The other day, I was telling to my boyfriend about imagining my life in Paris a year ago. Everything felt huge back then: taking the metro, going to a new university, finding an internship… well, starting a new life basically. Even though I had already done it, and not just once, it felt huge and only because it was outside my comfort zone. Now, all those things are easy peasy to me. 

It got me thinking about how comfort zone are working, and how easy it is for it to grow. Think about yourself five years back: all the things you do now may have seemed impossible or scary back then, and now they are just normal, a part of your life. The comfort zone gets bigger and bigger because you are brave enough to make the first step out of the line. 

I tend to jump right away into the new side of the comfort zone, baby steps are not really for me. Well, life never made it slow for me anyway – absolutely not complaining! But somehow, it feels good because those things or events were meant to happen. Two years ago, I would not have felt sure enough to move once again, therefore it did not happen. A year later, it did happen because I was confident and ready. That’s why the move felt easy and quick. 

“You don’t grow when you are comfortable” 

This is probably the most accurate thing ever. Settling into something safe is totally fine because you need to feel secured in your own life – if not, what’s the point? But settling in without taking risks or making changes in your life won’t make you grow or open to new possibilities. I know sometimes it’s really hard, those steps seem impossible to make. And it will take time to make them happen, to make them normal. But once it is, you can only feel ready to conquer new fear, right?

PS : Oh. Yes. Putting my face here, without make-up on and messy hair is not part of my comfort zone at the moment. I try to be better at that, sort of. 

The two lives of Lydia Bird by J. Silver 

This book focuses on Lydia who recently lost her fiancé. We follow her through her grief and her new life as just one person. The originality of this book is her “second life” when she dreams that her lover is still here. I’m half-way through this book and it’s a bit long for the moment with too much perfection put in the relationship, but it’s still nice to read at the moment. 

If I never met you by M. McFarlane 

 

Oona out of order by M. Montimore 

I’ve heard mixed reviews about this one but I am intrigued by the concept of the book with the different timelines. It’s not really a romance story but I love contemporary fiction in general. 

Wild at heart by K.A. Tucker 

I saw this one on goodreads and I read “Alaska”, “romance” and “log cabin”. Sold. This is the sort of cozy read – I hope – that I will enjoy reading to relax and think about nothing else but the story. I think it’s the second book of a series, therefore I hope I’m not going to be lost or anything without reading the first one. We’ll see! 

The worst best man by L. Score 

Again, thanks instagram for this one too. I only know that this one is about a wedding and some characters being perfect stereotypes of what we are looking for in a romance. I don’t expect much from this one but it’s not really a problem as I’ve got the third book of Outlander to be finished after all of those above – and we all know that Outlander is not a light read! 

I hope you are safe and well, wherever you are. Stay focused on the one around you, those you love and those you don’t know but need others. Focus on something you love, for my case it’s books. Sending lots of love!

Because of the situation right now in the world, I believe we need to distract ourselves from time to time. Listening to the news all the time is definitely not my way to go. This is why I want to keep my blog going with light – or not – topics that are important to me, because sharing what we like is a form of self-care, thinking of something else than the fear, panic or whatever is happening outside. So today, I wanted to share my pancakes recipe because it’s lighter to talk about that than the universities closing and the shortage of toilet paper. Let’s not close our eyes on what’s happening, let’s just say we all need to relax on something light and funny. 

The other day, I was on the hunt for healthy and quick breakfast that would fill me until lunch, and I found this recipe that I really love. I’ve done it twice now and even my cat likes it (things are probably better when you’re not allowed to eat them anyway). It’s not sugary or anything, it’s quite filling and good, depending on what you’re putting on it. I personally love adding some honey or peanut butter. 

120 g of rolled oats

120 g of flour

300 ml of milk (of your choice)

1 dose (small packet) of baking powder 

1 tbsp. of sugar (optional) 

2 eggs

What’s your favorite topping when it comes to pancakes?

It's hard for me to be really addicted to a book, but when it does, I can't put it down until it's finished. This was the case for The au pair, and it was great. The book follows the story of Laura, an au pair in a rich family in England. She takes care of this little boy with an unstable mother who takes her own life after giving birth. The other timeline follows Seraphine, 25 years later, the daughter of the dead woman, who found something really strange about her family after her father's death. She starts her own investigation until it blows her family over.

I wanted to read this book because I used to be an au pair. I thought the story would focus on that part only, but it was so much more. I wanted another opinion of the experience, find some similitudes to my own story. Fortunately, I did not have the same destiny as hers! But I'm glad I read this book and discovered a story who get into the depth of it right from the first page. You don't have a boring introduction that adds nothing to the book, no. You are inside this strange family since the beginning, and then it get interesting.

The two story-lines concept is great because it gives more perspective, of course, but also because you have two period of time, 25 years appart. You get to see what really happen while discovering it with Seraphine. Moreover, you discover something at every turn of the page, every sentence is interesting to read because you try to understand, with the characters, what really happened that day. You have so much suspense and investigation - in a way - that you always need to know more. And in the end, you find yourself finishing the book in just two days because you could not put it down.

I was a bit disappointed by the end because it was a bit last minute and too easy, as if the author wrote the story without knowing how the end's going to be. Appart from that, I loved this book!

Outlander 2 by D. Gabaldon 

Oh boy, it was such a long one (and yet, one of the shortest of the series…). The Outlander series is incredible because of all the details that are put, all of the historical facts and the daily life of people more than 250 years ago. It was long, but it was very good. I knew the story and I believe that it helped me having a good knowledge of the characters and locations, but it’s still bloody interesting. 

Claire and Jamie are two amazing characters. They are inspiring, modern and so brave. Adding to that new characters who are so human and not so historical in a way (how to write about Louis XIV in a novel, Gabaldon does it amazingly!). There were moments I thought quite long and boring, especially when nothing really happens and it’s just about details. But the whole thing is brilliant, intelligent and really addictive. 

Petites natures mortes au travail by Y. Pages 

Well, this one was not my favorite. This book and the next one were to be read for a class about work and literature, but this one was probably too different for me. It is composed by short stories of different jobs with words that change a bit. Sometimes, it is hard to find what job it’s about, and sometimes I think the writer just goes too far. It’s original and very short, but not very interesting in the end. 

Aux animaux la guerre by N. Matthieu 

A thriller you have to read for uni? I say yes! This one was good, but the end was a bit disappointing, a bit like you needed more, or like an unfinished story. It was quite quick to read and easy to understand. Nonetheless, the timeline and the different periods can be quite confusing for the first read – oh yes, I had to read it twice. Lovely. 

The main story was interesting, the thriller bit, while taking place when a French factory is closing. We also follow some teenager in that city, but in the end, I did not see the point of that because it added nothing to the story. I won’t say I would like to read it again, but it was quite nice to read something else than a classic for a change! 

Here are the books I read in February, I hope you had some good ones! Tell me all about them.