**A Delicious Morning Routine**

I woke up feeling cozy and comfortable at home, so I decided to make myself a warm cup of tea. The thunderstorm outside created the perfect ambiance for a relaxing morning. As I sipped my tea, I started watching some basketball, which is not typically my usual morning activity. However, I find that it's a great way to pass the time and get my mind off the storm raging outside.

As I was watching basketball, I couldn't help but think about how much I've transformed into a college basketball fan over the past few weeks. It's funny how our interests can change suddenly, isn't it? Anyway, after spending some time watching basketball, I decided to engage in more productive activities. I started working on making some cinnamon rolls, which are one of my favorite treats.

While my cinnamon rolls were baking in the oven, I curled up my bangs and prepared for a day of reading. The aroma of freshly baked cinnamon rolls wafted through the air, making my stomach growl with anticipation. Another cup of coffee followed soon after, and I was ready to dive into my book for the day. Before I started reading, I took some time to post some updates on social media.

**Reading Update**

I'm excited to share an update on the book I've been reading, Divine by Amina Al-Sarafi. As I mentioned in my previous vlog, this book has been absolutely captivating me from start to finish. The author's writing style is so engaging that I found myself devouring the pages eagerly. One of the aspects that I particularly enjoyed about this book was the way it explores themes such as devotion, religion, and relationships.

The main character, Amina Al-Sarafi, has had a complex past with her husbands. She's had multiple marriages, each with its own unique circumstances. While these relationships have been marked by certain...let's call them "arrangements," they've also been influenced by her devotion to Islam. The author skillfully weaves together the complexities of Amina's life, creating a rich tapestry that is both fascinating and relatable.

What struck me most about this book was the way it handles the character of Amina's latest husband. Without giving too much away, let's just say that he's not your average husband. His character is multifaceted, with a dash of humor and a whole lot of complexity. I loved how the author refused to make him one-dimensional or straightforwardly evil. Instead, he's humanized, making him relatable and even endearing at times.

The dynamic between Amina and her husband is what makes this book truly special. Their interactions are charged with tension, humor, and a deep emotional connection that's both captivating and uncomfortable to watch. The author's handling of their relationship is nothing short of masterful, allowing the reader to feel like they're eavesdropping on a private conversation between two people who are navigating their own unique set of circumstances.

**Why I Loved This Book**

As I neared the end of this book, I found myself feeling both excited and melancholic. The author had woven together so many interesting themes, characters, and plot twists that it was hard to put down without knowing what would happen next. One of my favorite aspects of this book was its ability to balance humor with drama. The author's writing is laugh-out-loud funny at times, making the book feel like a breath of fresh air.

I also appreciated how this book explored themes such as motherhood and personal growth. Amina's journey is one of self-discovery, as she navigates her relationships, career, and passions in a way that feels authentic and relatable. The author's writing style is engaging, making it easy to become invested in Amina's life and root for her throughout the story.

**A Pirate Story Like No Other**

One thing that I was a bit apprehensive about going into this book was its pirate theme. While I love pirate stories, I'm also aware of how they can sometimes feel cheesy or predictable. However, Shannon Board has killed it with this book! The way she's woven together the elements of adventure, magic, and questing is nothing short of masterful.

This book is full of twists and turns, keeping me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I loved watching Amina navigate her new life, making unexpected alliances and facing challenges that test her courage and wits. The author's writing style is so engaging that it feels like you're right there with Amina, exploring the high seas and uncovering hidden secrets.

**Final Thoughts**

All in all, I was thoroughly entertained by this book. It swept me away with its exciting plot twists, memorable characters, and themes that resonated deeply with me. If you're looking for a pirate story that will keep you on your toes, look no further! This book is full of adventure, humor, and heart, making it an absolute must-read for fans of the genre.

As I finish writing this vlog, I'm feeling grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts with all of you. It's been a pleasure reading this book, and I hope that you'll consider adding it to your own reading list.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi guys it's Reagan and welcome to the start of another reading Vlog I'm so excited about this reading Vlog because I'm reading one of my most anticipated releases of honestly the past couple of years and I saw that one of my favorite authors was coming out with a new first book and a brand new series I knew it was one that I was going to read right away so here we are and the book I'm of course talking about is the adventures of Amina Al sarafi by Shannon chakraborty otherwise known as S.A chakraborty who wrote the davabad trilogy one of my all-time favorite series so a bit more about this book so the adventures of Amina alsarafi I'm excited to read it for so many different reasons first off it's kind of like a romp it's a seafaring pirate story adventure story following our main character Amina Al sarafi who is one of the most notorious pirates in all of the Indian Ocean this is set in the 1200s or the 12th century I'm not sure which so it's either the 1300s or the 1200s and we actually follow Amina as she's looking to retire she has a daughter she's had a very full career and she's looking to kind of start a next chapter one that's a little less dangerous um because obviously you know she has other priorities on her mind that being said though at the beginning of this book she's propositioned by a very wealthy woman whose son just happened to be one of her old crewmates on one of her previous ships and her granddaughter is missing and she offers basically Amina a sum of money that she cannot ignore to go out and try to find her so here she is once again going out collecting all of her old crew and setting out on an adventure um I'm so excited about this book I love Adventure seafaring Tales I also love that this book is centering an older woman I feel like that's a very rare thing to encounter in fantasy I also feel like stylistically I'm gonna like this book I hope it's written kind of like a tale because she's like a famous figure so in like obviously obviously there's that whole thing around like Sailors and telling stories and like sit down for this you know wild adventure that occurred and people kind of embellish Fireside moment you know what I'm trying to say so anyway I'm really looking forward to this book I am so excited to have it in my hands I really feel like I'm gonna love it and the other thing I also just really enjoy about Shannon chakraborty's writing is that she's a historian so she includes a lot of historical influences and historical references to her stories even if there's like a lot of fantasy she still kind of places it and still uses the societal and historical context of the time to influence various things that are going on which personally I love it's like the combination of all of my favorite things history and fantasy and I am just delighted so it's currently Tuesday afternoon I'm gonna make lunch and then I'm gonna start this book and we're going to try to see how far I can get in terms of reading it today I I need a raw I need a I need a pirate Rob in my life I need a tale an adventure I want something entertaining that will just completely take all of my attention because I'm spending too much time on my phone once again story of my life but anyway welcome to the start of this Vlog so excited I really hope I love this book I'll be crushed if I'm disappointed by this book um but anyway let's go make some lunch as I said it's lunchtime luckily should be quick because I've done most of the work already so I'm making another like double salad situation so I made this delicious couscous salad yesterday I will show you it has it has feta Tomatoes red bell peppers cucumber herbs olives a little bit of dressing little nine yards and I'm just going to toss some arugula my head's like chopped up chop some arugula with lemon olive oil salt and pepper and combine that should be a tasty a very quick lunch good and lunch is served I've I got you glasses and I wanted to do a haul let's try them on for the first time together these are of course from glasses USA I will be showing these off in like a more traditional sponsored sit-down fashion in later months but I was too excited to not show them off now these are the Muse Mitchum classes in clear gray and oh I just love the shape of these I of course used the AR try and tool to kind of get a sense of what these would look like before I bought them which is so handy on their site I love them I also just love how clean new glasses are when I put them on my face if you guys are curious I will have these linked down below as well as my usual special offer but I'm a fan what do you think what do we think in the blue light oh about to go get so much work done it is 5 p.m I finished work for the day and I'm gonna sit down and start my book and then I'll give you guys an update on my initial thoughts and feelings happy to report I've read a very quick 60 pages of this book and I am obsessed so it has the spirit and the style that I was hoping for first off this book is told by a narrator who was told this story by Amina al-sarafi herself so it's like a double story like a layered story we don't know who the narrator is they're hiding their name and I think they'll reveal it later but I like that that's kind of a plot element in a mystery in itself um but also again structure of the story feels like we're sitting next to Amina al-sarafi and she's like recounting this bananas thing that happened I always love like a reflective style book um justice of Kings has that too I think it just I like the element of like dramatic irony and when the narrator can break the fourth wall like all of those elements I feel like really add a lot of spice especially to kind of an adventure story like this um Amino sarafi is getting the gang back together we're following her we meet her daughter you see I feel like essay chakraborty did a really great job like introducing us to her her motivations um and also like the love she has for her family and obviously like how difficult a decision it was to like go back out and risk her life um but ultimately she views that it is a chance she can't pass up to be able to provide and protect her daughter well after she's gone which I like that I feel like it just added a lot of good like character motivation I also love that Amina Al sarafi is like notorious like she is well known and culturally obviously as a woman and a pirate she is like well known because she's hated so she has all these crazy crazy rumors about her and it's really interesting to see her like comment on them or like reference them and she'll be like aspects of this or true blah blah blah blah um and there is Magic in this book I would say it's like really historical fantasy it has like dashes of magic I think it's going to be more and more as the story goes along and obviously there's a lot of and there's also a lot of references to like amina's past that we don't know about but our current but are but are definitely important to like the current day Quest and I think obviously feeding into her character and her motivations like we don't know who amina's daughter's father is there was this previous crew member that now this grandmother has come that she was his you know mother we don't know what happened to him but we know you know Amina was very close to him so there's like all of these things that are really interesting it's just funny and engaging and it's just very effective so far there's also these like other chapters that are like correspondence like sprinkled in uh giving more like historical context and just I don't know just added Flair to the overall book but reading this quickly really really liking it happy to say I'm really really liking it because you just never know nowadays um I'm going to go get changed in comfortable clothes watch Survivor because that's back on and I'm behind and uh definitely do more reading later so that's the plan watching the Survivor I love this show hello I spent most of this evening watching Survivor and playing Disney Dream like Valley but we're gonna get back to reading I'm hoping to surpass the 100 page Mark tonight um as I think that will keep me on track be able to finish this book in the next couple of days but I had to catch up on Survivor new season started I didn't realize so I had much to catch up on good start so far very very interesting but now back to so goodbye good morning it's coffee time and reading time for work time honestly my favorite time of the day if I'm being honest also I was able to read to page 140 of Amina Al sarafi last night obsessed with this book it's giving me everything I could have wanted from it Vibe wise Adventure wise can't wait to read more and then I will for sure give you an update but it's so entertaining and so fun but yet still has this like weight to it as well which I think is just all working together perfectly blueberry Eggo waffles are life lunch is served I finished my last work project of the day I also put a turtleneck on because I kind of got chilly it's still really nice out but I just I get cold easily now so I'm gonna make a cup of tea and I'm gonna go sit outside and do some reading of Amina El sarafi I actually owe you guys like a space reveal um because clay and I as I've mentioned in some other Vlogs have been working on refinishing Our Deck because we were getting outdoor furniture well great news it arrived we set it up I couldn't be more excited about it so let's show it off shall we so you walk outside too and here is the furniture ah we are so in love with it this is obviously an outdoor rug everything is from room and board I also made this little succulent planter myself we put little hanging plants and like our backyard is really starting to feel like a Vibe you know and it makes me so immensely happy so I'm gonna sit right there with my buck and some tea and we're gonna enjoy this like very mild it's very mild weather hello Matilda which is gonna get hot soon so I need to sit outside as much as I can I opted for a a chocolate oh a chocolate Earl Gray which honestly smells Divine so we're gonna steep this go read Matilda is out here arriving exploring doing her thing hello I'm out here my tea is steeping we love it and I am actually 180 pages into the adventures of Amina Al sarafi and I'm really really liking this book it's balancing kind of being an entertaining pirate tale with having like deep meaningful like characterization and character moments so well on top of that I also love that Amina is like kind of a reform pirate she's going out on this Venture for all the right reasons but she still has a pass so she has all these stories and references and don't get me wrong she's willing to do a lot of different things to protect her crew herself her family all of that stuff but she's also like not quite going about it like in the same way so seeing her have to reform and I also think like the concept of bringing the band back together for one last something or other is always really entertaining so seeing how her crew members have changed and grown and also seeing her kind of like become reconnected with people she cares a lot about in her life is also really delightful um and that's to say because all that is alongside just like a really interesting fantasy plot know we're in all these different places and Shannon chocolatey does such a great job bringing these different locales to life the vibrancy and just the liveliness of like training areas I think she really captures that well not to mention there's like an element of like um what's the word like uh mythical items like of tale of mythical items like there's magic in this world but it's more very limited and also more of a rumor but some people have like obviously are trying to locate these magical items or dig more deeply into this magical Heritage which is kind of a part of this book too and a big part of this plot line and more magic is starting to crop up which I'm really liking but also have to say I'm gonna sit here with my tea read some more watch Matilda make sure she doesn't get into anything girlfriend is always trying to eat mulch like Matilda it's it's literally dirt why are you trying to eat it in absolute disaster Zone luckily cleaning is not my responsibility when I cook but I made a recipe I made some sheet pan japchae um which is definitely a side dish but I treat it as a main meal I already ate mine it was really good this is clay and then we have leftovers but it had some crispy mushrooms and then I also added some Tofu for some extra protein so good 10 out of 10 and now I'm watching The Real Housewives of Miami starting Ted lasso season three would you believe me if I said it was almost 8 A.M it's rainy and daylight savings time the worst combination I hate how dark it is in the morning I need sunshine anyway making coffee I've been up for a little while but just been I don't like how dark it is it makes me lazy uh but anyway I feel like I have not checked in enough but don't worry that is going to change from here on out I am halfway through the adventures of a Meat House Robbie so good I love all of the incredible reveals like there's so many reveals like character reveals moments from our main characters past reveals like there's so many things to be like ooh about you know what I mean it just makes it so entertaining but right now I'm gonna get a bit of work done and then I'll do a bit of reading I like to intermix you know that's how I like to do my schedule but anyway good morning well isn't this just a Vibe everyone wouldn't you agree look at this progress oh wait there's quite literally not even a page number there okay wait hold on progress love it love to see it okay back to reading Hello friends the sauna surprisingly come out today I have been a terrible vlogger the past 24 hours and for that I want to apologize when I'm back clay went out of town starting today and I've just kind of been doing a lot of computer work but I did want to film a last minute Tick Tock so I'm wearing this dress but I'm also wearing my leggings because I was just wearing loungewear and didn't want to fully change out of it oh let me grab my book the great news is I've read to page 300 so far of The Adventures of mina El sarafi and this book is so much fun I'm having a blast reading it I love all the myth and lore and the Magical components of this story I love all the different connections and the history and also like the evolving nature of the relationships Amina Al sarafi left her life of being a pirate 10 years prior and with that decision she kind of just dropped everyone and sort of fled assuming people wouldn't want to have anything to do with her but reconnecting with her old crew to go on this adventure has allowed a lot of healing and all these like beautiful conversations to be had um this book is also just like intense it's well paced it's entertaining some gruesome moments as well it's just really interesting and it has so much going for it like such a fun pirate tale I'm just absolutely delighted by it I'm going to put my lounge clothes back on the Texas March Madness basketball game is starting soonish so in the meantime I think I'm going to eat a delicious yogurt watch some reality TV and play some Disney Dream like Valley then I watch basketball I'm trying to also decide if I want to cook for myself make something easy for myself or just order food I'm like in a real treat myself mindset because it plays it like a bachelor party so I'm like I should have my own party party for me you know so I might but I also like want to be responsible it's hard it's a hard balance but anyway happy Thursday evening raspberry Noosa these things are incredible the raspberry one in my opinion is the best but they're all good flavors an obvious dinner creation for the night is instant or boxed mac and cheese my favorite I'm playing Disney Dreamland Valley I made some tea it's about the thunderstorm outside so I'm distracting Myself by watching more basketball I guess I've just transformed myself into a college basketball fan but anyway I do plan to read soon but I don't like being home alone tonight so I'm distracting myself with lots of different simulation good morning let's make some cinnamon rolls also yes I'm curling my bangs they are ready for the oven inside and they go delicious another cup of coffee I have my book I posted some tick tocks this morning but now I'm gonna read Divine absolutely Divine cinnamon roll very consumed but it's time to do a reading update because I am just having such a good time with this book and for sure tracking to finish it today um I wanted to talk about the element of this book I don't know if I've touched on specifically that I'm really really enjoying so Amina Al sarafi in the beginning it sort of mentioned that she's had a lot of husbands um she's devouting her religion but she also used it as a loophole to have various affairs with men as long as they're her husband so naturally like the queen she is she's had many um her most recent husband though is probably the more complicated of them all because you learn very quickly that he's not natural in some way and she's also not seen him in 10 years but of course like running into everyone in this book you know he appears back in the novel and they're Dynamic and his character is so interesting because it would be so easy just to make him a character that you despise but that's not what the author does um he's kind of funny and like a shocking and dramatic way like he's not good but he also like isn't following or has to abide by the same Rules of Nature and law that humans do because he is his own thing and so like we wouldn't be able to understand him like what is natural to him is not natural to us and there's going to be dissonance because of that and so I just feel like because of this uh the author could have just made him he could have made him a lot less Dynamic and a lot less interesting uh in terms of exploring his character which I have to appreciate like he's not good but can it but like can you blame a tiger for like biting someone no like it's in their nature you know what I mean so I don't know the dynamic of it is just so good and there's like it also allows for a lot of humor this book is really funny um and I also just love like the escalation of this plot and the adventure and like the different things that they're running into it would make an amazing movie like you could just it's very visual The Experience so anyway I only have about 100 pages of this book left which I'm very pleased with and I've been enjoying the entire thing from beginning to end like it swept me away it was immediately entertaining and interesting I had no difficulty getting into this book at all which is such a relief um because when I I feel I got a lot of pressure on this book because of how much I love the author so for it to live up to my expectations and hype I also have like a little particular about pirate stories I either love them or I find them to be like very cheesy I feel like it's a fine line that the author has to walk and Shannon board he's just killing it Knocking it out of the park so yes hi guys it's Reagan and welcome to the end of the Vlog the next day let's wrap up the adventures of Amina Al sarafi I loved this book it was so much fun I mean I wouldn't say it was like the most mind-boggling fantasy read I've ever picked up but it was full of Adventure great characters endearing story lines twists and turns and I'm excited for like later installments it's definitely set up as like a quest magical object like search situation which I just think is so much fun I also just loved the character growth I love the reflectiveness on like your life and your life's journey and how you can change and also still pursue your passions but do it in a different way I just felt like it was full of like so many interesting topics looting motherhood and just so many amazing characters it was just so much fun like if you want a pirate seafaring tale that will keep you entertained this is the book for you definitely lived up to the hype and expectations I put on it which which is always a good thing and a difficult thing with a new release but yes I'm so Charmed by this I would definitely give it like a 4.5 out of 5 stars but I hope you guys enjoyed this Vlog and I will see you soon with another video soon goodbyehi guys it's Reagan and welcome to the start of another reading Vlog I'm so excited about this reading Vlog because I'm reading one of my most anticipated releases of honestly the past couple of years and I saw that one of my favorite authors was coming out with a new first book and a brand new series I knew it was one that I was going to read right away so here we are and the book I'm of course talking about is the adventures of Amina Al sarafi by Shannon chakraborty otherwise known as S.A chakraborty who wrote the davabad trilogy one of my all-time favorite series so a bit more about this book so the adventures of Amina alsarafi I'm excited to read it for so many different reasons first off it's kind of like a romp it's a seafaring pirate story adventure story following our main character Amina Al sarafi who is one of the most notorious pirates in all of the Indian Ocean this is set in the 1200s or the 12th century I'm not sure which so it's either the 1300s or the 1200s and we actually follow Amina as she's looking to retire she has a daughter she's had a very full career and she's looking to kind of start a next chapter one that's a little less dangerous um because obviously you know she has other priorities on her mind that being said though at the beginning of this book she's propositioned by a very wealthy woman whose son just happened to be one of her old crewmates on one of her previous ships and her granddaughter is missing and she offers basically Amina a sum of money that she cannot ignore to go out and try to find her so here she is once again going out collecting all of her old crew and setting out on an adventure um I'm so excited about this book I love Adventure seafaring Tales I also love that this book is centering an older woman I feel like that's a very rare thing to encounter in fantasy I also feel like stylistically I'm gonna like this book I hope it's written kind of like a tale because she's like a famous figure so in like obviously obviously there's that whole thing around like Sailors and telling stories and like sit down for this you know wild adventure that occurred and people kind of embellish Fireside moment you know what I'm trying to say so anyway I'm really looking forward to this book I am so excited to have it in my hands I really feel like I'm gonna love it and the other thing I also just really enjoy about Shannon chakraborty's writing is that she's a historian so she includes a lot of historical influences and historical references to her stories even if there's like a lot of fantasy she still kind of places it and still uses the societal and historical context of the time to influence various things that are going on which personally I love it's like the combination of all of my favorite things history and fantasy and I am just delighted so it's currently Tuesday afternoon I'm gonna make lunch and then I'm gonna start this book and we're going to try to see how far I can get in terms of reading it today I I need a raw I need a I need a pirate Rob in my life I need a tale an adventure I want something entertaining that will just completely take all of my attention because I'm spending too much time on my phone once again story of my life but anyway welcome to the start of this Vlog so excited I really hope I love this book I'll be crushed if I'm disappointed by this book um but anyway let's go make some lunch as I said it's lunchtime luckily should be quick because I've done most of the work already so I'm making another like double salad situation so I made this delicious couscous salad yesterday I will show you it has it has feta Tomatoes red bell peppers cucumber herbs olives a little bit of dressing little nine yards and I'm just going to toss some arugula my head's like chopped up chop some arugula with lemon olive oil salt and pepper and combine that should be a tasty a very quick lunch good and lunch is served I've I got you glasses and I wanted to do a haul let's try them on for the first time together these are of course from glasses USA I will be showing these off in like a more traditional sponsored sit-down fashion in later months but I was too excited to not show them off now these are the Muse Mitchum classes in clear gray and oh I just love the shape of these I of course used the AR try and tool to kind of get a sense of what these would look like before I bought them which is so handy on their site I love them I also just love how clean new glasses are when I put them on my face if you guys are curious I will have these linked down below as well as my usual special offer but I'm a fan what do you think what do we think in the blue light oh about to go get so much work done it is 5 p.m I finished work for the day and I'm gonna sit down and start my book and then I'll give you guys an update on my initial thoughts and feelings happy to report I've read a very quick 60 pages of this book and I am obsessed so it has the spirit and the style that I was hoping for first off this book is told by a narrator who was told this story by Amina al-sarafi herself so it's like a double story like a layered story we don't know who the narrator is they're hiding their name and I think they'll reveal it later but I like that that's kind of a plot element in a mystery in itself um but also again structure of the story feels like we're sitting next to Amina al-sarafi and she's like recounting this bananas thing that happened I always love like a reflective style book um justice of Kings has that too I think it just I like the element of like dramatic irony and when the narrator can break the fourth wall like all of those elements I feel like really add a lot of spice especially to kind of an adventure story like this um Amino sarafi is getting the gang back together we're following her we meet her daughter you see I feel like essay chakraborty did a really great job like introducing us to her her motivations um and also like the love she has for her family and obviously like how difficult a decision it was to like go back out and risk her life um but ultimately she views that it is a chance she can't pass up to be able to provide and protect her daughter well after she's gone which I like that I feel like it just added a lot of good like character motivation I also love that Amina Al sarafi is like notorious like she is well known and culturally obviously as a woman and a pirate she is like well known because she's hated so she has all these crazy crazy rumors about her and it's really interesting to see her like comment on them or like reference them and she'll be like aspects of this or true blah blah blah blah um and there is Magic in this book I would say it's like really historical fantasy it has like dashes of magic I think it's going to be more and more as the story goes along and obviously there's a lot of and there's also a lot of references to like amina's past that we don't know about but our current but are but are definitely important to like the current day Quest and I think obviously feeding into her character and her motivations like we don't know who amina's daughter's father is there was this previous crew member that now this grandmother has come that she was his you know mother we don't know what happened to him but we know you know Amina was very close to him so there's like all of these things that are really interesting it's just funny and engaging and it's just very effective so far there's also these like other chapters that are like correspondence like sprinkled in uh giving more like historical context and just I don't know just added Flair to the overall book but reading this quickly really really liking it happy to say I'm really really liking it because you just never know nowadays um I'm going to go get changed in comfortable clothes watch Survivor because that's back on and I'm behind and uh definitely do more reading later so that's the plan watching the Survivor I love this show hello I spent most of this evening watching Survivor and playing Disney Dream like Valley but we're gonna get back to reading I'm hoping to surpass the 100 page Mark tonight um as I think that will keep me on track be able to finish this book in the next couple of days but I had to catch up on Survivor new season started I didn't realize so I had much to catch up on good start so far very very interesting but now back to so goodbye good morning it's coffee time and reading time for work time honestly my favorite time of the day if I'm being honest also I was able to read to page 140 of Amina Al sarafi last night obsessed with this book it's giving me everything I could have wanted from it Vibe wise Adventure wise can't wait to read more and then I will for sure give you an update but it's so entertaining and so fun but yet still has this like weight to it as well which I think is just all working together perfectly blueberry Eggo waffles are life lunch is served I finished my last work project of the day I also put a turtleneck on because I kind of got chilly it's still really nice out but I just I get cold easily now so I'm gonna make a cup of tea and I'm gonna go sit outside and do some reading of Amina El sarafi I actually owe you guys like a space reveal um because clay and I as I've mentioned in some other Vlogs have been working on refinishing Our Deck because we were getting outdoor furniture well great news it arrived we set it up I couldn't be more excited about it so let's show it off shall we so you walk outside too and here is the furniture ah we are so in love with it this is obviously an outdoor rug everything is from room and board I also made this little succulent planter myself we put little hanging plants and like our backyard is really starting to feel like a Vibe you know and it makes me so immensely happy so I'm gonna sit right there with my buck and some tea and we're gonna enjoy this like very mild it's very mild weather hello Matilda which is gonna get hot soon so I need to sit outside as much as I can I opted for a a chocolate oh a chocolate Earl Gray which honestly smells Divine so we're gonna steep this go read Matilda is out here arriving exploring doing her thing hello I'm out here my tea is steeping we love it and I am actually 180 pages into the adventures of Amina Al sarafi and I'm really really liking this book it's balancing kind of being an entertaining pirate tale with having like deep meaningful like characterization and character moments so well on top of that I also love that Amina is like kind of a reform pirate she's going out on this Venture for all the right reasons but she still has a pass so she has all these stories and references and don't get me wrong she's willing to do a lot of different things to protect her crew herself her family all of that stuff but she's also like not quite going about it like in the same way so seeing her have to reform and I also think like the concept of bringing the band back together for one last something or other is always really entertaining so seeing how her crew members have changed and grown and also seeing her kind of like become reconnected with people she cares a lot about in her life is also really delightful um and that's to say because all that is alongside just like a really interesting fantasy plot know we're in all these different places and Shannon chocolatey does such a great job bringing these different locales to life the vibrancy and just the liveliness of like training areas I think she really captures that well not to mention there's like an element of like um what's the word like uh mythical items like of tale of mythical items like there's magic in this world but it's more very limited and also more of a rumor but some people have like obviously are trying to locate these magical items or dig more deeply into this magical Heritage which is kind of a part of this book too and a big part of this plot line and more magic is starting to crop up which I'm really liking but also have to say I'm gonna sit here with my tea read some more watch Matilda make sure she doesn't get into anything girlfriend is always trying to eat mulch like Matilda it's it's literally dirt why are you trying to eat it in absolute disaster Zone luckily cleaning is not my responsibility when I cook but I made a recipe I made some sheet pan japchae um which is definitely a side dish but I treat it as a main meal I already ate mine it was really good this is clay and then we have leftovers but it had some crispy mushrooms and then I also added some Tofu for some extra protein so good 10 out of 10 and now I'm watching The Real Housewives of Miami starting Ted lasso season three would you believe me if I said it was almost 8 A.M it's rainy and daylight savings time the worst combination I hate how dark it is in the morning I need sunshine anyway making coffee I've been up for a little while but just been I don't like how dark it is it makes me lazy uh but anyway I feel like I have not checked in enough but don't worry that is going to change from here on out I am halfway through the adventures of a Meat House Robbie so good I love all of the incredible reveals like there's so many reveals like character reveals moments from our main characters past reveals like there's so many things to be like ooh about you know what I mean it just makes it so entertaining but right now I'm gonna get a bit of work done and then I'll do a bit of reading I like to intermix you know that's how I like to do my schedule but anyway good morning well isn't this just a Vibe everyone wouldn't you agree look at this progress oh wait there's quite literally not even a page number there okay wait hold on progress love it love to see it okay back to reading Hello friends the sauna surprisingly come out today I have been a terrible vlogger the past 24 hours and for that I want to apologize when I'm back clay went out of town starting today and I've just kind of been doing a lot of computer work but I did want to film a last minute Tick Tock so I'm wearing this dress but I'm also wearing my leggings because I was just wearing loungewear and didn't want to fully change out of it oh let me grab my book the great news is I've read to page 300 so far of The Adventures of mina El sarafi and this book is so much fun I'm having a blast reading it I love all the myth and lore and the Magical components of this story I love all the different connections and the history and also like the evolving nature of the relationships Amina Al sarafi left her life of being a pirate 10 years prior and with that decision she kind of just dropped everyone and sort of fled assuming people wouldn't want to have anything to do with her but reconnecting with her old crew to go on this adventure has allowed a lot of healing and all these like beautiful conversations to be had um this book is also just like intense it's well paced it's entertaining some gruesome moments as well it's just really interesting and it has so much going for it like such a fun pirate tale I'm just absolutely delighted by it I'm going to put my lounge clothes back on the Texas March Madness basketball game is starting soonish so in the meantime I think I'm going to eat a delicious yogurt watch some reality TV and play some Disney Dream like Valley then I watch basketball I'm trying to also decide if I want to cook for myself make something easy for myself or just order food I'm like in a real treat myself mindset because it plays it like a bachelor party so I'm like I should have my own party party for me you know so I might but I also like want to be responsible it's hard it's a hard balance but anyway happy Thursday evening raspberry Noosa these things are incredible the raspberry one in my opinion is the best but they're all good flavors an obvious dinner creation for the night is instant or boxed mac and cheese my favorite I'm playing Disney Dreamland Valley I made some tea it's about the thunderstorm outside so I'm distracting Myself by watching more basketball I guess I've just transformed myself into a college basketball fan but anyway I do plan to read soon but I don't like being home alone tonight so I'm distracting myself with lots of different simulation good morning let's make some cinnamon rolls also yes I'm curling my bangs they are ready for the oven inside and they go delicious another cup of coffee I have my book I posted some tick tocks this morning but now I'm gonna read Divine absolutely Divine cinnamon roll very consumed but it's time to do a reading update because I am just having such a good time with this book and for sure tracking to finish it today um I wanted to talk about the element of this book I don't know if I've touched on specifically that I'm really really enjoying so Amina Al sarafi in the beginning it sort of mentioned that she's had a lot of husbands um she's devouting her religion but she also used it as a loophole to have various affairs with men as long as they're her husband so naturally like the queen she is she's had many um her most recent husband though is probably the more complicated of them all because you learn very quickly that he's not natural in some way and she's also not seen him in 10 years but of course like running into everyone in this book you know he appears back in the novel and they're Dynamic and his character is so interesting because it would be so easy just to make him a character that you despise but that's not what the author does um he's kind of funny and like a shocking and dramatic way like he's not good but he also like isn't following or has to abide by the same Rules of Nature and law that humans do because he is his own thing and so like we wouldn't be able to understand him like what is natural to him is not natural to us and there's going to be dissonance because of that and so I just feel like because of this uh the author could have just made him he could have made him a lot less Dynamic and a lot less interesting uh in terms of exploring his character which I have to appreciate like he's not good but can it but like can you blame a tiger for like biting someone no like it's in their nature you know what I mean so I don't know the dynamic of it is just so good and there's like it also allows for a lot of humor this book is really funny um and I also just love like the escalation of this plot and the adventure and like the different things that they're running into it would make an amazing movie like you could just it's very visual The Experience so anyway I only have about 100 pages of this book left which I'm very pleased with and I've been enjoying the entire thing from beginning to end like it swept me away it was immediately entertaining and interesting I had no difficulty getting into this book at all which is such a relief um because when I I feel I got a lot of pressure on this book because of how much I love the author so for it to live up to my expectations and hype I also have like a little particular about pirate stories I either love them or I find them to be like very cheesy I feel like it's a fine line that the author has to walk and Shannon board he's just killing it Knocking it out of the park so yes hi guys it's Reagan and welcome to the end of the Vlog the next day let's wrap up the adventures of Amina Al sarafi I loved this book it was so much fun I mean I wouldn't say it was like the most mind-boggling fantasy read I've ever picked up but it was full of Adventure great characters endearing story lines twists and turns and I'm excited for like later installments it's definitely set up as like a quest magical object like search situation which I just think is so much fun I also just loved the character growth I love the reflectiveness on like your life and your life's journey and how you can change and also still pursue your passions but do it in a different way I just felt like it was full of like so many interesting topics looting motherhood and just so many amazing characters it was just so much fun like if you want a pirate seafaring tale that will keep you entertained this is the book for you definitely lived up to the hype and expectations I put on it which which is always a good thing and a difficult thing with a new release but yes I'm so Charmed by this I would definitely give it like a 4.5 out of 5 stars but I hope you guys enjoyed this Vlog and I will see you soon with another video soon goodbye\n"