Tag: RaeAnna Rekemeyer

Books, Fiction

LGBTQ+ Romance in Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

RaeAnna
Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

Worth A Read Yes
Length 384
Quick Review Elle and Darcy are complete opposites. After a disaster of a date, they end up faking a relationship to escape the familial judgement accompanying the holidays.

My reading habits trend toward nonfiction and classical literature. As a blogger, I’ve been trying to branch out more. In 2020, I have read more fluff than I’ve ever read in my entire life, and it’s been great. Not because the books are great, but because this year sucks. That being said, I looked forward to reading Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur because it is a rom-com with two women at the center of the love story. 

Elle is the co-owner of an astrology company with her best friend and roommate, Margot. They’re partnering with a popular dating app to create something new and innovative for users. The app’s owner sets Elle up with his sister Darcy, an actuary. Due to being complete opposites, the date is a complete disaster; however Elle and Darcy embark on a fake relationship to get them through the holidays.

Reading Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur in Baytown | Dress | Flag |

If this ruins the story for you, you’ve not read or watched enough rom-coms… meaning this is your first. Elle and Darcy fall in love in the vein of: opposites attract. Woah. Written in the Stars is a cute novel that’s well written. There’s nothing revolutionary or phenomenal about it and hits all the common beats in a rom-com. At its heart, it’s just another love story. I like it more because it’s a rom-com with two women going through the motions of falling in love. 

Even though I didn’t hate this book, I really enjoyed the female friendships that both Elle and Darcy have. They’re full of unconditional love and support. I will never get tired of reading about realistic representations of female friendships. There are not enough healthy depictions of women supporting women, and I will always show up for them. 

I’m kicking off my Christmas reading with Written in the Stars because it’s my favorite that I’ve read so far of the holiday books. It’s well written with good dialogue. The holidays are a part of the storyline but not the driving factor. I definitely suggest giving it a read the Christmas. 

Memorable Quotes
“ One too many exclamation points and you’d sound too eager. Whether you chose lol, rofl, or haha said something about you, about the conversation. How you spelled the word okay mattered, each iteration distinct in tone. K, of course, was in a league of its own, and if there was a period behind it? Chanceres were, things were not, in fact, okay.”
““No one is worth feeling like you’re not good enough, that you’re not amazing exactly as you are.””

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Title: Written in the Stars
Author: Alexandria Bellefleur
Publisher: Avon Books
Copyright: 2020
ISBN: 9780063000803

Books, Fiction

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

RaeAnna
It’s not a plane, but it’s a form of public transportation! | Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano | Top | Shorts |

Worth A Read Yes
Length 352
Quick Review A little boy is the sole survivor of a plane crash and navigates the after when he moves in with his aunt and uncle.

I would really like to give Dear Edward by Anna Napolitano a glowing review, but I read it a little while ago. It was decent enough. I remember the plot line, but it didn’t make a huge impression on my mind. 

Edward was on a plane with his family and older brother when it crashed, killing everyone except for him. He goes to live with his aunt and uncle who are reeling from the new direction their lives have taken as his guardians and working through their own trauma. Edward finds comfort and friendship in the next door neighbor’s daughter. 

The plot jumps between present day for Edward and the time on the plane before the accident. During the periods where the story focuses inside the plane, the plot looks into the lives of several passengers and their points-of-view and back stories. I think it’s a beautiful and poignant aspect of the novel because it shows the complexity of life and how each person is going through something quietly on a plane in the midst of a much bigger story. It shows how precious and unique life is up to the very end. 

My favorite and most memorable aspect of the novel is the relationship between Edward and Shay. They’re the same age and become best friends. They have a really interesting and intense relationship. I love the acceptance, respect, and love they are able to have for each other even at the age of twelve.

Dear Edward is a good read. There are a lot of really beautiful parts, but I’m not in love with it. I’m glad I took notes as I read because I would have forgotten most of what was in the book outside of the friendship between Edward and Shay.

Memorable Quotes
““My camp counselor won’t even let me read during lunch. She says it’s because reading is antisocial, but I think it’s because she’s actually Joseph Goebbels.””
“This is the subject that defines women. Having babies. Will you have them? Can you have them? Do you want to have them?”
“There is a cycle that normal people ride: They wake up with the light, rub their eyes, get hungry, eat cereal, go about their days, and then with sunset begin to wind down. They eat again, watch TV, yawn, and climb into bed.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Title: Dear Edward
Author: Ann Napolitano
Publisher: The Dial Press
Copyright: 2020
ISBN: 9781984854780

11..., Lifestyle

11… Ways I’m Getting in The Christmas Spirit

RaeAnna
Posing at the Renaissance in my Celtic Christmas outfit even though it was pouring. | Dress | Cardigan | Wellies | Purse | Earrings | Necklace |

I’ve been having difficulty getting into the Christmas spirit this year. There’s not really a reason, but I have a sneaking suspicion it may have something to do with 2020. 

In America, there is a long and heated debate on when Christmassing begins. For the correct people, like me, it starts at midnight on November 1st. Halloween is the gateway holiday to Christmas. For the wrong people, it begins after Thanksgiving. 

My love of Christmas has not waivered, but I think 2020 has taken an emotional toll. Just maybe. There’s a slim possibility. Teensy chance. COVID, the election, buying a house, having a herd of dogs, quarantine, not traveling, and the in betweens has sapped my perpetual enthusiasm. I’ve been able to tap into my Christmabsession at friends’ homes, but my own house is lacking even a hint of Christmas. So I’m trying to really get into the spirit now that Thanksgiving is behind us.

  1. Celtic Christmas at The Renaissance Festival Last Saturday, I went to the Renaissance Festival here in Texas. The theme of the weekend was Celtic Christmas, which was very fun. There were loads of Christmas trees and decorations everywhere. A lot of musicians were playing carols. The only down part of the day was the rain. It poured—and I mean POURED—the entire time we were there. It only got worse the longer we stayed. Honestly, the most authentic part of the festival was the mud. 
  2. Baking I’ve been spending a lot of time at my friends’ homes the past few weeks, and I decided to fill their houses with Christmas cookies. It definitely helps.
  3. Decorating I was a part of decorating my friends’ house. That counts, right?
  4. Fires I love a good fire. There is something so cozy and lovely about it. They make me feel like it’s winter and Christmas is coming. In my house, I have a gorgeous fireplace; unfortunately, it’s gas, but now I don’t have to clean it out. I recently became the owner of a fireplace key, so I can use it. Man oh man, I have had a fire everyday this week. It’s been amazing.
  5. Christmas Music I have turned the Christmas music on. It makes me sing and dance, which helps me get into the mood.
  6. White Christmas This is my favorite Christmas movie. I will watch it all year round, but it definitely gets played on repeat this time of year. I finally watched it the first time this season on Saturday night. 
  7. Starbucks Christmas Cups They always bring me joy when they’re released. I love them. They bring the joy of the season with them. 
  8. Grinch, Home Alone, Elf These three movies have already been watched a few times because my friends love them. I can’t argue; they are classics and deserve to be watched repetitively. So good. 
  9. Holiday Reading Every year since I started blogging, I only read holiday books and publish holiday book reviews, so prepare yourself for the onslaught. This year I’ve tried a few different ones than usual. 
  10. Christmas Content I love taking Christmas content. It’s so fun and helps get me in the spirit. Although, it will probably look a little different this year because of COVID and the world being a dumpster fire. Hopefully I can find a few Christmas locales to take advantage of. 
  11. Thinking About the Family Christmas Card With five new additions to the family, I’m not sure what this card will look like. The last few years, we’ve dressed up and included Beau. I’m not sure if all six of the dogs will have Christmas outfits this year or not. Stay tuned to find out!

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Experiences, Travel

Postponing My Scotland Trip Due to COVID-19

RaeAnna
All the things reminding me of not being in Scotland. | Clanlands | Frommer’s | Lonely Planet

I have had to cancel a lot of really amazing trips this year and so many others went without being planned at all. I’ve been doing my best to stay home, stay safe, mask up, and flatten the curve. It’s not been fun, but it is the right thing to do. I’m also immunocompromised, so it’s the best thing for my personal health. 

All that said, having to stay home and not travel has been the worst part of this year for me personally. The hardest trip to postpone was my trip to Scotland. I was going to go in the spring, but then it was pushed to November, and now it’s been pushed until further notice. I’m a bit heartbroken to be honest. I had it all planned, and my soul has been aching to explore Edinburgh and the countryside. I was supposed to be exploring the Highlands right now. Alas, I’m sitting at home in front of a roaring fire surrounded by my six dogs.

My present is not a bad one. I’m complaining but not. I love getting to be with my fuzzy family and enjoying the holidays, but I was so very excited to experience a taste of Scottish holidays. 

I bought a couple tour books for Scotland a year ago to prepare because I’m that kind of traveler. I read them both within a week of buying them. I had my whole itinerary planned down to the Airbnbs I would be staying at. I’m not going to tell you all the details because a) I don’t want to bore you with the could have beens but have not happeneds and b) It’s still happening so c) I won’t ruin all the fun for those who want to follow along someday.

When I realized my trip was not going to happen yet again, I decided to buy a sweatshirt from my favorite band, which happens to be very Scottish. Tide Lines is amazing. If you’ve never heard their music, pay more attention to my Instagram stories and go check them out. I love them so much. I also bought Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish’s book Clanlands because I can and I’m adding salt to my wound. I also grabbed a copy of the first edition of the Hidden Scotland magazine.

I’m really hoping 2021 sees a vaccine and an opening of borders. My heart is yearning to walk the streets of UNESCO’s City of Literature, Edinburgh, and find a beautiful coo on the side of the road. 

Anyways, I’m done complaining about my sad first world problems. I’m going to go back to reading and not writing reviews about the many, many, too many books I have read and piled in front of my computer as incentive to write reviews. 

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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11..., Lifestyle

11… Ways I Have Avoided Dealing With 2020

RaeAnna
#12 I’ve also been dancing it out a whole lot! Although, that’s nothing new. | Skirt | Top |

2020 has been a shit year. I hate generalizations, but I think the world will agree with me on this one. It’s been a Biblical plague level disaster of a year. Part of me is so ready for it to be over, and the other part of me is terrified 2021 will pop and say, “So you thought 2020 was bad? Wait and see what I have planned.” I am truly concerned that this is the new reality for the world. My biggest life goal as an adventure seeker and travel enthusiast is to see the world. 2020 was supposed to be a year of international travel. None of that happened, but I am terrified in my core, that this is the new status quo. What if I can’t see the world? 

I’ve been emotionally distancing myself from 2020. Even though this year has produced more fodder for my social justice focused writing career, I have not been able to actually write about it. It hurts my heart too much. So I have spent all of 2020 avoiding 2020 and not doing my job and writing about the world and how it’s a dumpster fire on steroids.

  1. Puppies… I’ve been avoiding this year with puppies. Not only is this good for my mental health and increases the amount of love and affection I have in my life, it has also been good for the puppies. They didn’t die on the street with their mom from exposure or starvation. That’s dark but not untrue. I love my dogs, and they drained the life out of me for many months, but I would not change a Goddamn thing. 
  2. Netflix… They keep making new shows and movies, and I must watch them or I won’t know what’s going on in the world. Or I add them all to my list and never feel like I’m in the mood for that particular show or starting a new series or a movie or whatever so then I… [see #9]
  3. Sleep… I have never been a great sleeper. I pushed my parents sleep deprivation limits within the first year of my life because I didn’t sleep. Now, I just push my own limits of sleep deprivation. With work being less crazy—thanks COVID—and me having nowhere to go, I’ve been trying to give myself a normal human sleep schedule for the first time in my life. It’s not going great.
  4. Nyquil Induced Sleep… When I can’t sleep and I need to sleep but the anxiety is too high, I do the healthy thing and drug myself to sleep with Nyquil. Why am I admitting this online? In the vain of honesty? Maybe I’m just too sleep deprived to know better. Either way, this is a thing I do sometimes. 
  5. Relentless Existential Crises… The inside of my brain is not a happy place. I am an existentialist (just kidding, I’m a full on nihilist but that doesn’t sound as cute). I trend towards nothing means anything! and why do I even try? and my credit score won’t matter when I die! and it will all end in the Big Crunch anyways! Like I said, not a happy place, and this is what I crawl in bed with every night.  
  6. Reading… I have been reading without writing book reviews. Woops! There is a very large pile of books waiting to be reviewed sitting on my desk. I need to get to them, but I haven’t been able to force myself into being a productive human and writing down my thoughts for you all to not read. 
  7. Anxiety Induced Paranoia… Hi! I’m a human. I have anxiety. It’s debilitating and sometimes gives me streaks of paranoia. Like: My life-partner no longer loves me and has changed the locks, left my stuff by the curb, and won’t let me back in the house all because he fell asleep, forgot to plug in his phone, and can’t answer my call because the phone is dead. I absolutely do not have abandonment issues. But the anxiety monster pops up and says: You’re not worth being loved, so here’s a terrible situation that could TOTALLY happen and has happened. You’re now homeless. Best wishes. 
  8. Staring At My Computer and Doing Nothing… I absolutely am always productive. This is a lie. There are some days when I say “I’m going to be productive!” So I sit down at my computer. Open a document to start writing and finally make a tiny dent in my ever growing pile of books and blog posts I want/need to write. As I gaze upon my computer with my hands on the keys, I am overcome by the feeling of NOPE! So I stare at my computer and pretend like I was productive for two hours before saying, “Well, I tried.” I end it all by cuddling dogs and reading another book I hope to review someday. 
  9. Rewatching Shows I’ve Already Seen Too Many Times… This is a thing people with anxiety do. They rewatch shows over and over and over again because it’s comforting because we know what is going to happen. Instead of starting new shows, I just rewatch the old ones. This is the most productive thing (other than puppies) that I have done during quarantine. Sue me. I didn’t bake sourdough.
  10. Planning To Tackle Projects And Then Never Doing Anything… I NEED TO SET UP MY OFFICE AND PAINT MY HOUSE. I haven’t. I have all the things I need for my office, and yet it hasn’t been done. Oh well. That’s life. I know in my head what my house will look like when it’s done. It is beautiful. Reality: The walls are a terrible and dated color of greige. 
  11. Staring At The Ceiling… When in doubt. Lay in bed and stare at the ceiling doing nothingness. Seriously. Nothing but drown in self-doubt, anxiety, worry, and nihilism. 

Sending all my love to everyone who reads this and everyone who doesn’t. The world is a terrifying place right now. I’m hoping it gets better and we can all see and love one another again. Until then, I’ll just be here keeping up with avoiding 2020. 

bisous un обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Books, NonFiction

Childhood Trauma in Alan Cummings’ Not My Father’s Son

RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 294
Quick Review A beautifully honest dive into heartbreaking memories that helped create an incredible talent in actor Alan Cummings. 

Reading Not My Father’s Son with my boy, Knight.

Alan Cummings is a celebrated actor with exceptional range. Acting wasn’t just a calling, it was a means to an end, the way to survive being at home with his father. He revisits the childhood trauma that led to an acting career with painful sincerity in his memoir Not My Father’s Son. 

Growing up in rural Scotland, Alan Cummings was different. He was not the son his father wanted. He was not like his older brother, but his brother did not inspire warmth or fatherly love either. He recalls the moments and memories that made him full of abuse, joy, fear, and affairs. With each heartstopping recollection, a vivid picture of the resilient man Cummings became solidifies in the reader’s mind. Adulthood meant escaping the house that held so many terrifying years and life to be proud of, but even in the face of freedom, Cummings’ past is a part of his present. 

I have a love for memoires. Memory is fascinating, and what stays in one person’s mind as a defining moment in their lives tells a great deal about who they are and how they see themselves. Not every writer can delve into their emotional past with the same raw integrity Cummings does. He has an intense ability to capture his childhood fears and memories and desires for better within the page. There is bravery in the way he writes and tells the world, ‘This is who I am and who I came from, but I am more than this.’ As a grown woman dealing with the psychological violence of childhood, I could wholly identify with Cummings as I read, “It is a startling thing, the need to feel utterly believed.” Violence does not happen in a vacuum, but it is often recovered from in one. Having just one person who believes in the truth of your story is a powerful thing and the greatest gift you can give a survivor.  

Trauma and violence is a fickle thing. Cummings is able to bring words to the effects of living in a home where violence is as much a family member as his mother, brother, and father, “I actually think the prolonged period of tension before landing his blows, as we were systematically inspected, chided, and humiliated, had a far worse effect than the actual hits.” The relationship between parent and child is so emotionally complex. Even in the face of violence and being the target of hatred, Cummings doesn’t shy away from the complexity of this relationship with his father and the need to be a good son in Not My Father’s Son, “My father continued to have affairs throughout my childhood, and they were not subtle or discreet.” “I understood that I had to collude, to protect my father, even though he didn’t deserve it.”

Not My Father’s Son is not just the story of Cummings’ relationship with his father, though it is devoted heavily to it. His mother was an integral part of the family and who he would become. For as much belittling as he experienced at the hands and words of his father, he also experienced true love and compassion from his mother, “She [mother] told me I was special and loved. And actually, having two such opposing messages, although confusing, was ultimately pretty healthy. My father told me I was worthless, my mother that I was precious. They couldn’t both be right, but they evened each other out and I began to make my own mind up, not just about myself but about everything that was going on around me.” 

Cummings is sensational at creating an emotionally grounded and tangled picture of growing up. For every person who has experienced violence or trauma, it is a revelation. I did not live his life in any way, but I could find my own story within his truths. Not My Father’s Son is the story of one man overcoming and living with a childhood that could have ruined him. Through the pain and the violence, Cummings shows grace. One of the most touching and human moments can be found in the acknowledgments when he thanks his father, “Thank you, Alex Cumming, for siring me and ensuring I will have lots of source material. I forgive you.” It is a beautiful memoir. 

Memorable Quotes
“It has not been pleasant as an adult to realize that dealing with my father’s violence was the beginning of my studies of acting.”
“Memory is so subjective. We all remember in a visceral, emotional way, and so even if we agree on the facts—what was said, what happened where and when—what we take away and store from a moment, what we feel about it, can vary radically.”
“For yes, being a woman, even one with a penis and for the purposes of drama, really made me feel that women have been coerced into a way of presenting themselves that is basically a form of bondage. Their shoes, their skirts, even their nails seem designed to stop them from being able to escape whilst at the same time drawing attention to their sexual and secondary sexual characteristics. And I think that has happened so that men feel they can ogle them and protect them in equal measure.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Title: Not My Father’s Son
Author: Alan Cumming
Publisher: Dey St. (William Morrow – HarperCollins)
Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 9780062225061