Stories, Sips, and Shenanigans

Stories, Sips, and Shenanigans

Grab a book, pour a glass, and let's spiral together.

    • About Me
  • Real Talk – When Life Gives You Lemons…

    Real Talk – When Life Gives You Lemons…

    Dear Bookish Besties, …sometimes life doesn’t hand you the lemons gently. Sometimes the lemons get yeeted through your front door by a catapult and they’re all shouting, “SURPRISE!” Let’s review the chaos, shall we? Okay, but like on the real? I need to talk about those diaries for a second. These were not random notebooks.…

    Ashley Wilkes

    March 10, 2026
    life
    health, life, mental-health, personal, resilience, wellness, writing
  • February Wrap-Up: Reading Slumps, Tears, and Bridgerton Season 4

    February Wrap-Up: Reading Slumps, Tears, and Bridgerton Season 4

    February is supposed to be a short month, but in all honesty? It felt like 47 business days. Let’s unpack. 📚 WHAT I READ Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel This book held me hostage. Not in a bad way. In a “you WILL sit here and contemplate art, survival, and the fragility of…

    Ashley Wilkes

    March 2, 2026
    books, life, tv
    blog, book-review, books, fiction, life, reading, writing
  • Growing Up a Black Girl In The 90s (And Why Representation Matters)

    Growing Up a Black Girl In The 90s (And Why Representation Matters)

    There are two types of people in this world: I said what I said. Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s felt like living inside a cultural renaissance wrapped in butterfly clips, Blockbuster Friday nights, and theme songs that still activate something in my brain like a sleeper agent. It was a time when…

    Ashley Wilkes

    March 1, 2026
    tv
    black boy joy, black girl magic, blog, books, fiction, life, movies, representation, TV shows, writing
  • Book Review – Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

    Book Review – Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

    Okay, bookish besties. This is one of those books where I finished it, closed it, stared at the wall for a minute, “Well…that was certainly beautiful.” Did I like it? Yes. Did I love it? Not quite. Let’s unpack. 🌎 WHAT IT’S ABOUT This novel jumps back and forth between the lives of a famous…

    Ashley Wilkes

    February 21, 2026
    books
    book reviews, book-review, books, emily st john mandel, fiction, literary fiction, reading, science fiction, station eleven
  • Valentine’s Day Special: Top 10 Romance Tropes Ranked From “Cute” to “Give It To Me Now”

    Valentine’s Day Special: Top 10 Romance Tropes Ranked From “Cute” to “Give It To Me Now”

    Happy Valentine’s Day to all of my bookish besties who love love, hate love, tolerate love, or only want fictional men. Valentine’s Day is here, bookish besties, and in honor of this sacred holiday dedicated to love, chocolate, and delusional romantic fantasies, I’m counting down my Top 10 Favorite Romance Tropes – from the ones…

    Ashley Wilkes

    February 14, 2026
    books
    book reviews, book-review, books, fiction, romance, romance novels, romance tropes, tropes
  • Soft Love, Soft Life: How I’m Entering My Soft Girl Chaos Era This February

    Soft Love, Soft Life: How I’m Entering My Soft Girl Chaos Era This February

    Besties…February has arrived (literally a week ago), and she did not tiptoe in. She kicked the door open wearing a pink satin robe, holding a mug of chamomile tea, whispering, “Be gentle with yourself, babe…and also maybe a little unhinged about it.” So yes. Welcome to my Soft Girl Chaos Era – the era where…

    Ashley Wilkes

    February 8, 2026
    life
    life, love, mental-health, personal, reading, writing
  • Movie Review: 10 Reasons Black Panther Is the Blueprint of Black Excellence

    Movie Review: 10 Reasons Black Panther Is the Blueprint of Black Excellence

    Let me take you back. It’s 2018. I walked into that theater ready for a good time but NOT ready to have my soul rearranged. The lights dimmed, the Marvel intro did its little flip-book thing, and then BOOM – we were in Oakland, California, then in Wakanda, then screaming, cheering, crying, levitating. This movie…

    Ashley Wilkes

    February 7, 2026
    movie
    black excellence, black panther, film, film review, marvel, movie review, movies, ryan-coogler
  • January Wrap Up – Chaotic Reads, Cinematic Spirals, & Main Character Shenanigans

    January Wrap Up – Chaotic Reads, Cinematic Spirals, & Main Character Shenanigans

    Welcome back to Stories, Sips, and Shenanigans, where I do my best, fall apart a little, read a few things, binge a few shows, and pretend I’m not already behind on three different life challenges. January came in hot, weird, emotional, and dramatic – basically me in month form. Did I read a lot? No.…

    Ashley Wilkes

    January 31, 2026
    life
    book reviews, book-review, books, fiction, january wrap up, life, movies, personal, reading, writing
  • Book Review – The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson *spoilers*

    Book Review – The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson *spoilers*

    AKA the book that stole my peace, my breath, and my whole snow day… Bookish besties…. I originally put this book down because I found the beginning was going way too slow, but once I picked it up again, I spent a whole TWO days finishing it. And I only spent two days because I…

    Ashley Wilkes

    January 31, 2026
    books
    book reviews, book-review, books, fantasy, fiction, sarah lawrence cult, the scammer, thriller, tiffany d jackson, writing, ya, young adult
  • Book Review – Only For The Week by Natasha Bishop

    Book Review – Only For The Week by Natasha Bishop

    *Possible Spoilers* A Tulum getaway, a messy bridal party, a healing arc, and a man who actually understands the assignment? Yeah. I inhaled this one. Natasha Bishop delivered a romance that’s equal parts hot, heartfelt, and healing. This story had me yelling at fictional characters and swooning on my couch like “GIRL IT’S HAPPENING!!!” Let’s…

    Ashley Wilkes

    January 26, 2026
    books
    book reviews, book-review, books, contemporary romance, fiction, friends to lovers, friends with benefits, natasha bishop, only for the week, romance, romance book, spicy romance
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