captured me very early on. If you're not already convinced, take a look at the summary -

"Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them.

Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey.

Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word.

But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily.

Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.

But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line."

If you didn't quite get it through the summary, this is a modern adaptation and twist on the Shakespeare play Macbeth. What you also mightn't know about me is that I quite like Shakespeare, and Macbeth is my very favourite play of his. So when I heard there was going to be a retelling of the play in a haunted, elitist boarding school, I was exactly as excited as you'd expect me to be (very, very excited. Shakespeare + privileged children with no parental figures to answer to and money to blow? YES PLEASE!). And fortunately, this book definitely lived up to my expectations.

The story, obviously, revolves around Maria and Lily (also just a sidenote - the Lady Macbeth character in this book is named Lily. Like me. Could I have asked for anything better?), two girls willing to do anything to secure their future together. And they do go to serious, serious lengths to do so!

The characters' descent and spiral into insanity and immorality has always been one of the most moving aspects of Macbeth for me, and it was similar in As I Descended. The book starts quite lighthearted, as the author establishes the characters and school, but it is clear that the tone begins to change as the plot thickens. The spooky, creepy feel increases exponentially throughout the book; it only gets spookier with time. The writing style Talley adopts in the book fits the tone and characters perfectly. It is written in third person from multiple points of view, and this style of narration manages to simultaneously provide great insight into the characters and their differences, whilst also creating an eerie distance from them, which only adds to the creepy feel of the book. The writing style was one of the book's greatest assets (alongside the awesome, awesome premise).

I also felt that the characterisation was done incredibly effectively throughout the book. I felt very attached to all the characters (which is a little bit depressing, if you know the plotline and consequently the fates of the characters in Macbeth...), and so it made the emotional impact and my own investment in the story very high.

The whole book was written with very clever, subtle references to Macbeth that anyone who has read the play will appreciate. From the chapter titles to the section names, the names of characters and names of different places and events, there are little hints towards the original play that never failed to make me smile when I saw them. Especially the title of the epilogue... that bit definitely got me. These references definitely added to my overall enjoyment of the book.

I would most definitely recommend this book to fans of psychological thrillers, mysteries, and obviously, Macbeth. I cannot think of any books similar to it, except maybe Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas. If you loved Dangerous Girls, I think you may also love As I Descended.

As always, let me know what you thought about As I Descended if you have read it, or if you plan to read it in the comments below or via any of my social media platforms in the banner :) If you have a similar recommendation or questions about the book, leave me a comment! And if you want to contact me for business, ARCs, a book recommendation, my own book, or just to say hi, shoot me an email at mywordsarearrows@gmail.com.

Have a lovely week and I will see you here again soon!

Lily xo

The Love That Split the World Review

Hello everyone! Today I will be reviewing a book called The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry. I really loved this book! It was cute, very well written, beautifully diverse, and filled with magic, hints of the supernatural, and all-round mind boggling plot twists.

If you’re not already intrigued, here’s the goodreads summary:

Natalie Cleary must risk her future and leap blindly into a vast unknown for the chance to build a new world with the boy she loves. 

Natalie’s last summer in her small Kentucky hometown is off to a magical start... until she starts seeing the “wrong things.” They’re just momentary glimpses at first—her front door is red instead of its usual green, there’s a pre-school where the garden store should be. But then her whole town disappears for hours, fading away into rolling hills and grazing buffalo, and Nat knows something isn’t right.

That’s when she gets a visit from the kind but mysterious apparition she calls “Grandmother,” who tells her: “You have three months to save him.” The next night, under the stadium lights of the high school football field, she meets a beautiful boy named Beau, and it’s as if time just stops and nothing exists. Nothing, except Natalie and Beau.

I don’t actually know how to describe the genre of this book… paranormal romance? Magical realism? Urban fantasy? Contemporary? Truthfully, it’s all four and more. It’s one of those books that dabbles with lots of different ideas, but doesn’t get confusing or over the top. The characters are brilliant, the story is brilliant, the magic and mythology is brilliant, and I would highly recommend. 

Despite a few complaints I have about some insta-love and info-dumping, it was still well worth reading and it will be a book I recommend heavily from now on.

***SPOILERS***

I had expectations for this book. I know, it’s a dangerous game playing with expectations, but how could I not? The cover was beautiful, the premise was enthralling, and I have a signed copy with a letter from the author that was beautifully written. I didn’t even read any reviews! I went in with very few pre-conceived ideas, just a feeling that this book was going to be amazing. It sounded a little psych thriller, a little paranormal romance, a little urban fantasy. So I did have high hopes.

And amazingly enough, this book mostly reached or exceeded my expectations! I read it quite quickly, because I just wanted more.

However, there were some things that made this book a little hard to read, and which threw me out of the story. First of all, the info-dumping. This was the first thing that hit me in this book – the sheer amount of text that is dedicated to speech or explanation. Sometimes, characters will spend a whole page explaining something, like Alice with her theories, or several pages telling a story uninterrupted. Long reams of text like that tend to throw me out of the story, and make it hard to stay engaged. 

Grandmother’s stories, although fascinating and integral to the story, seemed to drag, which was a little bit disappointing. Sometimes it felt like the characters were giving speeches or Shakespearean soliloquies, their passages of uninterrupted text went so long.

Secondly, the insta-love. I find it really hard to care about a couple who’ve been insta-love’d. And in this book, the insta-love was blatant. Natalie and Beau meet once and then BAM they’re in love. And ordinarily, that would make the love between the characters feel fake and ridiculous, but the author still managed to make me love the characters and their relationship! I’m so glad I still felt that they were real, but the insta-love was slightly disappointing.

On a side note, despite the relationship between Natalie and Beau feeling real, sometimes it got very flowery and over-the-top. Despite this, the amazing story and beautiful writing was so engaging that I was able to happily read through the overly-romantic passages and then throw myself back into the actual story.

Now onto the positive stuff. This book is exquisitely written. The author knows her audience isn't dumb, and doesn't treat them like that. She writes profoundly, with meaningful metaphors and delicately constructed sentences all within the context of a small-town teen contemporary. It's really quite incredible how the author has managed to make the book so easy to read and enjoyable, and still maintains a level of sophistication and beauty in her writing. I thought that this was one of the highest points about the book.

Natalie, our protagonist, is also quite the smart cookie. She is self-aware, conscious of her surroundings, and level-headed. This is such a step up from typical YA protags who jump headfirst into things, act impulsively and don't seem to have any awareness for themselves or the world around them. She knows what she wants, has clear goals and objectives, and works in a sensible, intelligent way to achieve them.

Another great thing about this book is how diverse it is. It really opened my eyes to different cultures, especially Native American culture. I thoroughly enjoyed that the characters in this book are not perfect, cardboard cut-out, boring characters. They're all very well developed and unique, even the minor characters.

The emotions and feelings Natalie was experiencing were very easy to feel as the audience. It wasn't hard to see her as a real person with real struggles, even if they were somewhat supernatural. Her thoughts and internal monologues were believable and relateable, and as a reader, I was able to sympathize with her and her struggles.

One element I especially loved in this book was the relationship between Natalie and Matt. It was so interesting and heartbreaking to see that this relationship, although it was enduring and normal and comfortable, was going nowhere and was actively holding them both back. But their love for one another and hesitancy to let one another go was so sad to read, because they weren't "in love" but they definitely loved one another. I feel like that was a very real element to add to the story.

The story was also incredibly enthralling. I had no idea who Grandmother was, and I would never have picked that particular plot twist. The whole time travel/world jumping plotline was mind-bending and always kept me guessing, which I love in books. I never really knew what exactly was going on. I thought the whole premise of Natalie and Beau being from alternate Unions was very clever, and made for a very interesting central plot.

The Love That Split the World is amazing. It's an undefinable, deeply emotional, moving work which captured my imagination wholeheartedly. I am extremely eager to see what Emily Henry comes up with next, and I will for sure be following her work from here on out.

If you'd like to share your thoughts of this book down below, please do! Additionally, if you'd like to let me know your thoughts, give me a recommendation, or just say hi, you can contact me via any of my social media accounts, or my email, mywordsarearrows@gmail.com.

I hope you have a wonderful week and I'll see you again soon with another post!

Lily xo

Best of 2015

Hello dearest readers of my blog! Since it is the ending of a year and beginning of a new one, I kind of have a tradition on My Words Are Arrows to discuss the very best books I read over the course of the year. And so sure enough, I am here to do just that!

2015 was an odd reading year for me, because not only did I not read more than 72-ish books, I also found that I was in huge reading slumps for long periods of time that seriously detracted from my enjoyment of whatever I was reading. Despite this, I did manage to find some amazing books that I absolutely loved, and you're going to hear about them right here! I would ordinarily have star ratings after each little piece about the book, but literally all these books were easy five stars... Which is not exactly a bad thing! I would recommend all of these books.

And without further ado! Here are my best of 2015.

I'll Give You The Sun, by Jandy Nelson

It probably wouldn't be wrong to call this my favourite book of the year (possibly tying with the next book I will discuss). I've talked about this book multiple times on here, and if you were reading my blog over the course of this year, you've probably established my undying love for it. This book is a contemporary unlike any other you've ever read. It's beautiful, poetic, profound and yet still incredibly down-to-earth and relatable. This book is hard to explain, but it follows the story of these twins, Noah and Jude, over the course of a three year time gap. Noah narrates chapters where they are thirteen, and Jude narrates chapters where they are sixteen. Something has happened between this two snapshots of their lives, but you don't quite know what. There's a bit of mystery weaved into this wonderfully emotional, highly impacting novel. It's one of my favourites of all time. If you'd like to know more about I'll Give You The Sun, you can check out its goodreads page here.

Published: September, 2014

Dangerous Girls, by Abigail Haas

If I'll Give You The Sun doesn't come first as my favourite book of the year, this definitely will. Dangerous Girls was an incredibly shocking, heart-wrenching, and extremely gripping read that rendered me speechless for hours after finishing it. The pages literally just flew away, and the story was so in depth and real. This book is a mystery/psych thriller, following a group of teens who spend their spring break partying in Aruba. However, everything goes downhill when Anna's, our main character, best friend is brutally murdered. Now, whilst having to deal with the pain of losing her best friend, Anna and her boyfriend are also under suspicion by the police for Elise's murder. Anna must now fight for her innocence in a foreign country, and await the judge's verdict. I absolutely loved this book. It's so cleverly written and beautifully put together. It's a thoroughly enjoyable, delightfully messed up novel. You can check it out further here.

Published: July, 2013

The Darkest Part of the Forest, by Holly Black

This book is one of the strangest, most unique reads I've had the pleasure of discovering this year. The Darkest Part of the Forest was the first Holly Black book I've read since reading The Spiderwick Chronicles as a kid, and it was absolutely incredible. This book is a melting pot of different genres and conventions and ideas that all work so well together, it's astounding. It's a bit of a psych thriller, a bit of a mystery, a bit of an urban fantasy, a bit of a high fantasy, a bit fairytale and a bit contemporary. It's such a strange, wonderful book that had me in awe. It follows the story of two siblings, Hazel and Ben, who live in a town called Fairfold, where humans and faeries live side by side. But Hazel knows that there is a darker truth to the faeries' existence in Fairfold. And she knows, somewhere in her, how to stop them. And then, in the middle of the forest, there is a glass coffin with a fae prince locked inside with whom the siblings have fallen in love. They imagine adventures and explorations with the prince. But he's never woken up... Until now. I would highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy something a little odd in their books. You can check it out on goodreads here.

Published: January, 2015

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Sanez

This book isn't as fast-paced and gripping as Dangerous Girls, or as mystical as The Darkest Part of the Forest. It's pensive and poetic and the prose is gorgeous. This book is a contemporary about Ari, an angry teen with a brother in prison, and Dante, a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be. This book is lyrical and special and a really nice story of friendship, love, family and discovering yourself. I would highly, highly recommend this book. It'll make you laugh and cry and feel everything with Ari and Dante. You can look it up on goodreads here.
Published: February, 2012

A Darker Shade of Magic, by V.E. Schwab
There are very few authors who I would trust enough to buy their books without doing any prior research into the book, but V.E. Schwab is one of them. This book was my very first V.E. Schwab book, although her other book, Vicious, was actually released before A Darker Shade of Magic. I absolutely adored both of these books, and especially A Darker Shade of Magic. This book is a fantasy. It has inter-dimensional travel, magic, ancient mystical mythology and incredibly lovable and intricately developed characters. This book is incredibly crafted and utterly enthralling. The prose, the world building — everything about it is beautiful. I absolutely loved this book. I would highly, highly recommend it. You can see its goodreads page here.
Published: February, 2015

Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell
This book isn't like the other books in this list. For those familiar with Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, this title will resonate, as it is, of course, the name of the fanfic Cath is writing. This book is about Simon Snow, the character from the  Fangirl book. It's quite confusing, I know! In Fangirl, there is said to be seven Simon Snow books, and Carry On is a hypothetical eighth book written from Rainbow's interpretation of the characters and story. Snow Snow is a Harry Potter-esque character, and the book is set at Watford School of Magicks. It's quirky, hilarious, emotional and utterly soul-devouring. The book sucks you into its world and doesn't let you go (for days and weeks after finishing it, as well). The characters are beautiful, and it's so sweet and funny picking up on the Harry Potter undertones (clearly Baz is a Draco sort of character, Penelope modeled off Hermione). I'm not generally a huge Rainbow Rowell fan, but this book was so heartwarming and perfect. It's my favourite Rainbow book so far, and easily made the list of my favourite books of this year. You can investigate further right here.
Published: October, 2015

So these have been my favourite books of the year! 2015 had some really amazing books, and I have enjoyed exploring more into new genres and styles. I wish you all the best for the start of 2016, and hope you have a wonderful week! As per usual, if you'd like to let me know what your favourite 2015 books are, you can leave a comment below or contact me via any of my socials. If you'd like to contact me for business, book recs, or just to say hi, my email (mywordsarearrows@gmail.com) is always open!

Have a wonderful week and I'll see you soon :)

Lily xo

Bookmas Day 12 — Printable Goodies and Merry Christmas

♫On the twelfth day of Bookmas, the book blogger gave to me, a printable gift set, a festive photo shoot, a Christmas short story, a year overview, a review for the reading, a bit of Hide & Seek, some festive reads, a post about films, reading recipes, comic book thoughts, a list of writing tips and a book rec for a mystery♫

MERRY CHRISTMAS! It is most definitely Christmas Day where I live, here in Australia, and so I am celebrating with my family and probably eating way too much pudding.

Anyways, I thought that it would be fitting for me to give you guys a gift, considering it is the holiday season and this year has been amazing, and I'd like to thank you all. So I have concocted a few little printable bookmarks that you can download from this link here. On the PDF there's instructions and such, so I really hope you enjoy these and that they serve you well!

The bookmarks are not Christmas themed, so that not only can you use them all year round, but if you don't celebrate Christmas, you can still use them!

Bookmas has officially ended for 2015... I hope you have enjoyed! If you've been busy and haven't been keeping up (I know I struggled!) in this post I will have the links to every single Bookmas post from this year shortly after Christmas. Otherwise, you can just scroll through my recent posts.

I hope you all have a spectacular Christmas, New Years and whole holiday season. Thank you so much for making this year incredible, and I'm looking forward to another year of amazing books and drowning in puddles of feels.

Now, go eat some pudding.

Lily xo

Bookmas Day 11 — My True Love Gave To Me Photoshoot

♫On the eleventh day of Bookmas, the book blogger gave to me, a festive photo shoot, a Christmas short story, a year overview, a review for the reading, a bit of Hide & Seek, some festive reads, a post about films, reading recipes, comic book thoughts, a list of writing tips and a book rec for a mystery♫

This post has been anticipated (by myself, at least) since December 12th last year. Yes, it is time for the long awaited My True Love Gave To Me photoshoot. For those who are unaware, this book is my favourite Christmas novel so far, and last year, I ordered it from Dymocks online (first mistake) so that it would come in time for me to do a cute photo shoot for Christmas. I must also say that Dymocks guaranteed me it would come before Christmas. Yeah. January 11 is definitely before Christmas. NEXT Christmas, that is. Sorry, as you can tell I'm still pretty bitter about it.

My Christmas post from last year reviews each story individually, and also addresses my undying frustration with the delivery of the book. Anyways, the reason I wanted to do a photo shoot so badly was because this book is so incredibly gorgeous. It's the prettiest book I own. And so without further ado, I will show you just why it was so important to make this post.

Isn't it just so so so pretty *love heart eyes*! This book is a blessing to Christmas everywhere. I hope you, too, have been blessed with these images of My True Love Gave To Me and that you have a wonderful Christmas Eve <3

You can let me know your thoughts in the comments below or via any of my socials. If you'd like to contact me for business, book recs, or just to chat, my email (mywordsarearrows@gmail.com) is always accepting!

Have a wonderful night, and I'll see you tomorrow for the final day of Bookmas!

Lily xo