So, you’ve somehow stumbled into my little corner of the internet.

Maybe you came for the books. Maybe you came for the coffee. Maybe you saw a tiny green dragon holding a mug and thought, Okay, I need to know what’s happening over here.

Whatever brought you here—welcome. ❤️

Coffee, Books, & Dragons has become a wonderfully weird combination of everything I love: books, cozy moments, caffeine, a little bit of everyday chaos, and one suspiciously well-accessorized dragon named Tito.

So if you’re going to hang around, I figured you should probably know what you’re getting yourself into.

Consider this your official Coffee, Books, & Dragons Starter Pack.

☕ 1. An Emotional-Support Coffee

First things first: coffee.

Right now, my emotional-support beverage is a protein iced coffee.

Nothing fancy. No elaborate syrups. No twelve-step recipe that requires equipment I don’t own.

Just coffee. Protein. Ice.

She’s simple. She’s dependable. And when the day decides to start fighting back before I’ve even finished my first cup?

She’s there for me.

Is she the coziest, most aesthetically pleasing coffee I’ve ever made? Probably not.

Does she get me through the morning?

Absolutely.

🔥 2. An Unreasonable Attachment to a Fictional Character

Every reader has one.

Or twelve.

At the moment, mine is Cassian from A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Listen. Nesta is great. I love Nesta.

But Cassian is where it’s at.

The wings? The humor? The loyalty? The enormous Illyrian warrior who could probably destroy an entire army but also has golden-retriever energy?

I have no defense.

📚 3. A Mildly Haunted TBR

I have reached the stage of book ownership where I cannot confidently tell you where all of my books came from.

Recently, I was looking through my TBR and made a discovery.

I own two Colleen Hoover books.

Two.

Here’s the problem:

I don’t remember buying them.

I also have absolutely no intention of reading them.

(No offense, Colleen.)

So…where did they come from?!

Did someone give them to me? Did I buy them during some forgotten bookstore trip? Did they simply materialize between two other books when I wasn’t looking?

I have no idea.

At this point, I’ve decided my TBR is mildly haunted and books occasionally spawn on the shelves. Which, I’m surprisingly okay with…

🥰 4. Cozy Snuggles

When I think about “cozy,” it’s easy to picture the aesthetic version of it.

Blankets. Books. Coffee. Rainy windows. Candles.

And don’t get me wrong—I love all of that.

But right now, cozy looks a little different.

My days are filled with cuddles from my six-month-old, and those might be my favorite cozy moments of all.

There will always be another book to read. Another cup of coffee to make. Another thing on the to-do list.

But babies don’t stay little forever.

So when I get the opportunity for a snuggle?

I’m taking it.

You have to hold them for as long as they’ll let you, right? ❤️

📖 5. Serious Mood-Reader Energy

I would love to tell you that I carefully plan my reading every month and then faithfully follow that plan.

I would also be lying.

I am 100% a mood reader.

I can have every intention of reading a fantasy next, only to wake up one morning and decide that fantasy suddenly sounds terrible and I need a romance immediately.

And if I’m reading something and realize I’m just not feeling it?

I’m not afraid to DNF.

Life is too short and my mildly haunted TBR is too large to spend my free time forcing myself through a book I’m not enjoying.

That said…

I’m trying to be better.

Sometimes a book deserves a little longer before I abandon ship. 😂

🎧 And while we’re talking about reading…

Can we discuss immersive reading?

Audiobook playing.

Physical book open.

Ambiance in the background.

My ADD brain is suddenly receiving information from seventeen different directions and somehow this is when everything becomes peaceful.

If you’re not immersive reading with a brain that wants to wander off every three seconds…

What are you doing?!

It’s genuinely become one of my favorite ways to get completely lost in a story.

🖍️ 6. Absolutely No Respect for a Pristine Five-Star Book

I know there are readers who want their books to stay perfect.

No cracked spines. No folded pages. No writing. Definitely no highlighter.

I respect you. I understand you.

I am not one of you.

If I LOVE a book—like truly, five-stars, made-me-laugh-cry-fall-in-love-feel-every-human-emotion love it—

that book is getting marked up.

I’m highlighting my favorite lines.

I’m underlining things.

I’m writing little notes.

If a sentence makes me stop and stare at the page?

✨ HIGHLIGHTED. ✨

Yes, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I am specifically looking at you.

By the time I’m finished, my favorite books aren’t pristine anymore. They’re full of little pieces of my first experience reading them.

And honestly?

I think that makes them even better.

✨ 7. The Ingredients of a Good Book

Obviously, there is no actual formula for a five-star read.

But there are a few things that will make me pick up a book significantly faster.

🐉 Dragons

I mean…

**gestures vaguely at the name of this blog**

This shouldn’t require an explanation.

🎨 Fun Covers

I know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover.

I’m going to do it anyway.

Especially if it’s illustrated.

Put a gorgeous illustrated cover in front of me and suddenly I’m reading the synopsis with my wallet already in my hand.

⚔️ Enemies to Lovers

Look.

Could these two people communicate like emotionally mature adults from Chapter One?

Yes.

Would I rather watch them insist they absolutely despise each other while everyone—including the reader—knows exactly where this is going?

Also yes.

I don’t make the rules.

🐉 8. You’ll Need a Dragon

Finally, there’s Tito.

Because apparently at some point I decided my book blog needed a tiny green dragon, and now I would die for him.

Tito is the unofficial mascot, emotional-support dragon, reading companion, and occasional troublemaker here at Coffee, Books, & Dragons.

He’s sweet. He’s encouraging. He’s a little shy.

He loves books, cozy blankets, and coffee—preferably from his favorite heart mug, although the -BER months are coming and his seasonal mugs are dying to get out!

He’s also been known to completely lose his mind over a good romance.

Honestly?

Same, Tito.

❤️ So…Welcome to Coffee, Books, & Dragons

Jokes aside, I think that’s really the whole point of this little corner of the internet.

You don’t need the perfect bookshelf.

You don’t need a Pinterest-worthy reading nook.

You don’t need to read 100 books a year, drink fancy coffee, understand every BookTok reference, or have your entire life beautifully put together.

I certainly don’t.

We’re just here to enjoy good stories, find little bits of cozy in regular life, laugh at ourselves occasionally, and talk about the things that make us happy.

So bring whatever you’re currently reading.

Grab your drink of choice.

Tito will make room on the couch. 🐉☕📚

And if a mysterious book suddenly appears on your shelf while you’re here?

Don’t look at me.

Now I want to know: What’s in your starter pack? Give me your emotional-support drink, current fictional obsession, and one bookish toxic trait in the comments. I promise this is a judgment-free zone. Mostly. Tito can be a little opinionated.

See you in the next chapter,
Alex + Tito 🐉