welcome to my little corner of books, style and everyday comforts ♡
hi, i’m plotgirlie
reader, professional TBR over-estimator, and firm believer that buying a book and reading a book are technically two separate hobbies.
if you’ve ever finished a fantasy romance at 1:14 a.m. and immediately searched for five more books with the exact same emotional damage, you’re in the right place.
PlotGirlie started because my saved posts, screenshots, reading lists and “I’ll remember this title later” notes had officially become a public safety issue.
I wanted one place for the books I actually want to recommend, the very specific reading moods I’m constantly trying to satisfy, and all the little things surrounding reading that make it feel like more than just getting through another chapter.
So this is that place.
a little about me
I live in a small rainy city in the UK, in a compact apartment that somehow contains more books, blankets and mugs than its floor plan should legally allow.
There’s usually a half-finished cup of tea somewhere nearby, a paperback face-down in a location I definitely swore I wouldn’t leave it, and an orange cat called Binky supervising everything with the confidence of someone who contributes absolutely nothing toward rent.
My ideal weekend involves a bookstore I did not need to visit, a café table near a window, weather that gives me an excuse to cancel plans, and approximately six hours of uninterrupted reading interrupted only by snacks.
I’m very easily persuaded by pretty covers, competent heroines, political scheming, emotionally repressed men, old libraries, stormy coastal settings and the phrase “forbidden alliance.”
currently romanticizing
rainy bookstores · political intrigue · dangerous fictional men · competent women · annotations in the margins · oversized knitwear · library dates · slow burns · old paperbacks · tea before bed · secondhand bookshops · morally questionable decisions made for plot reasons
what i love to read
Fantasy romance is home base, but I’m not particularly loyal to one shelf.
I love books where the romance matters, but the world would continue existing if the couple stopped staring at each other for five minutes.
I’m very easy to convince if a book has:
- actual enemies-to-lovers
- court politics and scheming
- a heroine who thinks before running directly into danger
- arranged marriages with consequences
- slow burn with unbearable tension
- dangerous magic
- morally gray characters who are actually morally gray
- gothic houses, castles or suspiciously atmospheric libraries
- a little emotional devastation, as a treat
I also have a soft spot for classics, gothic fiction and books that make me want to wear a long coat and stare meaningfully out of a train window.
my extremely scientific rating system
I’m not interested in pretending every book can be reduced to one star rating.
Sometimes a book is a little messy but has flawless tension. Sometimes the plot is incredible and the romance is just quietly existing somewhere in the background. Sometimes I forgive everything because I had fun.
So around here, books get rated by the things that actually matter for that kind of story.
tension: ★★★★☆ /5
enemy level: ⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️ /5
spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ /5
and then there’s Binky
Binky is the orange cat you’ll probably see appearing around the site and on Pinterest whenever he feels a book, blanket, tote bag or freshly cleaned surface has been placed there specifically for him.
His literary contributions are limited, but he has very strong opinions about cardboard boxes and believes every reading session should involve at least one interruption.
He also has an impressive ability to identify whichever object I need next and sit directly on top of it.
editorial role: uninvited.
compensation: treats.
why “plotgirlie”?
Because I absolutely care about the romance.
But I also need something to be happening.
Give me the yearning, obviously. But also give me the rebellion, the mystery, the ancient curse, the inheritance dispute, the assassination attempt and at least one person making a politically disastrous decision.
I want chemistry and plot.
Preferably enough plot that I have to explain the entire geopolitical situation to someone who made the mistake of asking what I’m reading.
also: reader outfits are part of the problem now
Somewhere along the way, this also became a place for clothes I’d wear to bookstores, cafés, libraries and fictional universities where I would absolutely fail every class because I was busy investigating a forbidden archive.
Think oversized cardigans, soft knits, loafers, long skirts, little jewelry details, autumn colors and outfits that make carrying a book everywhere feel completely reasonable.
Some of those posts include affiliate links, because apparently reading was not expensive enough on its own.
and a little life between chapters
The reading life comes with a whole world around it: a corner that feels comfortable, a journal full of ordinary days, a small creative project and a café date with no one to impress.
Home & Hobbies is where those ideas live, with gentle starting points and practical ways to make your space and spare time feel more like you.
Some posts on PlotGirlie contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of those links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Recommendations are chosen because they fit the post, not because somebody paid me to pretend I’m emotionally attached to them.
anyway, stay a while.
browse a reading list, steal an outfit idea, add something unnecessary to your TBR and tell yourself you’ll definitely read the books you already own first.
we both know how this ends. ♡
