Blogger Imposter Syndrome (and Me)

There's been a lot of talk aimed at bloggers by certain authors on twitter lately. And it's by no means something new or something I really want to get involved in except to say that bloggers as a whole work freaking hard and we deserve better. But it has brought to my mind something I sort of struggle with in blogging almost constantly and that's imposter syndrome. So here are some of my thoughts and why they're wrong (maybe I can convince myself?).

Outstanding Dedications from My Favorite Novels

Here's the thing, I used to be one of those annoying people who skipped the dedication without a second thought and never looked at the acknowledgements nor the author's notes. I'm shaking my head so hard at my past self, because now I believe that these parts can give you an insight into the author's personality, the research they did, where their ideas came from, or - in historical fiction - what parts of the book are real vs. made up. 

The idea for this post came to me around a year ago, as I was reading Hunted by Meagan Spooner, which has one of the coolest dedications ever, I swear. (Yes, you can find it below!) Ever since Hunted, I've been playing around with the idea of collecting some of my favorite dedications - and today I am finally here with 13 of the best I could dig up!

{Royal Rantings} Can a ship ruin a book?

To clarify, in this post I'll be concentrating on novels that have a romantic sub-plot, however, are not strictly romance novel. I feel like the answer to "can a romance novel be ruined if you hate the ship?" is a pretty obvious yes, because the relationship of the protagonists is the main focus of these novels.

With that being said, my answer to the question in any novel with a ship is the same - a yes, but perhaps a more tentative one. Depending on a variety of things, disliking, or even downright hating a couple can have totally different results when it comes my overall rating and enjoyment of a novel. 

The Academy Award Book Tag!!

2018 was a really weird reading year for me - my reading tastes changed a whole heck of a lot and I also read a lot less than I'm used to. But I also read so, so many wonderful books! I've done this tag before and usually try to stick to new releases but decided not to do that this year because that's hard and I'm too lazy.

{bookish confessions} Books I Haven't Read by My Favorite Authors

Well well well, look what I have today - a new feature on The Regal Critiques, called bookish confessions.

In these posts I'll be confessing all kinds of things I'm ashamed of that have to do with reading - think of: popular authors I have no interest in, unpopular opinions etc. Although, knowing myself this might be the one and only time I actually write one of these confession posts, because I always get excited about something new, and then forget all about it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But! Do not let that ruin our fun today - in this edition of bookish confessions I will be sharing seven authors I want to hug so badly (only if they consent though. Pls, do not hug/touch/etc. people without asking, it ain't cool, not even if they're famous authors) because I adore their work. However, and I'm ashamed to admit this, there are some books I haven't yet read by them, BUT I WILL, so it's ok!? Right!? RIGHT.

A Winter's Tale: Wrap-Up Post + Giveaway Winner Announcement

It's so hard to believe that December and with that A Winter's Tale has come to an end. 

Anyhow, enough of that! Today, as the title suggests, I'm here to (1) announce our giveaway winner!! and (2) give you a smol recap of A Winter's Tale. 

First of all, I wish December could have gone on and on and on, with more and more guest-posts coming, because I was so impressed by every single one of the posts our friends created for us. So, to our guest-posters:

thank you SO MUCH for being so kind and for contributing exceptionally amazing posts! Wish I could hug you all - those of you who like/want hugs anyway. 💜

Where CW from The Quiet Pond and Vera Recommend Books to Each Other (And You Too!)

This post is part of A Winter's Tale, an event running through December for which we invited eight of our favorite bloggers to talk about their favorite books, authors etc. or share an interesting discussion. They have gone all out and gave us even better, more professional content than we expected, which is to say something. If you're here, don't forget to enter our month-long international giveaway here.

Today, we are happy to welcome:

CW from The Quiet Pond!

I discovered CW's blog a while ago, back when she was blogging at Read, Think, Ponder. Sadly, I could only follow her for a couple of months before she quit blogging, but I've remained a follower of her twitter, and found quite a few amazing books thanks to her recommendations. There's just something so convincing and genuine in her voice and her recs are always top notch. So, of course, I couldn't be happier that she 1) started her new blog, The Quiet Pond, and 2) agreed to guest-post at The Regal Critiques. I'm so excited for y'all to see what the two of us did here, and can't wait to hear your feedback! - Vera 💙

                                                   

Hidden Gems I Stumbled Upon Over the Years {Holly from The Fox's Hideaway}

This post is part of A Winter's Tale, an event running through December for which we invited eight of our favorite bloggers to talk about their favorite books, authors etc. or share an interesting discussion. They have gone all out and gave us even better, more professional content than we expected, which is to say something. If you're here, don't forget to enter our month-long international giveaway here.

Today, we are happy to welcome:

Holly from The Fox's Hideaway!

Holly's blog was one of the first I discovered as a new blogger, and it remains a favorite of mine to this day. All the work and heart she puts into her posts is really visible, and her love & dedication for her blog has inspired me so much during the years. She is friendly, welcoming and truly creative - and for sure one of my favorite bloggers. - Vera 💙

                                                   

Favourite Books or Favourite Authors - A Discussion by Olivia from Olivia's Catastrophe

This post is part of A Winter's Tale, an event running through December for which we invited eight of our favorite bloggers to talk about their favorite books, authors etc. or share an interesting discussion. They have gone all out and gave us even better, more professional content than we expected, which is to say something. If you're here, don't forget to enter our month-long international giveaway here.

Today, we are happy to welcome:

Olivia from Olivia's Catastrophe!

Olivia is one of my more recent discoveries, but I've fallen in love with her post and videos super-quickly. She comes up with some of the most interesting ideas I've ever seen, including stuff I would have never thought of myself. She also happens to be a kind and lovely person, and so I'm incredibly honored to welcome her on The Regal Critiques today!   - Vera 💙

                                                   

A Long Overdue Author Discovery: Where Ann from Dual Reads Talks About Her New Favourite Author

This post is part of A Winter's Tale, an event running through December for which we invited eight of our favorite bloggers to talk about their favorite books, authors etc. or share an interesting discussion. They have gone all out and gave us even better, more professional content than we expected, which is to say something. If you're here, don't forget to enter our month-long international giveaway here.

Today, we are happy to welcome:

Ann from Dual Reads!

I discovered Ann the same time I discovered Clare (yes, the one who's a 'regal critique' now!) and I became an instant follower of their blog, Dual Reads. Since then I've come to cherish Ann not only as a blogger, but also as a person - she is a lovely human being and I'm so freaking happy that I can call her a friend. - Vera 💙