Friends with ARCs | The Bookish Life of Nina Hill + The Arrival of Someday
July 24, 2019 • Abbi Waxman, adult fiction, contemporary, Friends with ARCs, Jen Malone, The Arrival of Someday, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, young adult fiction

What kind of trivia night would you be good at? If we were competing regarding Disney movie songs or characters, I think I'd be a good team member to have!
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill was released on July 9, 2019 from Berkley Books.
I received an ARC from the publisher for review.
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill was released on July 9, 2019 from Berkley Books.
I received an ARC from the publisher for review.

Were you part of any competitive team events, athletic or otherwise, in high school? There was a very, very brief time when I was part of the swim team during our sports festival. But aside from that, I can't say that I was into competitive team activities!
The Arrival of Someday was released on July 23, 2019 from Harper Teen.
I received an e-galley from the publisher via Edelweiss.
The Arrival of Someday was released on July 23, 2019 from Harper Teen.
I received an e-galley from the publisher via Edelweiss.
Sláinte, Ireland! Part 02
July 19, 2019 • Dublin, family, Ireland, Macky, travel, trip recap, Westlife
I can't believe I finally got to cross a new place off my travel bucket list. The place in question, as the title of this post totally gives away, is Ireland. I've wanted to visit the Emerald Isle since I was a child, and to be able to have that experience and share it with three of the people I love best in the world - Macky, Mel & Rachel - was truly special. I'm very excited to share all about our trip!
[As a special note, anything I particularly loved during our trip is marked with a heart – it’s something I’d personally recommend taking the time to do if you’re planning to go to Ireland. I’m happy to answer any more questions if you’ve got them, so feel free to leave a comment or reach out via email or DM on Twitter or Instagram!]
Okay, so, I'm about to go into full fangirl mode for this last bit, so consider yourself warned.
Travel Tip #3: Book tickets online for timed activities. We did this for our visit to the Guinness Storehouse and the Book of Kells exhibition, it saved us a lot of time that might have been spent queueing up for tickets bought on the actual day.
- ♥ Trinity College (including the Book of Kells Exhibition and Old Library): We did see a bit of the actual university grounds, but our primary reason to pop into the college first thing in the morning was to see a very special room in person, at my request. We wandered through the exhibit that highlighted the Book of Kells (an illuminated manuscript Gospel book) and its history, before we ascended the staircase to see the Long Room in the Old Library in person. I felt an immediate sense of awe at being in a place filled with so much history, and rows and row of rare and old published work. It was so cool to finally be there in real life!
- ♥ Cliffs of Moher: Honestly, since I was a young girl, I have always wanted to visit these cliffs in person. (It may or may not have something to do with a specific Westlife video...) It was quite the drive to get there, but it was honestly worth it as we spent hours wandering down and back one of the cliffside paths. While we were there, we were blessed with both overcast skies and blue skies and sunshine and that worked in tandem with our walk to surprise us with different perspectives of the cliffs. Honestly, if we'd allotted more time for a visit, we'd probably have wandered even further or in the opposite direction, but I guess that just means we'll have to return one day.
- My Melody: We popped into this restaurant on a whim on our way back to Dublin. The place is small and cozy, and it seemed to be a place where a lot of regulars came. But personally, I thought the service and the food were both so-so and not particularly memorable.
- Sean's Bar: This was actually the real reason we were in the town where the restaurant above was, as it's got a place in the Guinness World Records as the oldest pub in the world. We wanted to be able to say that we'd stopped in and had a drink, though if we'd had more time and didn't have to make the drive back to Dublin, we'd probably have lingered to hear some of the live music and have more drinks.
Travel Tip #4: Check to see if your hotel or AirBNB is in a central location. Even if you end up paying a bit more, it'll be worth it if you can find plenty of options for food, shopping and sightseeing within walking distance from where you're staying.
- ♥ Vice Coffee: All three of us sisters enjoy coffee, so we ended up picking out this spot to try on our last full day in Dublin. The actual location is really charming and relaxed, and the staff working that morning were all very welcoming and kind. We ended up really liking all the drinks we ordered - a latte for Rachel, a Teeling Irish coffee for Mel and a Vietnamese iced coffee for yours truly.
- ♥ Lovinspoon: It was a rainy morning, so it was lovely to duck into this cozy little spot to grab an Irish breakfast (though we had it for brunch). They offer a variety of sizes (and as the sizes go up, there are additional sides included) of a full Irish breakfast, and we really enjoyed their comfort fare.
Okay, so, I'm about to go into full fangirl mode for this last bit, so consider yourself warned.
When I was 11 years old, my mom and dad took me to my first ever concert. It was a Westlife concert, the Manila stop on their Where Dreams Come True tour, and that was the night I fell deeper in love with the band and developed a love for seeing my favorite musical artists perform live. Flash forward to 18 years later, and the night of July 6, 2019, where Macky, my sisters and I were all sitting in Croke Park waiting for the second night of The Twenty Tour in Dublin to kick off. It truly feels like I've come full circle, since I got to see one of my all-time favorite bands with three people I love dearly -- and the night was incredibly magical.
The Twenty Tour was the real reason for this trip to Ireland. When the members of Westlife announced that they were reuniting to make more music together and then announced that they were going on tour, it was a no brainer for Mel and I to decide we wanted to be at one of their shows... and specifically, we wanted to be at this show. And the fact that we actually did it, that we were there to sing and dance along to all of our favorite tunes old and new, and that we joined a sea of 80,000 people to celebrate a band we all enjoyed? It still feels so surreal, and it's a night I'll never forget. One of my all-time favorite concert experiences, hands down!
Be sure to check out the first part of my Ireland diary if you haven't already!
Sláinte, Ireland! Part 01
July 18, 2019 • Dublin, family, Ireland, Macky, travel, trip recap
I can't believe I finally got to cross a new place off my travel bucket list. The place in question, as the title of this post totally gives away, is Ireland. I've wanted to visit the Emerald Isle since I was a child, and to be able to have that experience and share it with three of the people I love best in the world - Macky, Mel & Rachel - was truly special. I'm very excited to share all about our trip!
[As a special note, anything I particularly loved during our trip is marked with a heart – it’s something I’d personally recommend taking the time to do if you’re planning to go to Ireland. I’m happy to answer any more questions if you’ve got them, so feel free to leave a comment or reach out via email or DM on Twitter or Instagram!]
Ireland Travel Trip #1: Bring an umbrella and/or a raincoat. Within the span of a day, the weather can go from being really sunny to a full-on storm and back again. So, it's best to be prepared to face the elements if necessary, and you'll be able to stay (mostly) dry and warm!
- Chapters Bookstore: Thanks to Google Maps, we discovered that there was a bookstore just a few blocks away from the flat. Macky and I wound up dropping by on our very first afternoon, and were pleasantly surprised! There are two floors - the ground floor with all the new releases and merchandise, and the top floor filled with secondhand books, DVDs and CDs. We spent a good amount of time browsing through their selection and ended up walking out with four new books to add to our shelves!
- ♥ The Kingfisher Restaurant: Before the girls arrived, Macky and I ended up sitting down to dinner down the block. We had our hearts set on fish and chips (and we really liked their version), but we also tried their seafood chowder (A+) and bread & butter pudding (which I basically inhaled).
- ♥ L. Mulligan Grocer: Once the girls arrived and settled their stuff into the flat, we decided to walk over to this pub for a late dinner. It was well worth the 20 minute trek! It's got the feel of a traditional pub (which was a delightful way to spend our first night), and their offerings were tasty. We all tried a variety of alcoholic beverages (I tried a White Hag, Macky had a Godfather, Mel tried Trouble Brewing and Rachel picked out the Rascal Strawberry Milkshake) and shared Chicken Kiev, Scotch eggs and a side of corn.
Ireland Travel Tip #2: Wear comfortable shoes. If you intend to do a lot of walking (whether within Dublin's city limits or along the countryside) the way we did, you'll definitely want to ensure that your feet have the right support. It'll lessen the aches and pains you feel at the end of the day for sure!
- The Winding Stair: After a brief wander down O'Connell Street, seeing the Spire and grabbing a snack at The Rolling Donut, we wound up at this bookshop. While it was definitely smaller than I expected it to be, they still boasted a decent variety of titles (particularly about Ireland, Irish history and Irish folklore) and merchandise. I walked out without any purchases, but I'm still glad we took the time to pop in for a visit.
- ♥ Brother Hubbard: This ended up being our brunch spot for the day! The interiors are a delightful combination of bright colors, as well as natural lighting and wood. And the food was great! We had the Brother Hubbard's Lamb Mezze Tray, the Brother Hubbard French toast and their weekly special (which was a sriracha fried chicken burger), as well as their iced coffee.
- Christ Church Cathedral: We wandered past this church on our way to the next place on this list, and stopped a while to take in the formidable structure from the outside. It's always interesting to be able to see places of worship in other countries, particularly if they've been standing for as long as this one has.
- ♥ Guinness Storehouse: There was no way that we could have called our trip to Ireland complete if we didn't pay a visit to this brewery! While Mel and I are the ones who really enjoy beer out of our quartet, we all ended up tremendously enjoying our visit. We learned more about the history of the brew, how it gets made, the right way to taste it and ended our visit by downing a pint up on the rooftop bar as some pop favorites serenaded us through the speakers.
- ♥ Leo Burdock: We ended up grabbing fish and chips on a whim for an afternoon snack that we could all share. Their version of fish and chips was certainly tasty, but it was truly their garlic sauce that made the experience even better!
- Dublin Castle: Since we already happened to be wandering the area, we decided to walk by this castle. We didn't end up taking the time to go inside, but viewing it from afar was interesting as the traditional structure provided a real contrast to the more modern buildings and thoroughfares surrounding it.
- Murphy's: It would not be an adventure with Rachel if we didn't go out of our way to find ice cream! Upon the recommendation of Rachel, we ended up visiting Murphy's and it was really good. Rachel and I both had scoops of brioscai (cookies and cream basically) on cones, while Macky had two helpings of the saucy chocolate brownie special.
Check out this video my sister Rachel made chronicling our trip!
Be sure to come back to the blog tomorrow to find out about the second half of our trip!
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