I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

"Ava Rani creates the perfect mix of romance and drama!" — People

Don't get mad. Date his favorite athlete.

To make her ex jealous, an ambitious young surgeon recruits a charming star soccer player to be her date to a lavish Parisian wedding—but love might have a game plan of its own, in this stand-alone romance from the USA Today bestselling author of the Biotech Billionaires series.

Dr. Isabelle Mercado is this close to having it all. Top of her class at the country’s most competitive orthopedic surgery residency, a dream career within reach, and a golden ticket to the wedding of the year in Paris.

There’s just one problem: her ex—the one who got away—is going to be there… with his perfect new fiancée.

Desperate to save face (and maybe spark a little jealousy), Isa enlists soccer legend and global heartthrob Austin Cade to be her fake date. It’s the perfect match: after an injury and some unfortunate encounters with the press, he needs good PR and the kind of elite connections this wedding will attract. Plus, her ex just so happens to be his #1 fan. Win-win.

But between champagne toasts, macaron baking classes, and stolen glances under the Parisian stars, pretending starts to feel a lot like the real thing. Isa’s always been all-in on her career—love was never the goal.

But maybe, just maybe… this time, the heart has its own agenda.

TROPES YOU'LL FIND:

• Fake dating
• Fancy Paris wedding
• So. much. banter!
• Billionaires and rich people shenanigans
• Reputation rehab
• Only one bed

Setting the Scene

Review in 10 Words (or Less)

Great romance and characters but had some pacing problems, imo.

Mood Before Reading

In a bit of a reading slump. Was very disappointed with my previous read.

Mood Before Reading

May 20 – June 5, 2026

Review

Out of Her League tells the story of Isabelle, a surgical resident trying to live up to her father’s legacy, and Austin, a professional soccer player at a crossroads in his career. The two end up on a fake dating arrangement to Isabelle’s best friend’s lavish wedding in France, as they try to sort out their own lives.

Full disclosure: I realize now that I was probably still in a bit of a reading slump and more in the mood for something fast paced and plot heavy. Out of Her League does not really fit that criteria, so no doubt, at least some of my level of enjoyment was affected by my own mood.

I was quickly drawn into this audiobook. I really enjoyed the duet and the different narrators for Isabelle and Austin and getting to know both characters.

The story made me smile and laugh and I genuinely enjoyed it.

Except, not going to lie, I did struggle to get through it at times. Mostly due to my mood, but something about the pacing bothered me. And I still can’t really tell where the issue is coming from. Is it the audiobook that I started listening to at 1.25x speed and kept trying to make go faster? Or the slower plot? Or just my mood? Or a combination of it all? Either way, it kind of bugged me. I wanted the story to move slower when it was going fast and faster when it was going slow.

There was a nice introduction and build up to Isabelle and Austin’s relationship, but it felt like they kind of sped through some of the relationship development portion while the inevitable conflict section was slower (and longer). But again, I read this as an audiobook, so my perception could be warped – I started to get frustrated with how much time I was spending listening in comparison to the number of pages I read so I started to gradually increase the speed.

It also didn’t help that as a whole, the story was a little predictable.

Out of Her League really revolves around Isabelle – without her, there is no story. She’s an incredibly smart and sassy character that I loved reading about. But that just made it more frustrating that the resolution to her quarter life crisis was so obvious, even Austin knew it before they even began officially dating. We were all just waiting for her to come to the same conclusion on her own and it was a bit of an agonizing wait, especially near the end. I appreciated Isabelle and her struggles and it was so easy to root for her (and Austin). But it was interesting to read from her perspective when I already knew her final move.

As for Austin, well, he’s pretty much the perfect boyfriend, both fake and real. It was definitely interesting to see the contrast of how he and Isabelle handled relatively similar situations. Both were at a bit of a crossroads in their respective careers. But it seemed like Austin’s was a little… glossed over while the story focused on Isabelle’s. That said, I guess it makes sense in a way since he’s 8 years older and therefore is more experienced and has a better idea of what he wants, while Isabelle is still figuring everything out.

The romance was top tier. Isabelle and Austin have tons of chemistry and I really enjoyed their fun banter. It definitely carried the story. I know, I know, it’s a romance, but I really do think Out of Her League is more centered on Isabelle than anything else. I almost wish it was written as more of a contemporary novel rather than one focused on the romance.

In conclusion…

Overall, I enjoyed the story and the narrations. I loved getting to know Isabelle and Austin and watching their relationship develop, but I had some issues with the pacing and the plotline.

Rating

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
Overall:	3.6

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Elena and Raphael return for the hauntingly poignant conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s genre-defining Guild Hunter series.

A thousand years.

It’s been a millennium since Elena’s fateful first meeting with Archangel Raphael. She has survived war and loss, experienced beauty and cruelty. But no matter what, she has always held on to her mortal heart, as she and Raphael have held on to each other. Passionate and vibrant, they’ve built a life that has stood the test of time, growing ever stronger with each turn of the sun.

But change is coming—of a magnitude they could have never imagined—and it will forever alter the trajectory of their existence.

Even as they grapple with the cataclysmic shift in their personal lives, the Cadre of Ten, which has maintained a hard-won peace for centuries, begins to simmer with dangerous fault lines. The specter of madness looms in one archangel, the promise of war burns between two others, and in darkness far from mortal and immortal eyes stirs an ancient, slumbering power.

Suddenly, the future is terrifyingly uncertain . . . at the very moment that Elena and her archangel need to protect a treasure infinitely more precious than eternity.

Setting the Scene

Review in 10 Words (or Less)

Happy tears, but I don’t want to say goodbye.

Mood Before Reading

Spent last few months rereading the rest of the series.

Dates Read

March 14, 2026 (one day)

Review

I have so many thoughts about this book, but I’m not sure how to put it all into words.

Just, my heart!

Archangel’s Eternity is such a heartwarming goodbye to one of my favorite series.

It takes place a couple of years, give or take a few thousand, after Archangel’s Ascension. It’s been a millennium since the events of Angels’ Blood and Elena and Raphael’s relationship is still going as strong as ever. But in Archangel’s Eternity, they face a new journey and a new experience neither is quite prepared for.

I’ll just say this upfront: I am 95% this will be my favorite read of the year and if not, I’m 100% sure it will at least make my top 3. I normally wouldn’t make that claim so early in the year, but I truly did love reading Archangel’s Eternity. I enjoyed it so much, even though it turned me into a sobbing, snotty mess. Even the author’s note at the end made me cry.

I’ve already reread this book front to back more than 3 times. And it left me in such a big book hangover that I spent the following two weeks just rereading my favorite passages from it. I can’t wait for my pre-order to come so I tab the hell out of it.

Archangel’s Eternity did such a great job tying up all the leftover loose ends not covered in Archangel’s Lineage and Archangel’s Ascension, and provided so much closure.

It was a pleasure to see Elena and Raphael on their new adventure. It interestingly enough allowed them to heal some old wounds, in a way I didn’t expect. I really enjoyed watching them further their path of self discovery, and grow, both as characters, and as a couple. It’s gratifying to see that they haven’t stagnated (or regressed), even after 1,000 years together.

And it was so nice to catch up with some of my other favorite characters, like Illium and Sam, and check in with them to see how they’re doing and what they’re up to. I think pretty much everyone noteworthy got at least some screentime or mention. And it was especially delightful to see the Seven together, as well. But I still find the time jump that first took place in Archangel’s Ascension a little jarring. All the mortal characters are well and truly gone and only exist in the memories of those who once loved them.

With the passing of the mortal guild hunters, this story kind of lacks that aspect, although it does try to make up for it in other ways. Archangel’s Eternity also doesn’t contain quite the same level of tension and mystery and action that I usually aspect from the Guild Hunter series. Not that there’s anything wrong with that or that it affected my enjoyment, just that it was a fluffier conclusion than I expected. It truly is a love letter to say goodbye to an incredible series.

In conclusion…

Archangel’s Eternity is a heartfelt goodbye and a satisfying conclusion to the Guild Hunter series. I’ll be surprised if it’s not my favorite book read this year – I’ve already reread it enough times that I have certain chapters memorized. I just cannot believe it’s the end.

Rating

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
World Building
Overall:	4.8

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

From the author of Partners in Crime, comes a sparkling new adventure rom-com where a con woman and a lawman team up on an epic cross-country road trip to save their families…and each other. 

Sejal Chaudhary inherited her mama’s calculating brain, her daddy’s quick fingers, and the boatload of trauma that comes with being the eldest daughter of criminals. Although Sejal has never claimed to be a good girl, she’s spent the last couple years laying low and going (mostly) straight. That is, until a con gone wrong sends her into the arms of a handsome stranger who’s set on dragging her back into her messy family drama.

Krish Anand never mastered the fine art of being a bad boy…he would take a book over bullets any day. But when his FBI agent brother goes missing, he has no choice but to suit up for the adventure of a lifetime. Certain that someone in Sejal’s little crime family is behind the disappearance, a desperate Krish manages to convince the beautiful thief that his brother’s badge is actually his. 

The deal is simple: help him find his brother, and Krish and the law will leave Sejal be. With an up-to-no-good ex also hot on her trail, Sejal reluctantly agrees. As they wind their way across the country on planes, buses, and automobiles, sparks ignite, and what began as a fragile temporary truce starts to look more and more like a partnership. 

Falling for the enemy? So cliche, but so good…if only they can survive long enough to chance a happily ever after.

TROPES

• Enemies-to-Lovers
• Forced Proximity
• Forbidden Love
• Adventure Rom-Com

Setting the Scene

Review in 10 Words (or Less)

Surprisingly enjoyed the book and its characters.

Mood Before Reading

Reading slump – just put my last read on pause.

Dates Read

April 20 – 24, 2026

Review

Enemies to Lovers tells the story of a (fake) FBI agent forced to reluctantly team up with the daughter of criminals to find his missing brother, all while being hunted by a dangerous mobster (her ex).

I didn’t have any real expectations for this book since I wasn’t blown away by Partners in Crime (the first book in this series). But I did enjoy Enemies to Lovers. And not just because I love the trope (which is surprisingly kind of irrelevant in this case).

The audiobook was nice to listen to and both narrators really helped bring the main Sejal and Krish to life. I enjoyed listening to them, especially when multiple characters were involved in one interaction.

As for the story itself, I was quickly drawn in. Sejal was an interesting character from the start, even if I barely remembered her from the first book. And Krish was a nice mystery to solve. It was really nice to watch them grow as the story went progressed, even though they aren’t true enemies to lovers.

In fact, I think Sejal and Krish’s relationship skews closer to insta-love than any other trope – they were already half in love at first glance. Thankfully, there was enough development to not only make the relationship more believable, but also for me to buy it.

The one thing I have to nitpick is the crime aspects of the novel. Crime usually comes with a certain level of tension and suspense and Enemies to Lovers didn’t really deliver enough of either. It tried at times, and I get that too much of those emotions would feel out of place in what is more of a contemporary romance than a mafia romance, but the buildup is kind of cheapened without them. Instead, the ending feels a little abrupt with everything explained and/or resolved in quick succession. That said, there was a nice little twist at the end that I honestly didn’t see coming. And it gets bonus points for making complete sense in retrospect.

In conclusion…

Enemies to Lovers is a nice romance read with some additional excitement thanks to the crime elements. It works as a standalone and there’s some nice character growth and relationship development between Sejal and Krish. I just wish there was some more suspense and tension.

Rating

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
Overall:	4

Two exes wake up together with wedding bands on their fingers--and no idea how they got there. They have just one New Year's Eve at the end of 1999 to figure it out in this big-hearted and nostalgic rom-com from New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch.

When college sweethearts Frankie and Ezra broke up before graduation, they vowed to never speak to each other again. Ten years later, on the eve of the new millennium, they find themselves back on their snowy, picturesque New England campus together for the first time for the wedding of mutual friends. Frankie's on the rise as a music manager for the hottest bands of the late '90s, and Ezra's ready to propose to his girlfriend after the wedding. Everything is going to plan--they just have to avoid the chasm of emotions brought up when they inevitably come face to face.

But when they wake up in bed next to each other the following morning with Ezra's grandmother's diamond on Frankie's finger, they have zero memory of how they got there--or about any of the events that transpired the night before. Now Frankie and Ezra have to put aside old grievances in order to figure out what happened, what didn't happen...and to ask themselves the most troubling question of all: what if they both got it wrong the first time around?

Setting the Scene

Review in 10 Words (or Less)

Had potential, but fell flat.

Mood Before Reading

Read this as an audiobook, the day after I finished what will probably be my favorite book of the year.

Dates Read

March 15 – 18, 2026

Review

I honestly don’t even know where to start. It’s been so long since I’ve been this confused on how to rate a book.

The Rewind tells the story of two exes who are forced to occupy the same space for one weekend a decade after their messy breakup. Frankie and Ezra wake up in the same bed, with rings on their left ring fingers, and without any memories on how they got there. They have a day to sort out what happened before attending their friends wedding and ring in the new millennium. Cue a series of unfortunate events as the two struggle to work as a team to pool their brainpower and fragmented memories.

What follows should be a plot fit for a romcom movie. But that’s not what this story is delivers.

Instead, it’s about two characters who could use a lot of therapy. Like, a lot! In their defense, I’m guessing therapy wasn’t as accessible then as it is now (I have no memory of 1999 so I can’t say for sure). But really, they probably need years to unpack the amount of baggage they both carry.

It’s been a while (or maybe even ever) that I’ve finished a book where I didn’t particularly like either main character. Sure, I understood them, but they’re both stupid assholes, who again, could have used some therapy. And I think that’s partly why I’m a little ambivalent on The Rewind. It’s just hard to really enjoy a contemporary novel when you’re not really invested in any of the characters or their romance.

Speaking of the romance, it’s another bone I have to pick with this story. I’m sorry, I just don’t buy it. I don’t they they have any chemistry or the necessary relationship development. All I got from The Rewind is their anger towards one another for their perceived roles in their messy breakup. And the little snippets of the past that were included (the ones from 1989) were interesting, but aren’t enough to convince me they had a solid relationship in college, to begin with. Without a noticeably solid foundation, I feel like their relationship was always doomed to fail. Granted, they were college kids at the time, but still, it doesn’t feel like one big romance. I ship both characters with their potential therapists more than each other.

That said, the plot was interesting enough for me to finish the whole audiobook, even without really giving two fucks about the characters. It’s told in such an interesting way – between present time and snippets of old memories ranging from their college days 10 years ago and fuzzy glimpses of the blurry night before. I was just as curious as Frankie and Ezra were to find out how they ended up in their little predicament.

In conclusion…

The Rewind tells an intriguing story but I’m more interested in seeing the characters with licensed therapists than with each other.

Rating

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
Overall:	3.3

2025 in Review

This wrap is largely inspired by the End of Year Survey created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner.

2025 Reading Stats

Number of Books Read: 70

Barely hit the goal.

Actually, I may have cheated a little.

I ended up binging a few novellas at the end of the year, and then finished the last book at 12:40am… on January 1st. I counted it as a 2025 read anyways, even though I didn’t make the deadline, since my contingency plan was to read a 12 page short story. It feels like finishing the a novel less than hour late was the better alternative.

I was a little disappointed since I read a bit more the last few years but I guess I made up for it in page count.

Number of Re-Reads: 7

Pretty close to what I expected. And it doesn’t include my rereads of my 2025 reads like Rewind it Back and Deep End, both of which I read multiple times front to back, since reading them for the first time in 2025.

Number of Books from Shelves: 3

I got close to my goal of reading 4 books from my physical tbr, but ultimately couldn’t hit it in time.

• Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry (physical ARC)
• Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean (physical ARC)
• You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria (finished copy)

Other Fun Stats

• First read of the year: An Unfinished Memory by Marie Johnston
• Last read of the year: Jade City by Fonda Lee
• Total pages read: 26,056 pages
• Best reading month: May (28.57% of books read, 28.06% of total pages read)
• Worst reading month: March (1.43% of books read, 1.62% of total pages read)
• Most read author: Ilona Andrews (5 books aka 7.14% of all books read)
• Read the fastest: Double Crossed by Ally Carter (reread; less than one hour – it’s a 60 page novella)
• Took the longest to finish: Jade City by Fonda Lee (29 days; not continuous)

Best Books of 2025

Favorite Book I Read In 2025

It’s hard to choose a favorite, so here are my are my top 3 (in no particular order)

• Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
• Rewind it Back by Liz Tomforde
• Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

Book I Was Excited About & Thought Was Going to Love More

Jade City by Fonda Lee.

I heard so many good things about this series but I had some trouble getting into it. But when I finally did, I loved it… until I didn’t. It’s such a weird read for me because there were times I thought it’d be a 5 star read and others where I thought it’d only get 3 stars. My mood definitely could have had a negative impact (I’m a mood reader), but I can’t remember the last time I was so hot and cold while reading a story.

Book I Read In 2025 That I’d Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year

Most likely Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry since I’ll probably need a refresher before the sequel comes out in the spring.

Shortest & Longest Book I Read In 2025

Shortest: Double Crossed by Ally Carter (60 pages)

Longest: City of Gods and Monsters by Kayla Edwards (762 pages)

(According to StoryGraph)

Most Challenging Thing About Blogging or Reading in 2025

Time & motivation.

Looking Ahead

Book I Didn’t Get to in 2025 But Will Be My #1 Priority in 2026

Archangel’s Ascension by Nalini Singh! I was really excited to read it, but kept getting delayed. With the next and final novel in the Guild Hunter series coming out in May, it just made more sense to wait to read it after I finished my reread of the whole series.

2026 Goals & Resolutions

I have a couple bookish / reading-related goals for this year. They’re all pretty much the same ones as the goals I set last year, with some minor differences.

Read at least one page every day

I realized a few years ago that I read more if I actually force myself to sit down and at least try reading. Sometimes I’m really not in the mood, but often I can get sucked into a story just by reading a few lines.

One page isn’t too big of a commitment so I have no good excuses for not even attempting to hit the goal. And it helps that StoryGraph has a reading streak tracker.

Read 70 books

It’s the amount I read in 2025. I’m hoping to hit it again this year.

Read books off my physical TBR

Same goal from 2025 and 2024 and 2023 and 2022 and 2021 and, well you get the idea.

And it’s a goal I failed to make any meaningful progress on the last two years.

I’m going to try to read at least 4 books from my own shelves in 2026.

Limit book buying

Pretty self explanatory.

With an extra one in, two out rule: for every book I buy, I need to unhaul at least 2 books.

Remember my motto

Spent more time and energy actually reading instead of just talking about reading.

I love socializing and talking about books and creating bookish content, but reading should be its own hobby and not just an extension of my bookstagram/blog.

How was your 2025?

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

An action-packed, second-chance rom-com about two rival spies who must join forces in order to stay alive, from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter.

Ten years ago, they joined the CIA. 

Six years ago, he left the game. 

Five years ago, they fell in love. 

One year ago, she ran out into the cold with absolutely no intention of ever coming back.

And two minutes ago, they woke up, bloody and bruised and handcuffed together in the dark.

They don’t know where they are. They don’t know how they got there. And they have absolutely no idea who is after them or what this nameless, faceless villain wants. 

The only thing that’s clear is that, after ten years of covers and chemistry, secrets and lies, these two rival spies have been sucked into their greatest mission yet, and now they’re going to have to team up to stay alive. (If they don’t kill each other first.) 

Review

I really enjoyed The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold.

It’s a classic Ally Carter novel with a fantastic plot and well written characters. I loved the humor woven into it. It made me smile and giggle, which doesn’t happen too often. There was good tension, both between the characters, but also in terms of the level of suspense the reader had to endure. And there were so many intriguing mysteries and questions to uncover.

But, in all honestly, all the mysteries do a lot of hide some of the flaws. I just wish there was more character and relationship development. It falls into one of the main pitfalls of second chance romances where a lot of the relationship and romance happened in the past and not enough of it is written on page to offset the gap. It felt like Alex and Michael just picked up where they left off without giving a true grasp of the depth of their original relationship.

I did really enjoy the appearance of Zoe and Swayer from The Blonde Identity, though! I love a good cameo.

Overall, it was a great sequel to The Blonde Identity.

Rating

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
Overall:	4

The New York Times bestselling YA author of the beloved Gallagher Girls series bursts onto the adult scene with a fast-paced, hilarious road trip rom-com about a woman with amnesia who discovers she’s the identical twin sister of a rogue spy… and must team up with a rugged, grumpy operative to stay alive.

It’s the middle of the night in the middle of Paris and a woman just woke up with no memory.

She only knows three things for certain:

1. She has a splitting headache.

2. The hottest guy she has (probably) ever seen is standing over her, telling her to run.

And oh yeah…

3. People keep trying to kill her.

She doesn’t know who. Or why. But when she sees footage of herself fighting off a dozen men there’s only one explanation: obviously. . . she’s a spy!

Except, according to Mr. Hot Guy, she’s not. She’s a spy’s identical twin sister.

Too bad the only person who knows she’s not the woman they’re looking for is this very grouchy, very sexy, very secret agent who (reluctantly) agrees to help her disappear. Which is easier said than done when a criminal organization wants you dead and every intelligence service in the world wants you caught.

Luckily, no one is looking for a pair of lovesick newlyweds on their honeymoon. And soon they’re lying their way across Europe—dodging bullets and faking kisses as they race to unravel a deadly conspiracy and clear her sister’s name.

But with every secret they uncover, the truth shifts, until she no longer knows who to trust: the twin she can’t remember or the mysterious man she can’t let herself forget…

"Spies! Amnesia! And banter that’ll make you chant “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” No one writes an action rom-com quite like Ally Carter." – Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs

Tropes Included

• grumpy x sunshine
• only one bed
• fake marriage
• amnesia
• mistaken identity

Review

Zoe wakes up in Paris with no memory and runs into a Hot Guy Swayer, who happens to be a spy. And then they suddenly find themselves running from bad guys together, while figuring out who she is and why people want her dead.

I’m a huge fan of Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls series. So naturally, I was excited when I heard she was writing an adult romance novel featuring spies. And let me tell you, The Blonde Identity didn’t disappoint. It really felt like Gallagher Girls, but for adults and with a bunch of my favorite tropes.

It was such a fun blend of genres. I didn’t know spies/mystery could go so well with romcoms – they feel like opposites. But somehow it worked. The intensity of the mystery elements were nicely contrasted by pockets of lighter, romcom moments, which made this book more intriguing and fun.

I just love Ally Carter’s writing. Not many people can write mysteries as well plotted as she can, where the timing of each reveal is just right.

The characters were great too! Zoe was so funny and always made me laugh and grin, especially when she’s doing things that make Sawyer’s life more difficult. Their romance and relationship development was so fun to watch, as well as Zoe’s journey of self discovery. The juxtaposition of their personalities (he’s a grumpy spy and she’s Miss Sunshine), as well as their knowledge and experience (he’s a spy with all his memories and she doesn’t know who she is) made for an interesting dynamic. It was fun to gradually learn more about their respective backstories as well.

In conclusion…

Overall, I really enjoyed The Blonde Identity. It’s full of fun adventure, laughs, and romance.

Rating

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
Overall:	4.3

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz pens a lush, swoon-worthy retelling of "Cinderella" set in lavish Versailles. Perfect for fans of Bridgerton and The Selection!

Cendrillon de Louvois was poised to be the most eligible maiden in all of France. But the death of her father, the king’s favorite advisor, has left Cendrillon at the will of her cruel stepmother and stepsisters.

Dubbed Lady Cinder by the court, Cendrillon is forced to become a servant to her new family. But when she attends the royal ball, she catches the eye of the handsome Prince Louis and his younger brother, Auguste.

Even though Cendrillon has an immediate aversion to Louis and a connection with Auguste, the only way to escape her stepmother is to compete with the other girls at court for the Prince’s hand.

As her stepmother’s cruelty grows, Cendrillon captures the prince’s heart . . . though her own heart belongs to Auguste. Cendrillon’s fate rests on one question: Can she bear losing the boy she loves in order to leave a life she hates?

Review

Cinder & Glass tells the story of Cendrillon, aka Cinder, aka our late 1600s French Cinderella, as she tries to win the heart of the Prince to escape her evil stepmother.

Cinder & Glass was a pretty fast read and I flew through it really quickly. It was light and fluffy, but actually quite a bit darker. After all, this book is a Cinderella retelling and so we all know Cinderella lives a pretty miserable life until her fairy godmother shows up.

Cendrillon makes a nice Cinderella. I really enjoyed reading about her and watching her character development. She did give a lot of second-hand embarrassment, though. Like, enough to involve some speed reading as my only way to get through it. But embarrassment aside, I really did feel for her and how bad her life is going and how poorly she’s treated. Her terrible situation even got me to tear up a bit. Which was impressive since everything she was going through was predictable based on how the retelling was progressing and the abundance of foreshadowing.

I do wish there was some more mystery that would leave me guessing what’s going to happen next. The story was far from boring, but I wasn’t the least bit surprised at anything that happened. Beyond changing up the setting and the characters, Cinder & Glass didn’t really deviate that much from the original fairytale, or rather the popular Disney version of Cinderella.

That said, it was quite fascinating to see how history and fairytale are woven together in this novel. It did such a good job of transporting me to 1600s France and all the glamour that goes along with it. I really did feel like a fly on the wall, watching everything happen.

As for the romance, it’s not bad, but I think it could have been better. There’s a love triangle, which was kind of annoying, even if I did eventually grow to like both the male love interests. I do wish the primary romance was a bit more developed, though. It’s not that it’s not convincing enough, but it kind of feels a little random since we learn about the basis of the relationship directly from Cendrillon rather than see it happen in real-time.

In conclusion…

Cinder & Glass is a nice Cinderella retelling with interesting historical elements, but ultimately was too predictable for my taste.

Rating

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
World Building
Overall:	3.5

2024 in Review

This wrap is largely inspired by the End of Year Survey created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner.

2024 Reading Stats

Number of Books Read: 75

Read a little more than recent years (I think I usually average around 50 – 60 books), but I do feel a little disappointed I didn’t read more. Especially since there was a period where I was on track to hit 100, which would have been a record.

Still, 2024 was insanely busy so I’m still proud I was able to exceed my goal of 60 books.

Number of Re-Reads: 5

Less than what I expected.

Two were part of series I was continuing while the other three could be described as comfort reads.

Number of Books from Shelves: 0

Once again, I completely failed this goal of reading from my physical TBR.

In my defense, I’ve been mainly reading ebooks and haven’t really read too much YA in the last year or too – physical copies just aren’t as convenient and most of the books I own are YA.

Other Fun Stats

• First read of the year: Searching for Rescue by Tonya Burrows
• Last read of the year: Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland
• Total pages read: 26,322 pages
• Best reading month: March (17.33% of books read, 21.55% of total pages read)
• Worst reading month: October (1.33% of books read, 1.06% of total pages read)
• Most read author: Patricia Briggs (10 books aka 13.33% of all books read)
• Read the fastest: Rescue Me by Allie K. Adams (less than one day)
• Took the longest to finish: Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland (263 days; not continuous)

Best Books of 2024

Favorite Book I Read In 2024

I think I need to learn how to read slower because I barely remember the books I read. And no doubt, part of that is because I have a tendency to speed read and skim through some pages.

But here are my top 4 (in no particular order)

• One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake
• Happy Place by Emily Henry
• Archangel’s Lineage by Nalini Singh
• Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs

Book I Was Excited About & Thought Was Going to Love More

Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland.

I have surprisingly a lot to say about this book, and unfortunately, not all of it is good. I was really looking forward to this since I love Asian inspired fantasy stories and it seemed like a lot people were enjoying it. But it missed the mark for me so I’ll probably post a full review later.

Book I Read In 2024 That I’d Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year

Probably Silver Silence by Nalini Singh… again.

I really want to finish reading the Psy-Changeling Trinity series but I keep getting stuck. Either I’m forced to return my library books before I can finish or my mood changes to crave something lighter.

But I’m determined to finish (or at least catch up) in 2025, so I guess we’ll see.

Shortest & Longest Book I Read In 2024

Shortest: The Edens: A Legacy Story by Devney Perry (51 pages)

Longest: Things We Left Behind by Lucy Score (594 pages)

(According to StoryGraph)

Most Challenging Thing About Blogging or Reading in 2024

Time & motivation.

Looking Ahead

Book I Didn’t Get to in 2024 But Will Be My #1 Priority in 2025

Capitana by Cassandra James! I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of it and I’m hoping I can read it before it’s officially published next month.

2025 Goals & Resolutions

I have six bookish / reading-related goals for this year. They’re all pretty much the same ones as the goals I set last year, with some minor differences.

Read at least one page every day

I realized a few years ago that I read more if I actually force myself to sit down and at least try reading. Sometimes I’m really not in the mood, but often I can get sucked into a story just by reading a few lines.

One page isn’t too big of a commitment so I have no good excuses for not even attempting to hit the goal. And it helps that StoryGraph has a reading streak tracker.

Read 75 books

It’s the amount I read in 2024. I’m hoping to hit it again this year.

Read books off my physical TBR

Same goal from 2024 and 2023 and 2022 and 2021 and, well you get the idea.

And it’s a goal I completely failed to make any progress on the last two years.

I’m going to try to read at least 6 books from my own shelves in 2025.

And this year comes with a punishment – if I fail to reach that goal, I’ll have to unhaul at least 12 books. It doesn’t make sense to keep books that I’m probably never going to read.

Limit book buying

Pretty self explanatory.

I was initially going to try a complete book buying ban, but then I realized I would fail that before January is even over since I preordered Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros that’s being released next week.

Remember my motto

Spent more time and energy actually reading instead of just talking about reading.

I love socializing and talking about books and creating bookish content, but reading should be its own hobby and not just an extension of my bookstagram/blog.

How was your 2024?

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

For fans of Emily Henry, a debut about a rom-com screenwriter who doesn't believe in love and a divorce attorney who does, forced together at their high school reunion fifteen years after their breakup

Molly Marks writes Hollywood rom-coms for a living—which is how she knows “romance” is a racket. The one and only time she was naive enough to fall in love was with her high school boyfriend, Seth—who she ghosted on the eve of graduation and hasn’t seen in fifteen years.

Seth Rubinstein believes in love, the grand, fated kind, despite his job as, well...one of Chicago’s most successful divorce attorneys. Over the last decade, he’s sought “the one” in countless bad dates and rushed relationships. He knows his soulmate is out there. But so far, no one can compare to Molly Marks, the first girl who broke his heart.

When Molly’s friends drag her to Florida for their fifteenth high school reunion, it is poetic justice that she’s forced to sit with Seth. Too many martinis and a drunken hookup later, they decide to make a bet: whoever can predict the fate of five couples before the next reunion must declare that the other is right about true love. The catch? The fifth couple is the two of them.

Molly assures Seth they are a tale of timeless heartbreak. Seth promises she’ll end up hopelessly in love with him. She thinks he’s delusional. He has five years to prove her wrong.

Wickedly funny, sexy, and brimming with laughs and heart like the best romantic comedies, Just Some Stupid Love Story is for everyone who believes in soulmates—even if they would never admit it.

Setting the Scene

Mood Before Reading

Really craving a book similar to Happy Place by Emily Henry

Dates Read

February 15, 2024 – April 14, 2024

Review

Just Some Stupid Love Story tells the story of Molly, a jaded rom com screenwriter, and Seth, a divorce attorney who loves romance. They were high school sweethearts who went their separate ways, but end up reconnecting an a high school reunion.

I have a soft spot for second chance romances and I love rom coms so I jumped at the chance to read Just Some Stupid Love Story early. But now that I’ve finished it, I have some mixed feelings.

It just felt like a long read, or at least longer than the page count indicates. And in some places, the pacing wasn’t the best – it sometimes felt like it was just dragging on and on. There was a point where I felt the book embodied its title of being just a stupid love story and honestly considered DNFing around the 25% mark. Full disclaimer, I did hit a bit of a reading slump while reading this, but regardless, it normally doesn’t take me two whole months to finish reading a rom com…

But to be fair, I don’t really think Just Some Stupid Love Story is a true rom com. Were there parts that made me smile and laugh? Yes! But I personally don’t think it was as light hearted or fun as most romantic comedies are. And once I got through that first quarter, I actually really enjoyed the rest of the novel. For perspective, it took me from February 15 to April 13 to read through 28% of the novel. I read the rest of the 72% in one day.

Just Some Stupid Love Story really revolves around Molly and her self discovery, more than the actual romance. And I absolutely enjoyed peeling back the layers of her history and her journey to leave it behind her. Seth serves as a great juxtaposition – he’s so fun and nerdy that it balances out some of Molly’s more dreary moments.

In conclusion…

Just Some Stupid Love Story is not just some stupid love story, but in fact a cute love second chance romance full of self discovery bogged down by poor pacing.

Rating

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
Overall:	3.5

2023 in Review

This wrap is largely inspired by the End of Year Survey created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner.

2023 Reading Stats

Number of Books Read: 64

I feel like I’ve been averaging around 60 books the last couple of years. But the number is still surprising since I was in a massive reading slump during the last few months.

Number of Re-Reads: 4

That included Fourth Wing, which I read twice last year (once in April and then again in November). Still, that’s less than I expected, to be honest.

Number of Books from Shelves: 0.5

Technically one, The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi, but since it was a reread, I’m only going to count it as half.

Other Fun Stats

• First read of the year: Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
• Last read of the year: Double Exposure by Rien Gray
• Total pages read: 23,457 pages
• Best reading month: June (18.75% of books read, 19.22% of total pages read)
• Most read author: Nalini Singh (30 books aka 46.88% of all books read)

Best Books of 2023

Favorite Book I Read In 2023

Honestly, this is a hard one, especially since I was the definition of a mood reader in 2023. But here are my top 4 (in no particular order)

• Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
• Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh
• Archangel’s War by Nalini Singh
• The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter

Book I Was Excited About & Thought Was Going to Love More

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, which I constantly accidently referred to as “The Unfinished Life of Addie LaRue”, probably inspired by The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin.

I know a lot of people love this book, but for whatever reason, I just could not get into it. I thought the beginning was quite promising but gradually grew more and more disinterested as it went on.

Book I Read In 2023 That I’d Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year

Not quite sure, but probably something written by Nalini Singh – I’m on a mission to make her my most read author again.

She has a new book in the Guild Hunter series publishing this year, so I might reread some of those books. And I want to finish reading the Trinity portion of the Psy-Changeling series so I might reread some of those books as well.

Shortest & Longest Book I Read In 2023

Shortest: Home for Christmas by Charity Ferrell (61 pages)

Longest: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (623 pages)

(According to StoryGraph)

Most Challenging Thing About Blogging or Reading in 2023

Time & motivation.

Looking Ahead

Book I Didn’t Get to in 2023 But Will Be My #1 Priority in 2024

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole! I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of it and am determined to read it before it’s released on Tuesdsay.

2024 Goals & Resolutions

I have six bookish / reading-related goals for this year. They’re all pretty much the same ones as the goals I set for 2022, with some minor differences.

Read at least one page every day

I had a variation of this goal from 2022 that worked out pretty well – to read for at least 15 minutes everyday. So I decided to continue it in 2023, but unlike 2022, it didn’t go well. Life was busier so I had less free time to read. And it became quite stressful to find 15 minutes to sit down and read, especially if I was between books (I would then sometimes spend hours looking for a book to read).

But still, I need some extra motivation to pick up a book and try to read, for however long I can, every single day. I think part of why my reading slump in 2023 went on for so long and got so bad, was that I wouldn’t even try reading. And had no motivation to try. By not even attempting to read, the reading slumps just dragged on, when they could have ended if I had just found and tried to read the right book.

Read 60 books

My usual goal has been 52 books but I feel like I’ve been hitting it pretty consistently so it’s time to up the ante and raise the goal to 60.

Read books off my physical TBR

Same goal from 2023 and 2022 and 2021 and, well you get the idea.

It’s also a goal I’ve more or failed to reach, or make any decent progress on, all these years.

I’m going to try to read at least 6 books from my own shelves in 2024, even though I had the same goal in 2023 and only ended up reading 0.5.

To be fair, I think part of the issue is the fact that I mainly own young adult books, but haven’t been as interested in YA lately, as I have been in the past.

Limit book buying

Pretty self explanatory.

Remember my motto

More than anything, I want to focus more on actually reading instead of just talking about reading. Reading and relaxing and having fun that way, should be prioritized ahead of spending time online and scrolling through social media.

How was your 2023?

Quarterly update… because I can’t keep up with monthly updates. It’s kind of sad how I went from weekly recaps to monthly and now quarterly. I guess that’s just how life goes.

January

My January started out how January always starts – with me very eager and motivated to work towards all my New Year’s resolutions. I might have been overly ambitious this time because that did not last that long. Normally I can keep up the “it’s a new year” mentally until at least early February, but I didn’t even make it until the end of January this year. In my defense, part of it was because I had some fun near the end of the month, and that just totally derailed the whole goal-getter train I was on.

My brother visited at the end of the month and we ended up going to New York to catch our first Broadway show, Wicked, thanks to his visit coinciding with Broadway week (aka buy one ticket, get one free promotion). It’s kind of crazy that it took me this long to see a Broadway show in person, especially since I’ve always enjoyed musical theatre and have lived only a few hours outside NYC my whole life.

Wicked was incredible and we managed to snag great seats. But it also marks the beginning of my slump.

Reading

I had a pretty good reading month in January.

Total number of books read: 5
Number of books read from my own shelves: ZERO
Number of books hauled: None

Books Read

• Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
• Branded by Fire (Psy-Changeling #6) by Nalini Singh
• Wild Invitation (Psy-Changeling novella collection) by Nalini Singh
• Play of Passion (Psy-Changeling #9) by Nalini Singh
• Archangel’s Blade (Guild Hunter #4) by Nalini Singh

My favorite of the month (and actually the quarter) is Branded by Fire. It’s sort of become a comfort reread. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a slow burn enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance.

February

I spent most of February in a bit of a slump. Life and productivity-wise, at least. I just felt like I was flailing about, the entire month.
But I did manage to have some fun scoping out a new sushi place with friends. The experience was definitely more fun than the sushi itself, though.

Reading

While I may have been in a slump in my everyday life, I somehow managed to avoid being in a reading slump.

Total number of books read: 4
Number of books read from my own shelves: ZERO
Number of books hauled: None

Books Read

• Visions of Heat (Psy-Changeling #2) by Nalini Singh
• Caressed by Ice (Psy-Changeling #3) by Nalini Singh
• Mine to Possess (Psy-Changeling #4) by Nalini Singh
• Hostage to Pleasure (Psy-Changeling #5) by Nalini Singh

Plus a mini reread of Branded by Fire even though it’s only been a month since I read it… it just made sense chronologically since it’s book #6, okay? Looking back, I’m not sure why I went from reading book #1 in 2022 and then thinking, “I’ll just pick up the series at book #6” in January.

March

March was a mess. A complete mess.

I had family over so that’s always an interesting (and tiring) time. I (thankfully) managed to pull myself together and get out of the slump I was in afterward though. Just in time too, since that’s also when work started to get CRAZY. Our fiscal year ends in March so I had SO MANY year-end tasks to complete.

It was a stressful time and I’m so glad it’s over. In hindsight, knowing that a hectic time was coming, is what probably finally motivated me to complete a full reset and get my life together.

Reading

I guess my reading wasn’t that impacted by all the craziness that happened in March. I do need to start reading books off my physical tbr, though. I can’t have it at zero for every month.

Total number of books read: 4
Number of books read from my own shelves: ZERO
Number of books hauled: 1 ARC that was gifted by the publisher

Books Read

• Blaze of Memory (Psy-Changeling #7) by Nalini Singh
• Whisper of Sin (Psy-Changeling #0.75 novella) by Nalini Singh
• Bonds of Justice (Psy-Changeling #8) by Nalini Singh
• Kiss of Snow (Psy-Changeling #10) by Nalini Singh

I did also skim through Play of Passion between reading Bonds of Justice and Kiss of Snow just to refresh myself on what happened in that book. I’m not sure why I thought it’d be a good idea to read it out of order because it definitely made more sense after reading #8.

Looking Forward to Q2

I honestly, don’t have that many set plans for Q2. I’m just looking forward to spending more time out with friends now that it’s warmer out. I also need to start taking more time off work since I have a lot of time that will expire in the fall.

Goals

• Read at least 15 minutes daily
• Read at least 13 books
• Read at least 3 books from my own shelves
• Limit book buying
• Finish at least one series

These are pretty much just my 2023 reading goals broken down by what I should accomplish in quarters. Except for the one that involves tackling my physical tbr. One of my 2023 goals is to read at least six books off my own shelves, so theoretically around 1.5 books every quarter. But because I failed to make any progress towards that in Q1, I want to make up for it in Q2.

Also, I have a feeling it’ll be harder to limit my book buying this quarter. Especially, if Barnes & Noble runs their 50% off hardcover sale in June. I love a good deal.

To Be Read

I don’t really have a set tbr but I’m definitely looking forward to reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. It’s the ARC that I was lucky enough to be gifted in March. It sounds right up my alley and honestly, I need a break from all the Psy-Changeling books.

How was your first quarter of the year? What are you looking forward to these next 3 months?

2022 in Review

This wrap is largely inspired by the End of Year Survey was created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner.

2021 Reading Stats

Number of Books Read: 52

I started the year with a goal of reading 26 books, since I only read 24 in 2021. But I started to outpace it so I ended up upping my goal to 52 books.

Number of Re-Reads: 12

That’s like 23% of all books I read this year.

One of the rereads was Angels’ Blood by Nalini Singh, which I actually read for the first time in 2022. It’s one of the first times in years that I reread, in full, a book the same year I first read it.

Four of the rereads was The Naturals series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, which I’ve been rereading every year since 2018. Six were rereads of The Dark Elements and The Harbinger series I previously read to prepare for Grace and Glory.

Number of Books from Shelves: 2.5

I did a little better than last year with reading books from my own shelves, but I also cheated a little. And I definitely didn’t read as many as I’d hoped. As for the cheating – let’s just say, I only really read one physical book. I was really into ebooks in 2022 and the 0.5 is for a book I read first from NetGalley and then was sent a finished copy.

Other Fun Stats

• First read of the year: Echoes & Empires by Morgan Rhodes
• Last read of the year: Archangel’s Consort by Nalini Singh
• Total pages read: 19,720 pages
• Best reading month: January

Best Books of 2022

Favorite Book I Read In 2022

Angels’ Blood, definitely. It’s the only book I read in 2022 that I multiple times in the same year.

Book I Was Excited About & Thought Was Going to Love More

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t enjoy it – because I did, I just didn’t love it. I blame my friend for recommending it to me and causing me to have (unreasonably) high expectations.

Book I Read In 2022 That I’d Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year

The Naturals. Again. Since it seems like I’ve been rereading that series every year…

Shortest & Longest Book I Read In 2022

Shortest: What the Hex by Alexis Daria (78 pages)

Longest: A Kingdome of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout (637 pages)

(According to Storygraph)

Blogging / Bookish Life

Favorite Post I Wrote 2022

Did I write any blog posts in 2022? It’s hard to pick a favorite when I don’t have any memory of writing the limited selection I have to choose from.

Favorite Bookish-related Photo I Took in 2022

Not exactly a “photo” but I really like how this edit I did for Cinder & Glass by Melissa de la Cruz turned out.

Most Challenging Thing About Blogging or Reading in 2022

Time & motivation.

Looking Ahead

Book I Didn’t Get to in 2022 But Will Be My #1 Priority in 2023

Don’t really have one, to be honest. I’m going to be nicer to myself and let my mood take me where it wants to go. That said, I would like to finally read Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas and also finish The Gilded Wolves trilogy by Roshani Chokshi.

2023 Goals & Resolutions

I have six bookish / reading-related goals for this year. They’re all pretty much the same ones as the goals I set for 2022, with some minor differences.

Read at least 15 min every day

This is a goal from last year that worked out pretty well so I want to continue it. I’ve realized that it helps me get out of reading slumps quicker if I feel pressured to just try to read. And this goal helps me with that.

Read 52 books

Again, it worked well in 2022 so I’m hoping it’ll work well in 2023. It really depends on my pacing though. I will reaccess every quarter and revise the goal if needed.

Read books off my physical TBR

My shelves are haunting me. And I failed to make much progress on this goal in 2022 – I only really read two books from my own shelves.

This year, I need to do better. I’m aiming for at least 6 books total. Is that a little unrealistic? Probably. But I need the motivation.

I’m also going to pull aside some books I have absolutely no interest in reading (and never really had to begin with). If I don’t touch or think about those books at all in 2023, I’m going to find some new homes for them at the end of the year. It’s historically been hard for me to let go of books because I’m always scared I’ll enjoy it sometime down the road, but at this point, I’ve owned most of the books in question for 5+ years. They need to go and this is my last chance to save them.

Limit book buying

I’m out of shelf space and clearly incapable of reading books I own. The last thing I need is to spend money on books that are just going to sit pretty on my shelves for who knows how many years.

Limiting the amount I’ll allow myself to spend on books hasn’t really been effective in the past (I love a good deal). So I’m also going to add an extra rule that I have to have read or unhauled two books before I buy one.

And like last year, I’m also going to try to only buy books I’ve read and enjoyed and will probably reread. Pre-orders for books I’m super excited about and/or to support authors I like are the sole exception. Everything else I can read first through my local library or ARCs.

Finish at least two series

Pretty self-explanatory. I’m in the middle of a lot of series and I’m hoping to complete at least two of them this year. Bonus points if they’re series I own physical copies of.

Reevaluate Instagram and this blog

I… this one… honestly this is a hard one. But times are changing and so am I. I haven’t really been consistently on either platform for a while now and didn’t make as much progress in 2022 as I’d hoped.

It’s kind of crazy how time as passed – I’ve been blogging for more than 10 years now and on bookstagram for almost 8. And honestly, I’ve been doing things more or less the same through all those years. It’s clearly not working anymore.

I need to rethink the reason I’m blogging and on my #bookstagram before I can really move forward.

And more than anything, I want to focus more on actually reading instead of just talking about reading. So if I don’t have time to blog or post on Instagram because I’m too busy exploring a fictional world, that’s absolutely fine.

How was your 2022?

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Let’s play a game.

You have 24 hours to win. If you break my rules, she dies. If you call the police, she dies. If you tell your parents or anyone else, she dies.

Are you ready?

When Crystal Donavan gets a message on a mysterious app with a picture of her little sister gagged and bound, she agrees to play the kidnapper’s game. At first, they make her complete bizarre tasks: steal a test and stuff it in a locker, bake brownies, make a prank call.

But then Crystal realizes that each task is meant to hurt—and kill—her friends, one by one. But if she refuses to play, the kidnapper will kill her sister. Is someone trying to take her team out of the running for a gaming tournament? Or have they uncovered a secret from their past, and wants them to pay for what they did...

Setting the Scene

Review in 10 Words (or Less)

Fast-paced creepy thriller but MC is too scatter-brained.

Mood Before Reading

In the mood for a romantic fantasy…

Dates Read

January 7, 2022 to January 12, 2022

Review

These Deadly Games is a thriller about Crystal, a gamer who hopes to compete in and win an esports tournament. She’s hoping the prize money can improve her family’s situation, but before she can qualify for the competition, she’s forced to play a game that quickly turns deadly.

As a whole, These Deadly Games is quite suspenseful and a tad bit creepy. It is definitely more of a thriller than a mystery and now that I’m thinking about it, it makes me want to cover all the cameras on my devices and stop sharing so many personal details online. It’s that kind of creepy. The gaming and technologic elements help add much-needed tension to the book but I also feel like it could go over some people’s heads. The more techy elements are explained well, but if I wasn’t already familiar with them, I’m not sure I would fully understand some of their implications. The book is too fast-paced to fully digest the explanations behind all the creepy tech stuff going on.

The plot was intriguing but I meant what I said earlier when I said These Deadly Games is more a thriller than a mystery. It’s more about how the game will end rather than who’s the evil person behind the game. Which is a good thing because I figured out who the mysterious deadly game master is halfway through the book so Crystal’s big “ah ha!” moment fell flat for me. It’s one of those times where not having a prime suspect in mind would lead to a more enjoyable reading experience.

As for Crystal, well, I have mixed feelings for/about her. She spent most of the book making me want to sigh and rub my temples. The sad thing is I was genuinely cheering for her and cannot begin to imagine the amount of stress she was under. However, she makes so many stupid choices and mistakes that annoyed me so much. Those choices/mistakes wouldn’t have been a big deal if she was just supposed to be your average person because she’s still a kid and have I mentioned the extreme pressure These Deadly Games put on her? But Crystal isn’t depicted as your average person – she’s supposed to be smart and reasonable and able to play under pressure. Or at least that was my impression of her before shit started to hit the fan.

To be fair, I didn’t have much time to connect and get to know normal Crystal because the deadly games started pretty quickly, like within the first few chapters. Normally, I’m an advocate for fast starts, but I feel like I needed more time to connect to Crystal before the stress starts getting to her in order to better understand her character (and dumb choices).

In conclusion…

These Deadly Games is a fast-paced thriller that’s a little too fast-paced.

Rating

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Writing
Overall:	3.3

Wow, it’s been a long time since I wrote one of these posts – I think my last monthly recap post was for November 2019. 2019! Which is funny since 2019 felt like both yesterday and also a lifetime ago. I’m planning on posting these monthly recap posts more regularly this year (fingers crossed) and linking them up to The Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer. Now on with the recap.

Looking Back on January

January was a weird month for me. Despite all the prep I did in December I was still overwhelmed by all the things I wanted to do this year. And the feeling of being overwhelmed leads to procrastination, which just ends up with me feeling even more overwhelmed. One month into the year and I already made a mess of some of my goals for 2022. To be fair, some of them just need some revision, but others I don’t really have an excuse for.

Posts

I can’t believe I actually have content for this section this time. Hopefully, it won’t be as bare in future months.

• [19 Jan] Reflecting on 2021 & Goals for 2022
• [31 Jan] Echoes and Empires by Morgan Rhodes ★★★

Books Hauled

So this is where one of my 2022 goals is starting to go a little sideways. Near the end of January, Barnes & Noble very generously had a promo code to take 25% off preorders. Discounts off preorders are rare so of course, I had to take advantage of the sale. And promptly blew through half of my book buying budget for the year. Whoops? To my wallet, I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.

I also managed to “haul” a couple of my anticipated books from my library’s ebook catalog. Honestly, my library’s elibrary is a lifesaver, especially since I haven’t physically been to my local library since… well, let’s just say my last monthly wrap-up post is more recent than my last library visit .

Books Read

Reading went surprisingly well this month. My goal for the year is 26 books, so roughly two books a month. I ended up reading eight, so I might need to rethink my goal. To be fair, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to replicate this success in February – five of the books I read were because I was binge (re)reading two interconnected series, the last book of which was due back to the library on February 2nd. And unlike physical library books, ebooks return themselves so I really had no choice but to read all the books asap or else wait 9 weeks to borrow it again.

My new “read at least 15 minutes a day” goal might have also helped too. That goal is going surprisingly well.

• Echoes & Empires by Morgan Rhodes
• These Deadly Games by Diana Urban
• The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
• Bitter Sweet Love (The Dark Elements #0.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Every Last Breath (The Dark Elements #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Storm & Fury (The Harbinger #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Looking Forward To February

What’s Happening

I don’t really have any specific plans for February beyond sorting myself out. I really need to revise my 2022 goals and systems, as well as come up with a more solid plan for this blog & my bookstagram. March will for sure be a hectic month for me at work so I need to spend February preparing and getting everything in order.

Goals

• continue reading at least 15 minutes nearly every day
• post consistently on my #bookstagram account
• post at least two other posts on the blog

Posts to Look Out For

I don’t really have any plans except for a couple of reviews for the books I read in January.

To be honest, I’m still figuring out how to blog. I haven’t been blogging regularly since like 2016 so I’m sure I’m doing a lot of things that are now outdated. If you have any blogging tips or tips on how to get back into blogging after a long hiatus, let me know in the comments.

How was your January? What are you looking forward to in February?

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Falling Kingdoms series comes the first book in a brand-new duology about forbidden magic and dangerous secrets, for readers of Victoria Aveyard and Margaret Rogerson.

Josslyn Drake knows only three things about magic: it’s rare, illegal, and always deadly.

So when she’s caught up in a robbery gone wrong at the Queen’s Gala and infected by a dangerous piece of magic—one that allows her to step into the memories of an infamously evil warlock—she finds herself living her worst nightmare. Joss needs the magic removed before it corrupts her soul and kills her. But in Ironport, the cost of doing magic is death, and seeking help might mean scheduling her own execution. There’s nobody she can trust.

Nobody, that is, except wanted criminal Jericho Nox, who offers her a deal: his help extracting the magic in exchange for the magic itself. And though she’s not thrilled to be working with a thief, especially one as infuriating (and infuriatingly handsome) as Jericho, Joss is desperate enough to accept.

But Jericho is nothing like Joss expects. The closer she grows to Jericho and the more she sees of the world outside her pampered life in the city, the more Joss begins to question the beliefs she’s always taken for granted—beliefs about right and wrong, about power and magic, and even about herself.

In an empire built on lies, the truth may be her greatest weapon.

Setting the Scene

Review in 10 Words (or Less)

Alright.

Mood Before Reading

Reading slump

Dates Read

December 31, 2021 to January 2, 2022

Review

Echoes & Empires is about Josslyn, the daughter of the former prime minister, who lives in a world where magic is strictly forbidden. She gets caught up in a theft gone sideways and the book is mostly about how she copes with what happens afterward.

I have mixed feelings about this book; I honestly think it was just an okay read. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing special, either.

Sorry, it’s not you, it’s me

To be fair, a lot of my issues with this novel start with me. Usually, I’d just dump this extra info under my “Setting the Scene” section, but there’s a lot this time and I think it deserves a proper explanation.

I’m a mood reader that was going through yet another reading slump in December when I started reading Echoes & Empires. And because this was set to be published in early January, I forced myself to read it before my NetGalley ARC expired. Did I mention I’m a mood reader? Yeah, that’s an automatic barrier this book had to clear and it didn’t do the best job of it.

I wasn’t in the mood to read it and the storyline and characters didn’t help. I thought of DNFing it because I had such a difficult time getting through the first few chapters. Thankfully, the novel did pick up a little after the halfway mark, but not before I may or may not have already desperately peaked at the ending. Which was, of course, a mistake. It ruined one of the major plot twists of the book and didn’t really help encourage me to continue reading.

It wasn’t just my mood that affected my reading experience of Echoes & Empires – my expectations certainly didn’t help. Let’s just say I made some assumptions about the story based on the synopsis and none of those assumptions turned out to be true. Needless to say, there is a direct correlation between my disappointment with this book and how its synopsis sells it.

And finally, I’ve been enjoying more upper YA and NA books lately – I’ve just been having a harder time connecting with and enjoying stories about younger characters. Echoes & Empires kind of skews younger YA to me. Both the writing and the maturity of the main character feel slightly more simplified and immature. Which is interesting given the ages of the characters – I’m pretty sure our female main character and her male love interest are around sixteen and nineteen, respectively.

If you plan to read Echoes & Empires, I strongly advise that you both A) don’t read the synopsis (or base your expectations on it) and B) don’t skip to the end. Learn from my mistakes.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled review

My weird personal issues aside, there are still some elements of Echoes & Empires I enjoyed and disliked that are more related to the book itself and not me, as a reader. Starting with our main character.

I think the main reason why I feel “meh” about the book as a whole is because that’s exactly how I feel about Joss. I don’t hate her, but I definitely don’t like her either. I enjoyed watching her grow a bit through the novel, but that’s about all I liked about her. She’s kind of shallow in both personality and how she’s written. To be fair, if I remember correctly, she’s sixteen, but I just wish she didn’t make being self-absorbed her main personality trait.

The world-building didn’t help either. There wasn’t a lot of it and when it was discussed, it was mainly your typical “magic is evil” speech. The magic wasn’t too magical, especially when it’s responsible for a lot of info-dumping about the kingdom. There just wasn’t really anything about it to make it stand out from all the other magical YA worlds where magic was banned, except for Jericho, the male love interest, and his relation to magic.

Now that, that, I can get behind. Not so much Jericho, because like with Joss, I don’t have any particular feelings about him. But how he got involved with magic is so fascinating and part of an overarching mystery I want to solve. I wish that was explored more instead of kept kind of on the back burner. Then again, looking back, Echoes & Empires kind of just feels like a long setup for its sequel, which will hopefully spend more time focusing on that topic.

I can’t believe I’m saying this after the rocky start I had, but I’m kind of excited to read the sequel. The second half was more interesting and I had a nice time seeing all the pieces of the slow beginning fall into place. And the cliffhanger at the end (which I spoiled for myself) was an interesting conclusion. Despite the fact that I didn’t particularly enjoy Echoes & Empires, it definitely makes me curious about what’s going to happen next. I may or may not read the sequel if I remember it.

In conclusion…

Echoes & Empires is a nice quick read but nothing too special, except for the mystery surrounding Jericho, the main love interest, and his magic.

Rating

Final Rating
Characters
Pacing
Plot
Romance
Writing
World Building
Overall:	3.1

I’ve had an… interesting 2021. I feel like nothing much happened but I’ve also had a few realizations. A fair warning, like my brain at the moment, this post is a little all over the place. It’s really like three blog posts shoved into one.

In this post, I’ll go over my 2021, my goals for 2022, and my plan moving forward.

Anyways, here’s to a better 2022.

2021 End of Year Survey

The End of Year Survey was created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner. I’ve filled it out a few times over the years and it’s always interesting to have to look back on it. I didn’t have the most spectacular reading year in 2021 so this is an abridged version.

2021 READING STATS

Number Of Books You Read: 23.5

The 0.5 is for the half of Echoes & Empires by Morgan Rhodes I managed to get through before the year ended. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish it before the ball dropped in NYC.

But yeah, I didn’t have the best reading year in 2021. 23.5 is less than half my goal of 65 books.

In my defense, I’ve been reading around 60 books a year since 2018 so 65 didn’t seem like too much of a reach when I was setting my goals for 2021. I just failed to factor in the fact that 2021 would be my first full year of working full-time. Working full time meant I was more mentally drained every day which resulted in me choosing to enjoy more passive activities like watching tv, over reading after I got off work.

Number of Re-Reads: 6

About a quarter of my reads were rereads. I guess I was just in the mood to revisit old favorites.

I’m probably going to be rereading a lot more in 2022. One of my goals for the new year is to finally finish reading some of the series I started. That’s going to require a lot of rereading because I’m terrible at remembering what happens in books.

Other Fun Stats

• I completely failed my goal of reading books off my phsyical tbr (zero books read)
• Full age range breakdown
  • Adult: 40%
  • New Adult: 13%
  • Young Adult: 47%
• Full breakdown of genres read:
  • Romance: 52%
  • Fantasy: 31%
  • Mystery / thriller: 17%
• First read of the year: Lore by Alexandra Bracken
• Last read of the year: Echoes & Empires by Morgan Rhodes (finished reading in 2022)

Best in Books

Best Book I Read In 2021

Not sure if it’s the best, but Punk 57 was my favorite, I think.

Book I Was Excited About & Thought Was Going to Love More

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young. I actually had a lot of thoughts about this one so I might post a full review on it later.

Best Book From a Genre I Don’t Typically Read

Bound by Honor? It was the first mafia romance I’ve read that wasn’t published on Wattpad lol. But if we’re being honest, the mafia setting isn’t too different than a dystopian novel – it’s just set in the present, not the future. Both genres are set in the “real world” but also not really.

Book I Read In 2021 That I’d Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year

Serpent & Dove. I want to read the rest of the series now that it’s completed and my library finally got a copy of the third book.

Shortest & Longest Book I Read In 2021

Shortest: Once More Upon a Time by Roshani Chokshi

Longest: Stray by Rachel Vincent

Blogging / Bookish Life

Favorite Post I Wrote 2021

I published exactly two blog posts in 2021 so it’s not like I have a lot to choose from.

Favorite Bookish-related Photo I Took in 2021

Most Challenging Thing About Blogging or Reading in 2021

I was stuck in a massive reading slump for most of the year. As for blogging, well I’ll get into that more later in this post.

Looking Ahead

Book I Didn’t Get to in 2021 But Will Be My #1 Priority in 2022

Echoes & Empires which I need to finish and These Deadly Games by Diana Urban. I’ve been approved to read These Deadly Games since before fall started so I definitely need to get on that before it’s published in February.

2022 Goals & Resolutions

I have six bookish / reading-related goals for this year.

Read at least 15 min every day

I want to try to build a habit of reading every day. I feel like a lot of the reading slumps I went through in 2021 could have been beaten if I just picked up a book. If I end up reading more than 15 minutes, great (unless of course, it’s 3 AM). If not, that’s cool too but at least I tried.

Read 26 books

My reading goal for the year is 26 books. It should be doable – I almost read that amount in 2021. If I start to outpace it, I’ll raise it, but I learned the hard way it’s best if I set a more manageable goal in the beginning.

Update: If I’m able to sustain my current rate of reading through March, I will raise my goal to 52 books. We’re two weeks into January and because I’ve been reading for at least 15 minutes every day, I’ve already finished 3 books and one novella.

Read books off my physical TBR

My shelves are starting to haunt me. Assuming I counted all my books correctly, I’ve only read 124 out of 298 books. That’s only 42%. Ideally, I would have read close to 75%.

I’m also running out of space on my shelves and really need to start unhauling some of them. Problem is, the hoarder in me can’t let any unread books go because “what if I read it later and enjoy it?”. So I guess the only solution is to read everything and decide then.

Limit book buying

I need to be more intentional about which books I buy because like I said, I’m out of shelf space. Plus, it just makes no sense to buy books only for them to sit on my shelves unread for 5 years.

So not only am I going to limit book buying to the balance that’s left on my Barnes & Noble gift card, but I’m also not going to allow myself to buy a new book until I read one I already own, if that makes sense.

I’m also going to try to only buy books I’ve read and enjoyed and will probably reread. Look, I want to support authors, but at this point in my life, it doesn’t make sense for me to buy every pretty book out there when I clearly have a problem reading whatever I buy.

Finish at least three series

I want to start checking series off my tbr list again. I own a few complete sets of series I still need to start / finish so I really have no excuse not to accomplish this goal this year.

Be more consistent on Instagram and this blog

This is really two goals in one since I have different targets for Instagram and the blog, but the general gist is the same – I want to be more consistent. In 2021 I didn’t really blog at all and I posted on my #bookstagram account kind of erratically – I’d post every day for a month and then dip for another.

This year I want to try posting three days a week on Instagram (much more manageable than every day) and at least once a month on the blog. But out of the goals listed here, this is the one I care about the least. In 2022 I want to focus more on actually reading instead of just talking about reading. So if I don’t have time to blog because I’m too busy exploring a fictional world, that’s absolutely fine.

Going Back to Basics

I’m going to be going back to basics in terms of how I run my #bookstagram and blog this year. To be honest, this topic probably deserves its own post and I might write a more in-depth one on it later. But the general idea is to stop worrying about growing on either platform and just focus on delivering quality content.

I took three months off Instagram at the end of last year and I had a couple of epiphanies. For starters, you don’t need to have a large audience to have meaningful interactions with other bookworms. And that’s something I struggled with understanding.

Everyone and their mom seem to emphasize growing, gaining more followers, and continuously “leveling up”. All the Instagram gurus out there always hammer in the idea that you need a large audience and that you should always be focused on building one. Growth is cool and all but it’s so tiring to think that way. Especially since if I’m being completely honest, having more followers doesn’t really benefit me the way all the social media experts seem to believe.

Truth is, I’ve been thinking of quitting #bookstagram (and blogging) for a while. I haven’t had any net gain in followers in years. But at the end of day, I love how #bookstagram gives me the opportunity to interact with the bookish community. Things get too heated sometimes on Twitter and blogging is always in its own separate bubble. Instagram is still my platform of choice, and without it, I wouldn’t really have anywhere to talk about books.

As for blogging, well, I haven’t exactly been a good book blogger since like 2016. Moving forward, there are definitely some best practices that I need to update myself on. But I still find having my own blog valuable. It’s like my own corner on the internet. Unlike my #bookstgram account, which Instagram can suspend anytime they want, this blog is mostly in my own control. And there’s something freeing about that.

Also, it’s just a better place for long-form content. This post is so long – there’s no way I’d be able to fit this whole thing in an Instagram caption.

How was your 2021? What are some of your goals for 2022?

I know this post is like two months late, but better late than never, right? Plus, to be fair, this post was mostly ready to go up in January, but I got distracted with life and forgot about it.

I was going through some of my old blog posts to see what I used to post to celebrate the new year when I found this survey. It turns out I filled it out in 2015 and 2016. I had such a fun time looking back, I figured I might as well complete it for 2020. The End of Year Survey was created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner.

2020 READING STATS

Number Of Books You Read: 64.2

This is pretty on par with the number I read in 2019 (61 books) but still more than my goal of 50 books. I thought last year was a bit of a fluke and that 2020 would be a busy year for me, but it turns out crazy is the better adjective.

Technically, I only finished 64 books in 2020. The extra 0.2 is for the 20% of Lore I managed to read before the year ended. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find the time to finish it before the ball dropped in NYC.

Number of Re-Reads: 8

Like in 2016, I reread the Gallagher Girls series. I guess there’s just something about a presidential election that makes me miss this series. I didn’t count the first book as a reread, or even a read, because I kinda just skimmed through it without actually reading it, hence why a 6 book series only counted as 5 books.

I also reread Nevernight with the intention of finishing the series. But like many things this year, that didn’t happen. I only got through the first few chapters of Godsgrave before the pandemic really hit the US and afterward, I just didn’t have the heart to continue. It was just too dark of a story at a time when I needed to read something lighter.

I did manage to finish one series on my tbr this year, though. I reread The Cruel Prince with the intention of finally finishing the trilogy. And unlike with Nevernight, I actually managed to stick the landing. Still, I haven’t read How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate so I haven’t exactly read the whole series. But in my defense, I didn’t even know it was coming out when I binged the Folk of the Air.

Genre You Read The Most From: Fantasy

I’m honestly kind of surprised by this even though fantasy has always been my favorite genre. It was my most read genre all the years I’ve been blogging part of the online bookish community, except for last year. Last year, I discovered rom coms and it was a game-changer. Romance, not fantasy, was my most read genre in 2019, and with the year we had, I thought there was a good chance it would repeat in 2020. But I guess my need to escape to anywhere but here outweighed my need to feel for the warm fuzzies.

Best in Books

Best Book You Read In 2020?

YA: The Silvered Serpents

Adult (aka romance): Fumbled by Alexa Martin

Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Assassin’s Heart. It sounded right up my alley (dark fantasy with romance) – it was even one of my Waiting on Wednesday picks in 2016 (yes, it spent four years on my tbr). But sadly it wasn’t what I thought it would be.

Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

Fumbled by Alexa Martin. I stumbled upon it randomly while browsing through my library’s ebook collection and figured “why not?” I didn’t really have any expectations for it (I wasn’t familiar with it), but the synopsis piqued my interest. So I borrowed it. And I’m so glad I did. It is by far one of my favorite books I read in 2020. I had such a hard time putting it down once I started it and I’ve reread it so many times since. There are probably some passages I could quote to you verbatim right now, just off the top of my head. That’s how much I loved that book.

I thought I’d just read it as a filler to help me get through my slump. It ended up being so much more than that.

Best series you started in 2020? Best Sequel of 2020? Best Series Ender of 2020?

Best series: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Best sequel: The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston?

Best series ender: Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund?

This question is so hard!

Favorite new author you discovered in 2020?

Jenn Bennett! In the spring, when everything was… going down, I got in the mood for contemporaries and Alex, Approximately just happened to be one of the ones I could get my greedy hands on. And that snowballed into Starry Eyes and eventually Chasing Lucky.

Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

One of the Lux books by Jennifer L. Armentrout, either Origin or Opposition (and Obsession gets an honorable mention). I finished reading Opal, the 3rd book, on May 28th and ended up reading and finishing both Origin and Opposition that same day.

But then again, I remember staying up way past my bedtime to finish The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston and Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund. Reading Across a Star-Swept Sea was a particularly memorable late night/early morning reading session because it kept me up to experience a mini earthquake (it’s super rare to feel your house shake in New Jersey, especially when we aren’t being attacked by a hurricane). But it’s hard to top the speed I read the Lux books.

Book You Read In 2020 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

The Gilded Wolves & The Silvered Serpents, Fable, Where Dreams Descend, Rage & Ruin? I don’t know, take your pick. I’ll probably be reading any of the books with sequels coming out in 2021.

Or maybe I’ll reread Fumbled again.

Most memorable character of 2020?

Someone from The Gilded Wolves crew. Enrique, maybe? The fact that I remember all their names is a testament to how much I loved the first two books. Seriously. I can barely name the main characters from a book I read last week. But I can not only tell you the names of the main characters from The Gilded Wolves, but also some fun facts about them even though I read those books in September.

Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2020 to finally read?

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund. I won it in a giveaway at the beginning of 2013 and it’s been on my tbr ever since. I can’t believe it took me 7 years to actually pick it up and read it, especially when it has all of my favorite story elements.

Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2020?

Shortest: The Lost Sisters by Holly Black (50 pages)

Longest: Rage & Ruin by Jennifer L. Armentrout (576 pages)

Book That Shocked You The Most

The Silvered Serpents. Totally left me with the OMG WTF JUST HAPPENED!!! but in the best way. I think I spent a solid 10 minutes just gaping at the wall after I finished reading it. That cliffhanger is 100% why I prefer to binge read series nowadays.

Favorite Book You Read in 2020 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Chasing Truth by Julie Cross. I read Whatever Life Throws At You a while back and really enjoyed it. Chasing Truth (and its sequel Hiding Lies) did not disappoint. I’m definitely planning on reading her other books in 2021.

Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It wasn’t my favorite (the last quarter was… not good imo) but there is no denying how spellbinding the world-building in this book is.

Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2020?

Okay, so I know there were a few books that made me cry, or at the very least, get misty-eyed. But I cannot, for the life of me, remember which ones. Maybe The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler?

Your Blogging / Bookish Life

Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2020?

Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, etc.)?

L. O. L.

Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

Two words – HUGE SLUMP. For both my blogging and reading life.

Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Bookhype. It’s a Goodreads alternative created by Ashley at Nose Graze and has so many features that I wish Goodreads had.

Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I managed to reach my Goodreads challenge of 50 books or more, bought less books, and also read more from my shelves.

Looking Ahead

One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2020 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2021?

Lore by Alexandra Bracken, Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao, Heiress Apparently by Diana Ma, or Crown of Bones by A.K. Wilder. Basically all the books I was supposed to read and review but didn’t get to.

Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2021?

The Bronzed Beasts by Roshani Chokshi aka The Gilded Wolves #3.

One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2021?

Be more consistent. Obviously, that’s not going so well since you’re currently reading this post in March when it was mostly ready to go up in January.

How was your 2020? What are you looking forward to in 2021?