told myself to slow down, then read 12 books 🫣 yolk, escape rooms and rock n roll [cc] 

re: bridgerton i love the show ESPECIALLY season 2. specifically season 2. particularly season 2. season 1 is still good until the SA that happens which sours the whole thing for me. but season 2. season 2.

Where The Crawdads Sing! I just CANNOT get over how beautifully the author is able to depict nature. The end (last like 25 pages) was a little *meh* for me after how fulfilled the rest of the book was for me, but still gave it a 5/5!

My best book of the month was “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck - OMFG! My most delightful book of the month was “Book Lovers” by Emily Henry - I devoured it too! And my biggest surprise was “Don Quixote” - by Miguel de Cervantes - So funny, but so tragic. It kind of made me feel bad for laughing out loud at some moments, since a mental illness is involved.

my biggest surprise this month was “conversations with friends” by sally rooney. i decided to read it before i watched the tv show. i still haven’t made up my mind about this book, but i couldn’t put it down. i was so intrigued by the narrator’s thought process and behavior + the interactions between the characters. i loved that it sparked actual conversations between me and my own friends as i was reading. nonetheless, i’m not sure what’s my opinion on it (LMAO).

still recommending Moti on the Water for you, it’s a wedding romance so it ties in with your previous video 😁 it’s got island hopping so perfect for summer, also, food!!

I am SO PUMPED for this video!! The way you describe things is chefs kiss 🤌

Favorite books this month were Dave Grohl’s memoir and Dial A for Aunties. Also really enjoyed Nghi Vo’s novellas!

The painting in the background is truly amazing :)

Favorite and most surprising this month was Vladimir by Julia May Jones. Loved the conversations around gender roles, relationships, and the ideas around women feeling responsible for their partner's actions.

For the month of May I read "The Girl with the dragon tattoo, and currently reading "The girl who played with fire." I am really enjoying this series.

Wow, 12 books, that's amazing 👏 I can't decide whether Normal People or A Man Called Ove was my favourite this month... loved both of them 🥰

I read Song of Sorrow and State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury this month and I absolutely loved them. Drew me in wholly and completely and captured all of my attention. The kind of books where it’s all you think about until you pick it up again. 5/5 100% recommend!

I read Locke and key vol 1, heartstopper 1-4, the stranded, under one roof, this is how you loose the time war, deadly class vol 3-5. 11 altogether!

My biggest surprise was my life in France by Julia Child. Didn’t think Julia Child would be such a good writer. I just read Viola Davis’s biography this month it was so good.

I definitely recommend listening to Viola Davis’s memoir on audio! Listening to her tell her own story was SO powerful!

This month I read Yolk, Ugly Love, The Unhoneymooners, All Boys Aren’t Blue & Behind Closed Doors. My favourite book was Behind Closed Doors and my least favourite book was Ugly Love🫣

Re Bridgerton, I've watched and really enjoyed both seasons - fun, addictive, great romances - but I had the same issue with S1 as you. I was really loving the romance until around halfway through the season when, really, we straight up have one half of our pairing sexually assault the other in a pretty triggering scene, and then this event is framed as absolutely fine (even justified) behaviour, with no criticism of it within the narrative whatsoever. In fact, it ultimately gets that character what they wanted out of it. Frankly I'm astonished that when adapting this to screen the writers/show runner didn't alter this part of the story. That said, I enjoyed the rest of the season but it put a big dampener on it and I was no longer enthusiastic about our main couple. I'd still recommend watching if you think you can get past it. If not, S2 was was brilliant and much less problematic - really great enemies to lovers storyline - so I'd definitely recommend just starting from there!

I tried reading the Duke and I after watching both seasons of Bridgerton on Netflix and it was ughh not great. I love the show though! Particularly season 2. Season 1 is great for the aesthetics, the music and the side characters but I didn’t love the romance as much. Season 2 though??? I’m obsessed with Anthony and Kate 😍

Hey Noelle! My favourite (& biggest surprise) is Bernadine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other. It's soooo beautiful!

This month i finally got on the Taylor Jenkins reed train and didn’t expect to like the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo as much as i did. I’m usually not into historical vibes but i ended up flying through it and now wanna read more by TJR!

Since you're into memoirs i would recommend "This is going to hurt" . It's a doctor's memoir, super funny, but also heartbreaking. I think you'll love it!

My two favorite romances of all time are Book Lovers and The Hating Game also. That being said, you should watch Bridgestone season 2. LOVED IT!!!! I think you’d like it too.😀

Hey Noelle! Do give Bridgerton 2 Viscount who loved me a shot. It is my fav from the series. Season 2 is totally different from the show. And maybe you can do a video comparing your thoughts on the books and the show! Tropes- Enemies to lovers, bold female protagonist in hist romance, sibling energy, family bonding.

My favorite book I read in May had to be Crying in H Mart! I also read Pachinko and loved it!! I would say my most surprising read was Majesty by Katharine McGee in the American Royals series. I read it about a year or a year and a half ago and remember really liking it but the second book did not live up for me and I did not like how it ended and the direction of some of the characters were being taken.

Just honestly so obsessed with your sense of humor, truly makes me laugh out loud. My little sister shared your channel with me a while ago, and the clip that sold me was you talking about August from Beach Read… and I was like YUP IM IN!! Have loved your videos ever since! 🧡😊

I feel like there are better choices than ugly love so hopefully you read more from CoHo (my fav one was November 9)

Bridgerton the show was amazing! It’s a must watch! They do a better job with that scene you described in the show

My best book of May: Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Biggest surprise: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (I thought it was just.. a romance. Still great but wasn’t ready) Most delightful: HEARTSTOPPER omg, obsessed.❤️

The Pattie Smith memoir sounds great. Noelle you should really give a listen to some 60s and 70s rock n roll. IMO the best music ever recorded by talent which we will never see the likes of again. So many wonderful songs and artist.

If you want a fantastic escape room book you should read “Escape Room” by Megan Goldin it is so good

I don’t usually jump on the bandwagon when it comes to what social media does. So I haven’t and probably never will read CoHo. I wasn’t planning on watching bridgerton. BUT my friend forced me to watch it, and you know what! 1st season, good! 2nd SEASON!!! Amazing, delicious. Kate and Anthony??!? Loved it

I yesterday only finished reading "Ugly Love", and was feeling something just don't know what, so the only thing i wanted was YOU to talk abt it n share ur thoughts,, i looked up alot of ur videos to see if u ever have talked abt it, found literally nothing,, AND HERE WE ARE!!! OMG😂❤️ I'm like, 'what are the odds :)))' Thx for creating the content you do,, love every bit of it..hope u hv a good day!!❤️✨

Oh I just started Piranesi yesterday for The Storygraph Book Club. I'm not really into kind of mystery books, but I'm already half way done that story. So far it's been quite interesting. Can't wait to hear what you think about it!

beach read!!! i love love LOVE pwmov but i thought beach read wasn't my thing. picked it up a few days ago AND IM HOOKED OMFG!!!! pwmov is still top-tier but im loving this book as well!!! ALSO BRIDGERON SEASON 2 SUPREMACY. wth was season 1 honestly. couldnt get over the SA. but kanthony ftw!!!! 🦋💗💗💗

I work in a secondary school as a maths teacher. Your videos got me back into reading about a year ago. And now I read out loud to my tutor group of SEN students and have got them all interested in reading! We’ve read six books together since September and some of my students had never finished a book before and are now on their second or third independent read. I wanted to leave a comment so that you could see some of the positive impact your actions have :D thank you!

The best book I read was NightBitch- and I’m shocked!

AHHHH where did you get the P&P art in the background??? I NEED IT

Hiii Noelle! I have watched both season 1 and 2 of Bridgerton. imo I liked season 2 more. Season 1 never really discussed or gave a good explanation for the sexual encounter you read on the book and I, like you, did not like that at all. I ended up disliking the character. On season 2 the characters are better (although I think they could be better) but there’s one character that it’s highly disliked and I always wanted to skip her parts. Idk, I don’t think I’ll continue watching the series. It’s just not for me. I’m happy you had a good month, btw! And my surprise of the month was Great Circle. It’s too much plot for me and I was expecting I would be more attached to the characters but it never happened. So it felt like I read 400+ pages and felt nothing.

I read the Golden Couple and i loved it as much as i didn't 😂. A great read but predictable. i also read It Ends With Us and that book ended up being a lot better than i was anticipating. So incredibly sad i cried so much lol

Just see the show!!! ❤️Season 2!!!🇵🇹

favourite book was book lovers and delilah green doesn’t care biggest surprise was conversations with friends because i hated normal people last year but i gave this 4.5 stars!

Noelle, please read The Light Between Oceans. I love the book and I think you'll love it too.

The spicy scenes in Book Lovers were surprisingly the best ever, like so well written and romantic without ick.

SHOOK over Book Lovers beating out The Hating Game!!!

I hope youre gonna LOVE piranesi. I read it this year in february and it became my new favorite book. Its confusing to get into but its so rewarding when you finish it. I loved the magical realism of it and the writing

One of my favorite this month was Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt don’t hear a lot about it but I loved it! 5 star

I’m curious, did you delete your goodreads and instagram? do you have a storygraph?

Fav book of the month - The Night Circus Didnt particularly dislaike anybook. It was a great reading month Book that surprised me - The curious incident of the dog in the nightime. I dint think i would love it as much as i did Also i have to add the Heartstopper graphic novels because they were absolutely adorabe!!!

I devoured Book Lovers and it's so good so glad you loved it too!!

Please do more vlogs! Miss seeing more into your life and what you’re up to 🧡

Just here to say I am the second comment and I am very proud of this accomplishment

I feel the same way you do about Book Lovers. I read it so quickly and it tops my list of favourite romances. It was the best book I read in May. Worst book was The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary.

I’ve been binge-watching ur videos all over again and even reading some of ur recommendations lol 🙃🖤 I’m currently loving Exes with benefits Kind of has a Sweet Home Alabama (movie) vibe

i read „the last house on the needless street“ this month. i really enjoyed this book and was suprised by the twist at the end

love watching your videos as I cook! my unexpected favorite for May was The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. really caught me off guard with its refreshing perspective and humor but also real emotion

“Immediately has feelings in her nether regions” so funny 😂 love your monthly wrap ups Noelle!

I love the 60’s-70’s Just Kids sounds right up my alley 😍

Didn’t really read too much this month, but the book I enjoyed the ‘most’ yet I still had somewhat mixed feelings about was the shining (King), also the hate you give I enjoyed somewhat slightly more than on the come up by Angie Thomas

I didn’t think I could love Noelle more then she does a British accent 😂❤️🥰

Favorite Book this month: Malibu Rising! Wow, I devoured/loved this book. I loved the vibes/atmosphere- I wanted to become a lil stoner, surfer, beach bum while I read this and for some time after 🤣🤣🤣 Least Favorite/Biggest Letdown: Book Lovers 😢 It was just okay for me. The characters didn’t do it for me. The sister relationship I felt was really odd and immature. I just couldn’t get into it or care about the characters. Biggest Surprise/Didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I did: Part of Your World. I really enjoyed this rom com that had magical elements. It wasn’t perfect or a 5🌟for me but it captivated me and I was invested in the town and the love interests. Currently reading: The Martian- thanks for the summer rec video Noelle. Love you so much and hope you are enjoying your summer!

You have to read Reminders of Him by CoHo. It’s her first book I read where I really felt for the characters and was so worried about what would happen with them. My favourite of her books for sure.

Two books that I read and really loved were Beach Read and Funny You Should Ask!

I’ll say the later Bridgerton books are better then the first one. If you watch the series and wind up liking a particular sibling maybe just skip to their book.

I loved Reprieve so much, and I have about 100 pages left of Patsy, and I’m loving it too

Best book I read: RAVENHOOD SERIES BY KATE STEWART!! What shocked me: CORRUPT!! By Penelope Douglas. HONEYYY 🥵 ! I wasn’t expecting that!!

Book Lovers was by far my favorite of the month, soooo good! I said the same thing about it beating the hating game for me! I'm hesitant to say that but man....just so good. And then my biggest disappointment was Book Of Night by Holly Black.....Oof 😳 It was terrible lol 😂

I’d love the Patti Smith book. I’m in my 40’s. I’m glad you reviewed it. Now I have an inkling of its content. 😀

I didn't like the Bridgerton books but I LOVED the show. It's so good and drama filled. There's humor and scandal. So good

My favorite was Hotel Magnifique. A bit dark at times but SO SO good. I was very pleased.

YESSS PIRANESI ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS EVER!

Piranesi is, without a doubt, my favorite book of all time. Susanna Clarke is one of my favorite authors. i hope you enjoy it. i’ve recommended it to everyone and all of my customers at B&N.

I wanted to love Reprieve and I felt like it failed as an escape room horror and as social commentary (it made interesting points, but it never took them anywhere). I finished it not really understanding some motivations and feeling like we absolutely needed the haunt owner’s POV to get the full story.

biggest surprise for me was Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao. I randomly got it at a second hand book store, not many reviews on goodreads at all but it was SO GOOD. it also had a lot of hand symbolism and imagery that I think you would like!! very heavy topics though. biggest let down was Home Before Dark by Riley Sager. really thought i was going to enjoy it and actually realllllly did not. it was annoying and frustrating most of the time and then the last 30 pages throws so much at you.

Can't wait to read Book Lovers had it in my hand at B&N about a week ago and put it down. Will pick up on my next trip to B&N next mo th or pick it up from my library.

The way I gasped when you said Book Lovers beats out the Hating Game for you 😮😧

my favorite books this month were disorientation (U SHOULD READ IT!!!), i kissed shara wheeler, and book lovers! i think i kissed shara wheeler is the most surprising because it all really hit me at the end of the book how much i loved it 🥰

With Bridgerton, I found (and am finding) the books to be very middle of the road. The tv series though is quite stunning, I love the way they have adapted and modernised it. I particularly love the way they have used modern music.

Book Lovers, duh💁🏻‍♀️ it was a great read! I also listened to We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson and it was interesting. I liked the narrator and I plan to physically read the book some day!

Also bridgerton season 2 is EVERYTHINGGG. The YEARNINGGG!!! You must watch

Told myself to slow down and now I’m in a book slump 😂

It took me a long time to watch Bridgerton because I had heard of the consent issue. I was really disappointed that they left it in the show and I had a similar feeling as you described with the book. I really enjoyed the show still, and especially season 2.

Just Kids is such a good book! I read it almost 15 years ago, and still remember so many details!! I didn’t realize how much she expects you to know who she is talking about in the books, but I picked it up specifically wanting the behind the scenes of some of my favorite artists and musicians, so I had a different perspective.

May Favorite: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo May Disappointment: The Paris Apartment

Fully agree with you about "The Duke & I". After that horrid scene, I will also not be continuing with the books.

Definitely just watch bridgerton. The second season is so good, I liked it even more than the first

i hated season one of bridgerton, didn’t expect to watch season two, WATCHED SEASON TWO, LOVED SEASON TWO

My fave book of May was Finding Me by Viola Davis! Highly recommend the audiobook which is narrated by her! Annnnd I also didn’t enjoy ugly love for the same reasons BUT It ends with us and All your perfects are soooooooo much better and I feel like the characters in those books are way more relatable/ loveable/ understandable? I also heard that her newest novel Reminders of Him is absolutely amazing.… Anyway, maybe you’re willing to try one more Colleen hoover ?? Love you x

I read Josh and Hazels Guide to Not Dating, Book Lovers, Saga volumes 2-4, Beach Read (re read), Midlife Crisis with Dick and Jane, Fan Girl, the Summer I Turned Pretty, Maus vol 2, Under One Roof, Heartstopper vol 1, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, and the Hating Game (re read). Favorites were Book Lovers, Maus 2, and Heartstoppers. Least favorites were Midlife Crisis with Dick and Jane and the Summer I turned Pretty.

All my reads this month was 4 ⭐️ for me, but my favorite was You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter! So adorable and I loved all of the movie rom-com references :)

Bridgerton: The show is EVERYTHING! (Costumes & scenes visually stunning, script is witty, banter is clever. The music beautiful) The books not so much, IMO.

OKAY WAIT NOELLE WAIT!!! The duke and I is terrible but THE SECOND ONE??? everything to me! The Viscount who loved me is perfect and I dare say better the the second season

I haven't been reading that much, so listening you talk about books always motivates me a little bit!!❤

you perfectly described how i felt about just kids! loved the story, patti’s writing, but it was so painfully hard to read this book just because of all the names i didn’t know, events that i’ve never heard about. like the story isn’t boring, the writing isn’t THAT dense, but still it took me month to finish it. i even thought of dnfing it at some point😭

I hated Ugly Love, I didn't connect with the characters and thought the relationship was forced. With that said, I gave Colleen Hoover another chance and read It Ends With Us and WOW, that one was a 5 star and I was SHOCKED. I was attached to one of the main characters, but also felt sympathy. I'm not a book crier, but this was close to getting me to cry. Reminders Of Him was another one that took me by surprise, it was a 4 star. I think the only reason I loved Verity was because it was a horror/thriller. If it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't love it. My fav book of May was actually The Love Hypothesis, it's a 4.5 for me and I was surprised I devoured it so quickly. My disappointment was Where The Crawdads Sing, gave it a 3.5 It's basically a dulled down version of one of the best movies ever, Wild Things.

The Duke and I is really the WORST and for unknown reasons, they did not change it in the show. Book two is amazing and perfect and yet, for unknown reasons, they changed it SO MUCH. I have a lot of feelings about it. Lol My favorite and most surprising read of May are the same book, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Amezi. Absolutely amazing.

Favorite this month was Before They are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie. I of course, enjoyed my reread of A Game of Thrones. My least favorite was Bridge of Clay, though I didn't hate it just didn't love it. Please watch the show! It's amazing, especially season 2.

Moved countries at the start of April and left a lot of my books at home, and haven’t had time to really read anything I brought with me. However, I saw Elektra by Jennifer Saint and had to pick it up as I loved Ariadne (her first novel) so much! Elektra was gorgeous, but I gave it 3.5 stars. I don’t really know why it was named Elektra, it’s told from the viewpoint of 3 different women. Electra’s story was my least favourite of the three also. Still, overall a gorgeous book, beautifully written with wonderful imagery. Definitely worth the read. I just started “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” and I’m really looking forward to it.💫

I usually do not like historical fiction so I was super surprised that I LOVED the book "little: a novel" by Edward Carey. Loved it so much it is one of my new favorite books. I listened to it on audible and the voice actor did such a wonderful/perfect job. The synopsis is: "The wry, macabre, unforgettable tale of an ambitious orphan in Revolutionary Paris, befriended by royalty and radicals, who transforms herself into the legendary Madame Tussaud." It's told like a fictional memoir. This both surprised me that I loved it and also became one of my favs!

It really sucks that the Bridgerton series starts with the Duke and I, the worst and most problematic book, because the rest is really enjoyable! Season 2 was AMAZING and talk about a slow burn and the TENSION. Anthony's book was one of my favorites of that series as well.