Tag: books read

Books I Read in April 2023

.Reading time 27 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ,

         Well, I read 18 books in March, that’s so many books! I have never read that many books in a month and I bought a Kindle because books are expensive, granted am I going to buy all the books I like so I can have them in paperback, yea, probably and that’s not healthy but I don’t care. 

         I also got Kindle Unlimited because again, why not. Now I can read all the things that are on my list and are on Kindle Unlimited and then see if they are worth buying the physical books. 

         There are some books that I have unhauled this year, not because they weren’t good, but because they were a good one time read and I don’t want them in my personal collection. I know that is something that’s hard for some to understand, if I unhaul it, it doesn’t mean that I had anything against the book. Sometimes it might though. 

I’ll See You in Paris by Michelle Gable (3.5/5)

         This is a good example of my above point; it was a good one time read but I don’t want it to take up space in my permanent collection. I read A Paris Apartment years ago and didn’t enjoy it so I walked into this one with that feeling. I did enjoy it, I called several of the twists throughout and that was fine. It was predictable overall and Annie’s fiancé, that whole plot line felt so unnecessary for the plot to continue. There was just a lot about that that was weird. It was a good story overall; I liked the flips between the present and the past and finding out through so many stories about the characters. It was good, just not one that I feel the need to keep permanently. 

An Heiresses Guide to Deception and Desire by Manda Collins (3.8/5)

         It was cute for what it was. I am glad that there wasn’t a miscommunication or a third act break up because those are my least favorite tropes. I did enjoy the book; it was cute in its own way and it kept me guessing throughout as to who the culprit was. I like Caro and Val; second chance romances are sweet. Was it my favorite? No, but did I enjoy it? Yes, I did. It just sticks really close to the historical romance formula which is fine, but it was not my favorite and that is totally okay because it is still staying in my collection. 

Bow Before the Elf Queen by J.M. Kearl (5/5)

         The cliffhanger!? Come on! I read this one on Kindle Unlimited because it’s been on my want to buy list for a while and I wanted to read it and see if it was worth having a paperback copy in my collection. That is so dangerous, it really is. I really loved Laya and Thane, they are both so much and I love fated. Everyone knows that, seriously. Apparently the next one ends in a cliffhanger as well and I am already upset. The betrayal! The insanity of it all. I want a happy ending for them, that’s all I want at the moment and forever because I want happily ever afters. 

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (3/5)

         3 out of 5 is a generous score, it really is. I wanted to like it; I had such high hopes for this one but there was just too much. It was so dense and because it switched between past and present like a series of letters or whatever it made it so strange to read. The conclusion was not super fulfilling to be completely honest and it was really good up until about part 2, I was actually really enjoying it and then by the time it hit part 2 I was pretty much done. I skimmed because I was so bored and I really dislike being bored while I am reading especially when this was a book that has been on my list for a while.

The Rebel by Sophie Lark (3.9/5)

         I read it on my Kindle because I have a problem. It was good, would I want to buy it in paperback, no not really. It was a really good one time read, I thought it was going to be a bully thing and that would have been a DNF for me. I didn’t DNF it and I really did enjoy it. Will I continue the series? Also, probably not but I have Anastasia in my collection as well and I am super excited to read that later in the year. Miles and Zoe are a lot, there were so many moments where I was just sitting there staring off into space shaking my head at them. They are good for each other though, I am glad that there was at least a happy ending…for now as far as I know. 

Ana-Maria and The Fox by Liana de la Cruz (3.7/5)

         I liked it, but I am not a huge fan of instalove, I never really have been. I liked Ana-Maria and Gideon and I loved the historical aspect of all of it. This was my book of the month so I will have a more in-depth review because I want to talk about it more than just me little blurb. I liked it, but the love story or the plot as a whole didn’t grip me because it didn’t feel like it was deep enough to make me feel for the conflict. 

Rhapsodic by Lauren Thalassa (5/5)

         It was on my Kindle because I have wanted to read it for a while (Then I bought a copy because it was half off.). I really enjoyed it! I will be going to buy the second and third in paperback tomorrow. I will read them eventually and the rest of the series might suck but I am going to read it anyway because Des and Callie are amazing. I know who I am as a person and as a reader and this was right up my alley, so very much right up my alley. The banter had me rolling and I for sure was live texting most of it to my cousin who read it last year. It was so good! 

The Stopover by T.L. Swan (4.1/5)

         This was recommended to me by so many people that I know in real life. Seriously, so many people. I did enjoy the book but there was a lot about it that made the relationship unbelievable. There were so many fights and the miscommunication and the third-act breakup went on way too long. It kind of reminded me of Alex and Ava in Twisted Love where he kind of stalks her to get her back because he messed up so badly. There was a lot of spice, so much spice and I did like their relationship, but I am looking forward to Tristan’s story more. 

Bride to the Fiend Prince by Rebecca F. Kenney (4/5)

         I read A Court of Sugar and Spice in December and holy crap, it was…so much and such a shock to me that I enjoyed it. I like her writing style and this one was fun. I love a strong female character; I also love a good love story with enemies to lovers. I have many questions about myself because of the tropes I enjoy when it comes to reading, but here we are. I am reading A Court of Silver Flames as well and I am enjoying it as much as I can, but I am needing other books to read so I don’t get sucked into how much I dislike a character that is heavily featured. That is a story for another day! I really did enjoy the story though and it was a super quick read, they both need help, but they were ultimately good for one another and the Dreadlord was the worst. 

Wendy Darling by Rebecca F. Kenney (4/5)

         I am on a little bit of a kick because I downloaded this on my Kindle by accident. It was so much fun and Peter and Wendy are a mess. Melanie is the worst and I am already going to read the next one as soon as I can. I really like the fact that she has powers of her own and come on, it was so much fun to read. I couldn’t put it down. 

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas (4.5/5)

         I still don’t like Nesta, I am glad that she got her redemption and I liked the story over all, but there was a lot of it that I just didn’t enjoy. She becomes so overpowered throughout the book and that just rubbed me the wrong way. Also, the whole treatment of Feyre in this one was weird, Rhys too. Like I don’t understand the shift in dynamics on this one, I really don’t. The Valkyrie’s are really cool over all, but there was just almost too much going on throughout for me to actually want to love it as much as I loved the rest of the series, this took me six days to read…six days. 

Captain Pan by Rebecca F. Kenney (4/5)

         You are going to be seeing a lot of her this month because I found a series, so this was number four and I did loop back and read number one the next day. It will be below. I have been sick all weekend so between coughing and feeling like I am going to pass out, I have been reading because no other position is comfortable, which is annoying. I might have to sleep sitting up tonight. That’s not what the book is about though, Hook is a lot, but I think most iterations are. Peter and Wendy will always be a couple I enjoy as long as they are both adults. 

King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair (4.3/5)

         It was a great read, so spicy, but it hooked me from really early in, though I didn’t call some of the twists. The big one I did call, the moment the flashbacks started, I called it. I mean, I do love eternal soulmate bonds, I really do. I have the second one so I will read it eventually. Her father though? Like where the heck did that come from. I was shocked. So shocked, everyone in her homeland all were rooting for her to kill him and that just felt so…unnecessary because Adrian seems like a nice guy. I mean, rough around the edges and you know a conqueror, but not a bad guy. 

Jack Frost by Rebecca F. Kenney (4/5)

         I read it in a day, seriously. I finished the one above and started this one, I didn’t stop. I probably should have because I need to stay hydrated and all of that, but this book was so much fun. Jack is such a cinnamon roll, Emery is a little bit of a hard ass, but the past that we are presented with in the book, it makes sense. The stalking was a little much, but he wanted to be near her and she gave the ultimate sacrifice to be with him, though I don’t know if she would see it as a sacrifice. Also, their meet-cute was super cute. 

The Snow Globe by Judith Kinghorn (3.3/5)

         Okay, I liked it well enough. It’s historical British fiction and has been in my collection for a long time, it was time to read it and either love it or unhaul it. I will be unhauling it. I liked Daisy, she was a character learning how to be an adult when everything around you seems to be falling apart. But the moment, the moment it was even thought that her love interest might be her brother, I had to read the end of the book. I had to read ahead to make sure he wasn’t otherwise this would have been a DNF. It was a pretty good read, but not one that I want to keep forever. 

Hades by Rebecca F. Kenney (4.2/5)

         Again, another Rebecca F. Kenney book because that’s all I have been reading on my Kindle this month. I loved Hades and Persephone, they are always in most iterations a mess, a whole mess. The Goddess of Creation was such a good character in this novel and Hades because a little bit submissive to her was really cute. There was so much in this book that I loved and Demeter is still the worst. I loved that everyone was brought back in (still no mention of book 2 which seems to be so out of place with the rest of the series) in the final moments. 

Captive of the Pirate King by Rebecca F. Kenney (4.7/5)

         It was amazing! Like Locke and Veronica were so much throughout the whole book, so much. It was spicy and they were like enemies to lovers to enemies back to lovers. It was a roller coaster of a book. I called the twist of who Locke was, I called it real early when I found out he was the love interest. Because let’s be real I was a little concerned with the appearance because I have read so many of RFK’s books. The plot was really good, I loved the magic system throughout and the building of relationships through trauma and shared experiences. 

Wrecked by C.C. Piper (4.2/5)

         Well, guess who didn’t think they were going to be opening this document twice in one day, it was me. Guess who did open this document twice in one day because they have no control? Also me. It was a really good book, I have never read one with a club aspect, like a bought and paid for sort of relationship. Though I loved the dynamic and the story as a whole. Richard is such a nice guy, like he wants everything for her and it was so cute! The relationship between Chrissy and her sister was so touching and the whole unraveling of the trauma, it really kept me reading and wanting to read more of it. I don’t know if I will continue the series, I might, I don’t know yet. Have a Kindle and Kindle Unlimited is dangerous for me…so dangerous.

Surrender, New York by Caleb Carr (3/5)

         It was fine, it was just so dense. Like it was so much prose, so much description and just a slow story. It was interesting, creepy, but it was slow. The most interesting character was the cheetah. There was a lot of unnecessary stuff that I just felt got piled in to make the book longer and it was just so long. Not every line of dialogue needs a paragraph worth of qualifiers or explanation. There was just too much for me to really immerse myself in the story and the whole grooming aspect really made me cringe throughout. I have had this book in my collection for years and it’s time for it to go and let someone else enjoy it in theirs. 

         So…I read 21 books in April, that’s right 21 books. Half of them were on my Kindle which is something I never thought I would be able to say because I was whole heartedly against e-readers until a few months ago and then I wanted to read and not have anyone question what I was reading, so I got a Kindle. 

         21 books though is insanity and I don’t know how we got here. I enjoyed most of the books that I read this month, four have been unhauled and I only have five others that were physical copies this month. I don’t know how to reconcile that with my post and with the number of books that I don’t have in the stack behind me on my other table in my office where I pile my monthly book piles. 

         I think that I can call this post good though and I will be back next month with more books, probably half on my Kindle half not, I want to get through my physical TBR before the summer so that’s going to be an adventure. If you want to check out all of the other books that I have read this year (since I am at 65 at the moment) you totally can with January, February, and March.

         I will be back with another post eventually, because I have just been all over the place the last couple of months and that means that this has taken a back burner. So until then I hope that everyone stays safe, happy, and healthy! 

         -MJ

Let’s Keep Track Shall We?: 

General Fiction: 6/12 (Someday, Someday, Maybe, White Girl Problems, A Vintage Affair, The Heiresses, I’ll See You in Paris, Surrender, New York, )

Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 5/12 (Howl’s Moving Castle, The Transference Engine, Queen of the Tearling, Prudence, The Historian, )

Historical: 5/12 (The Gown, Secrets of Nanreath Hall, The Wild Dark Flowers, The Harvest Man, )

Free Choice: 7/15 (A Poisoned Season, Dark Horizons, Things in Jars, The City We Became, Twisted Lies, The Demon Tailor, A Court of Silver Flames, )

Memoirs/Autobiographies: 2/2 (You Will Get Through This Night, As You Wish)

General Non-Fiction: 2/2 (Mindset, More Teacher Misery)

Book of The Month: 4/12 (Lunar Love, Georgie, All Along, The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi, Ana-Maria and The Fox, )

Extras: 24/? (Cocky Roommate, Portrait of a Scotsman, A Touch of Darkness, These Vicious Masks, Loathe to Love You, Book Lovers, A Lady’s Formula for Love, The Little Black Dress, A Soul to Keep, Terms and Conditions, The Umbra King, An Heiresses Guide to Deception and Desire, Bow Before the Elf Queen, The Rebel, Rhapsodic, The Stopover, Bride to the Fiend Prince, Wendy Darling, Captain Pan, King of Battle and Blood, Jack Frost, Hades, Captive of the Pirate King, Wrecked, )

Battle of the Books (it’s for school!): 8/?  (The Lightening Thief, Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian, Friendship According to Humphrey, Peter and The Starchasers, The False Prince, )

Books I Read in March 2023

.Reading time 24 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ

            I am starting this a little later than usual because my first book this month was a book for school so it doesn’t get a blurb, but I have now read the entire Percy Jackson series which is interesting. 

            I unhauled so many books last month and I kind of feel like this mouth will be similar. The first book on this list I really enjoyed, but it is not something that I want to keep in my permanent collection and that is kind of how I feel about unhauling some books. I don’t want to 100% let go, but I also know that I don’t want it on my shelf and that is totally okay. 

A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff (3.8/5)

            It was cute, I did enjoy it overall. The whole plot with Roxy did hit me in a place where I didn’t like it all that much and how much Miles bowed to her. I get wanting to do the best for your kid after losing a parent, but it was excessive. That relationship could have been so good, but it fell so flat. I loved her and Dan though and I really wanted that relationship to be more strongly featured overall. I loved Mrs. Bell and her story as well as the whole plot about Emma, though I also didn’t like Guy and that whole nonsense near the end of the book. I loved the dress shop in total, the vintage feel of everything and just how much has changed since 2009 when this book is based and that was so interesting. Like she snapped her phone shut and that was such a callback to me, because you cannot do that anymore. 

A Lady’s Formula for Love by Elizabeth Everett (3.3/5)

            This one was disappointing, it truly was. I wanted to love it because I have read so many good historical romances over the last year or so and this had promise in my opinion but the characters were unlikable and the story felt so overplayed and overdone. I have no interest in reading the second because I didn’t like the characters enough to actually invest in them. I loved the idea of a retreat for lady scientists, it was a fascinating concept, but it fell so flat for me. The almost instalove between Violet and Arthur just never won me over and normally that is not a trope that I mind. There was just a lot about it that felt clunky and awkward and the villain I figured out really early on. I really did and that made every time that character was in the scene unbelievable in a way. 

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (4/5)

            Were the comments about the main character’s body a little unnecessary, yes, they were. But was it a great opening to a fantasy trilogy that I now want to read? Also, yes. I really did enjoy the book as a whole, I have so many questions about who her father actually is, how the heck the Fetch does what he does and who he is, and how the Red Queen is going to act out in the next one. I loved so many of the characters though the main character felt almost over powered, I want to know about the magic system and why she is the only one who can wield the sapphires. I really like the fact that it’s like a postmodern society that has gone back to an almost medieval way of life and I am going to read the second one eventually. 

Twisted Lies by Ana Huang (5/5)

            Ana! Way to close out a series, this was the best one. I loved Twisted Games and this was a series that I started to read because of BookTok, this book was amazing and completely worth the 550 pages that it was. I have a new order for series favorites which is so exciting because Christian, that’s it, just Christian. Also Stella, just in general, the whole book was phenomenal, I had no complaints. I will probably read her other books and love them as well because at this point, I am invested. The wrap up with everyone at the end, that brought so many emotions out because I started this series about a year ago and a lot has changed in that time. Mr. Unicorn gets to be my favorite character though, I love that so much.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (3.5/5)

            It was my March Book of the Month and hopefully unlike February I actually wrote the post the day after finishing it like I promised myself I would. I did like it, I need to say that, but it took me 200 something pages to get into it and for a 470-page book that seems excessive. I liked the themes and the characters and the insanity of it all, I don’t think I will continue to read the series though. It was good, but it took too long for me to get hooked. 

The Harvest Man by Alex Grecian (3.7/5)

            I read it quickly, it pulled me in from almost the first page and it was so good. I hate that it ended on a cliff hanger, but here we are with me trying to figure out how the last book is going to go. There was just so much shoved into this book, unlike the last one because this is book four in the series. I may have rated The Devil’s Workshop the same but my rating would likely be lower if I read it today. Like I said when I read that one, why was Jack the Ripper the most interesting character? This one brought that back in the most terrifying of ways, I want to know what’s going to happen and I have owned the final novel for several years, so that will get read here eventually. 

The Heiresses by Sara Shepard (3/5)

            Well, this one is getting unhauled, it was very Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars which makes sense because Sara Shepard wrote PLL too, that makes sense. It read a little juvenile for an adult book. Everyone was sleeping with everyone, there was so much drama and I didn’t really feel like anything was actually solved. There was just so much going on at all times that it felt jarring whenever the perspective shifted, the only character I was rooting for was Corinne. Like all of the main women grow throughout the book, but man was there just a lot in this that was weird. 

Prudence by Gail Carriger (4/5)

            I didn’t know that this was a continuation to the Soulless series, though I only read the first one in that series because it was not my jam at the time. I really enjoyed this book though and I love the characters, they are all a lot in their own special way. Rue is such a strong female character and I cannot wait to read the next one, I have a feeling it’s going to be just as crazy. Prim bothered me throughout because she sits there with her judgement and there was just something about that that hit me the wrong way. I will be reading the second one though because I want to see more with this cast of characters. 

The Demon Tailor by Susan McCauley (4/5)

            Super short novella, but it was do dark and really good. The end came up really quickly and left some things undone. I normally don’t read horror, that is not a genre that I normally find myself reaching for, this was an Amazon one that I bought in 2021 and didn’t get around to reading until now. It was good, seriously. I love serial killers, well, let me rephrase that. I like long dead serial killers, otherwise not a huge fan. It was only 122 pages so it was a really quick read. Bloody, gory, and hecking terrifying, but good.

The Little Black Dress by Piper James (5/5)

            This was for sure a “BookTok made me buy it book” and I don’t regret it. I read it the same day as I read The Demon Tailor I was only going to read half and then it sucked me in. I love grumpy/sunshine, office romance is fun, and it was in Vegas! There was so much good in this book, it was a little much at points but it was so good and I read it all in a day…oops. I have no more physical books to read before I go home tomorrow night so I will be working on a Kindle book tomorrow…Well. It was good though, the miscommunication trope and third act break up will always be tropes the bug me (I don’t write them for that reason), but the groveling, it was amazing and this book went from 0 to 60 in about three pages. It was so good though!

A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne (5/5)

            Well… I feel like that’s all I want to say about this book. I saw it on Prime Reads and now I own a Kindle. This is the book that made me want to own a Kindle and I will still probably buy it in paperback when I get a chance. It was really good, very Beauty & The Beast, I have moral questions for myself at the moment…I really do and I know that two years ago me would be concerned for my well-being, even current me is worried for my well-being. Not normal a romance sub-genre I read, fae is usually my thing, but here I am.

More Teacher Misery by Jane Morris (4/5)

            I read Teacher Misery in March of last year and found it hilarious and heartbreaking that so many teachers go through so much and it’s just something that we all have to deal with. I cannot imagine what a book from her would look like post pandemic, post virtual teaching, and the state of education today. I live in a state where there is now this huge education reform and it’s going to be a mess; it’s going to suck public education dry and we already live in a country where there is a drastic and ever-growing shortage of teachers. Yes, I am a teacher for the kids, but dealing with parents, people who have never been in education making laws about it, the state testing, exhaustion, apathy, lack of respect and pay, and everything else. It does not shock me when a fellow teacher tells me that they are leaving, that they are done and it’s a country taking everything out on a population of individuals who just want to impart knowledge on the next generation. But clearly, even with a master’s degree in education and countless hours of training and PD, we are still not allowed to be experts in our own fields. 

Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher (5/5)

            Thought I wrote this blurb days ago, I was wrong! It was so good; they were both so much as a couple. Marriage of convenience and all of that and I loved it. The miscommunication in it will always rub me the wrong way because that’s so annoying. I hate the miscommunication trope and the third act break-up. Like Declan is an ass and he’s an ass to everyone but Iris. It went from 0 to 60 super quick and I really did enjoy it because it was well written and had me laughing and shaking my head so many times. I will read the last in the series eventually and I know that, it’ll just be a while because I have about five dozen books that I need to and want to read. 

The Umbra King by Jamie Applegate Hunter (5/5)

            I finished this last night and I only had to finish two full books in the last two days of the month because I am an idiot and started this one and one for school at the same time and I wanted to finish them both before the end of the month. This took me some time to get into, it really did but man when I got into it, I could not put it down. I called the final twist and I am so mad at Caius at the moment. I will be reading the second one on Kindle Unlimited probably next week, I thought about this book all night after I finished it. I am so mad at the ending and I have to have some self-control and read a few of my TBR books or I am going to lose the plot and not finish my TBR this year. 

            Well, I read 17 books and finished another one in the month of March so I read 18 books this month. I cannot believe that because that is so many books, Spring Break was for sure a factor in reading so many and that is totally fine. I read a lot of good books this month and finally broke down and bought a Kindle and got Kindle Unlimited. Sheerly to read through a lot on my wish list and if I like them enough, I will still buy the paperback because I have a problem…

            I am not hoping to read this many books in April and I am not going to push myself to do so. My goal most months is 10, I say 6 is my realistic and I would like to read 13, but I don’t know if I will be able to. 

            So many books, I swear I didn’t mean to read this many this month, but here we are. I told my mother last night that it is better than a drug habit, somedays I question if that is true, it is, I promise, I would much rather read. I joke about that all the time, but I don’t do drugs and I don’t want to, I don’t even drink. 

            That took a weird turn! So we are moving away from that, if you want to check out all of the other books that I have read this year you totally can in January and February’s posts! 

            I will be back eventually with another post, I promise, it’s just been creatively difficult to continue working on blog posts. I started this blog as a different person than I am today and I need to adapt it to who I am today…I’ll get there.

            So, until next time I hope that everyone stays safe, happy, and healthy! 

            -MJ

Let’s Keep Track Shall We?: 

General Fiction: 4/12 (Someday, Someday, Maybe, White Girl Problems, A Vintage Affair, The Heiresses, )

Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 4/12 (Howl’s Moving Castle, The Transference Engine, Queen of the Tearling, Prudence, )

Historical: 4/12 (The Gown, Secrets of Nanreath Hall, The Wild Dark Flowers, The Harvest Man, )

Free Choice: 6/15 (A Poisoned Season, Dark Horizons, Things in Jars, The City We Became, Twisted Lies, The Demon Tailor, )

Memoirs/Autobiographies: 2/2 (You Will Get Through This Night, As You Wish)

General Non-Fiction: 2/2 (Mindset, More Teacher Misery)

Book of The Month: 3/12 (Lunar Love, Georgie, All Along, The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi, )

Extras: 11/? (Cocky Roommate, Portrait of a Scotsman, A Touch of Darkness, These Vicious Masks, Loathe to Love You, Book Lovers, A Lady’s Formula for Love, The Little Black Dress, A Soul to Keep, Terms and Conditions, The Umbra King, )

Battle of the Books (it’s for school!): 7/?  (The Lightening Thief, Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian, Friendship According to Humphrey, Peter and The Starchasers, )

Books I Read in February 2023

.Reading time 22 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ,

            Here we are in month two of the year, January flew right by, but I started full time teaching again instead of interventions so here we are with me teaching again and that meant that I was a little more stressed than normal, but I read 13 books in January. I am hoping to read like 10 in February.

            I am already halfway through my first book of the month and it is a slog, I already know I am unhauling it and we can have that conversation when I actually write the little blurb down below. I am getting this post started though so when I finish it, I can just roll through it. 

            There are probably going to be spoilers so if you want to read the book, cool, avoid that blurb. Also, these are my opinions, no one else’s, if you loved a book I didn’t. That’s awesome, I am super happy for you I promise. 

Secrets of Nanreath Hall by Alix Rickloff (3/5)

            Of course he was married, like I called so many of the twists because there is such a plot formula for fiction like this. I love historical fiction, I really do, but this one just wasn’t it for me. I liked the World War 2 bits a lot more than her mother’s story and it took me so long to get through it. I was bored, the writing was well done, but the story just didn’t grip me, it was…predictable and boring. I did almost DNF it, but I liked it enough to finish it, will I be keeping it in my collection? No, someone else will get more joy out of this than I ever will and that’s totally okay with me. It would have made so much more of an impact on me if it was told from solely Anna’s perspective with letters or a journal from her mother, not switching back and forth to her mother. It just wasn’t for me and that’s totally fine. The second half did pick up but there was just so many tropes all shoved into one book that it was a little much for me as a whole. 

The Transference Engine by Julia Verne St. John (3/5)

            I wanted to like it, I really did, the premise is so cool! I love steampunk, who doesn’t when it comes to fantasy lovers. This one lost the plot so early; I was confused as to what the plot actually was. It was scattered, so very scattered and while it was a cool concept it was not executed well, that made it hard to read. I expected Ada to have a much bigger role, but she just felt like a side character even though she’s for sure on the back of the book. I expected more and I feel like there was no resolution, it wrapped up so quickly that I wasn’t sure how the author was going to wrap it up and there was like 30 pages left. Drew got done dirty, that’s all I am going to say, dirty and I didn’t root for anyone in this book. It wasn’t for me and that’s totally okay. 

A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett Sinclair (5/5)

            The rating might be because I have unhauled the last two books I have read which is never fun, but it is what it is. I love a Hades and Persephone retelling and the modern ones are so fun. I have a few and that might be a me problem because I like them. I for sure read this in two days, I would have read it in one but I worked today so yesterday I didn’t feel like blowing through almost 400 pages. It was so good, Hades is a lot, Persephone is also a lot but they are perfect for each other, a huge mess, but perfect. The mint plant! I laughed so hard I almost cried. I loved watching Persephone own herself, own who and what she was with Hades help of course. Like it got real spicy real fast and then just all the spice, like a full spice drawer. It was so good though, it did have a trope I am not a fan of, but here we are, a happy for now and I already own the second one, the third one is on the list to buy and the fourth one comes out later this year. I am on the fence about reading the Hades Saga, but I might, I don’t know yet. 

White Girl Problems by Babe Walker (2.8/5)

            Okay, so here’s the deal, I have had the third one for nearly a decade so I figured I would buy and read the first one. I regret all of it. I regret buying this book. I read it, some of it was funny, some of it was confusing and made me question reality and everything else. Seriously, this book has not aged well, it came out when I was in college when this was a much more popular trope in novels, the reality-esque. It reads very much like a famous family who has had several TV shows over the years and I didn’t enjoy it. I really do hope it’s all satire and humor because otherwise this book is not okay. I need it to be satirical fiction. I am unhauling the third one because I have no interest in reading it at all. 

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn (4.4/5)

            It was so cute! I really liked this book overall; it is my Book of the Month so a post will be up eventually with my actual full thoughts. I loved Georgie and Levi’s dynamic and just the treatment of family and growth and how it feels when everyone around you is seeming to have all the good things happen to them and you feel like you are standing still and stuck. I feel that on the daily so it hit me, but it was so good. 

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd (4/5)

            Hold onto your horses Batman. Wow, this one was intense from the first few pages. It was also a lot. I didn’t mind the shifting perspectives much but the quick flip in those and the timeline was a little jarring. I really did enjoy it though, I loved Birdie and Ruby, I mean really, who doesn’t love an outspoken Victorian woman and a dead boxer ghost who is only in his underwear and a top hat? The story was interesting, I will for sure say that, I just wish that it would have wrapped everything up a little nicer at the end. I was super confused by the last page which was jarring to say the least. I want to know what happens with Birdie and Valentine, a character named Valentine Rose, I am not kidding and he’s a cop…It was good though, so many things that I didn’t call, and some that I did. 

These Vicious Masks by Turan Shanker & Kelly Zekas (3.3/5)

            I wanted to like it so much, I really did and it was almost unhauled a few years ago but I figured my tastes have changed I will give it a chance. I shouldn’t have, it was like the Avengers but make it Victorian and annoying, I do mean that. It was annoying, like it was such a fun and interesting concept but the execution was lacking for me. I didn’t really feel any of the relationships that were beginning to develop throughout, the plot felt like there was so much unnecessary nonsense, and the ending made me for sure not want to pick up the next one. Like seriously, all of the searching and everything else and that was how it ended? Yea, not going to get the others in this set and this one is going to say goodbye at the end of the year. 

The Wild Dark Flowers by Elizabeth Cooke (2.8/5)

            Have you ever read a book that was about 75 story lines with some overlap but not enough to feel like you were actually understanding and comprehending the whole story? That was this book, I read the first one in 2016 so I remembered very little from the first one and even then, this didn’t feel like I needed the first one to actually understand it. It was busy, it was so busy and the characters were unlikable. I just didn’t enjoy it and that means that like the first one I will be unhauling this one as well. I know that I shouldn’t have skimmed, but I did because the chapters were super long and they switched perspectives so frequently it was difficult to actually keep up and remember all the characters that were being referred to. 

Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood (5/5)

            It’s novellas and I have wanted to read them since last year. I needed a palette cleanser to feel better about reading after having to unhaul so many in a row and just feeling like I wasn’t getting any joy out of what I was reading. I laughed so hard in so many places throughout the novella’s and I liked that they were interconnected, that was so much fun. All of the characters are a lot, though all of the mains in her books seem to be a lot. I would read whole novels with each set of characters because I loved them, I wish that there was more story for each of the pairs, I needed more story with them. I just did. I couldn’t put it down and read it in an afternoon and that should shock no one because I have not taken more than a day to read any books that I have by her. 

As You Wish by Cary Elwes (4/5)

            I love the Princess Bride, it is one of my favorite movies, I have read the book as well. I actually didn’t see it until I was in college because I had a professor who thought that I would be the kind of person to have a signed copy of the script, I am still trying to figure out what the heck he meant by that and it’s been like 11 years since that moment. I love reading books about things that I love and seeing that movie from behind the scenes was so fascinating. I really enjoyed the little snippets and insights from other cast members that were placed throughout the book. It was a quick read and I did skim parts of it because last night and tonight were parent/teacher conferences so I was exhausted after being at school for almost 12 hours yesterday and today. It was really good though and I really did enjoy it. 

The City We Became by. N.K. Jemisin (3.5/5)

            I liked it, the premise was super cool and such an interesting read. There were things that rubbed me the wrong way but I don’t want to get into those things here. I don’t and that is a personal choice. The characters for the most part were super interesting. It was really fast paced though and I didn’t feel like I had any time to actually catch my breath and catch up with the story as it quickly progressed. I did enjoy it but I don’t think I will be picking up the second in the series, maybe, but I don’t know. I love urban fantasy but sometimes it just isn’t for me and this book wasn’t 100% for me and that’s totally okay. 

Book Lovers by Emily Henry (4/5)

            It was super cute. I love a good super cute book. I like that it was also a reverse Hallmark kind of thing. I loved Nora and Charlie though I was not a huge fan of her sister. There was so much in this book that I loved, some things that I didn’t but that’s every book. It was a cute story where the main character thinks she cursed in love and then meets someone who is a work oriented as she is and they don’t have to give their lives up for the other one. I really like that dynamic, because there are so many stories where one person gives everything up to be with the other and I can’t imagine being happy giving everything up for someone else. 

            I actually wanted to get to Book Lovers, that was actually the goal this month which was crazy because I actually made it! I enjoyed some books I read but almost half of them are a goodbye for me this month, five books are being unhauled and one I didn’t own. That is the whole point of a TBR though for me, it is to weed out the books that I don’t want to have in my permanent collection anymore. 

            I read 13 books though and that is on the whole an unsustainable pace especially with the ammount of books that I disliked this month. I wanted to like more, I really did and I tried but some of them just weren’t for me and they will go to a home that will enjoy them more than I ever could.

            If you want to check out what I read in January though, you totally can and I am hoping to read almost as many if not as many in March because I am a glutton for punishment and I am trying to get through my TBR a little faster this year. 

            Until next time I hope that everyone stays safe, happy, and healthy!

            -MJ

Let’s Keep Track Shall We?: 

General Fiction: 2/12 (Someday, Someday, Maybe, White Girl Problems, )

Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 2/12 (Howl’s Moving Castle, The Transference Engine, )

Historical: 3/12 (The Gown, Secrets of Nanreath Hall, The Wild Dark Flowers, )

Thriller: /2

Free Choice: 4/15 (A Poisoned Season, Dark Horizons, Things in Jars, The City We Became, )

Memoirs/Autobiographies: 2/2 (You Will Get Through This Night, As You Wish)

General Non-Fiction: 1/2 (Mindset, )

Book of The Month: 2/12 (Lunar Love, Georgie, All Along, )

Extras: 6/? (Cocky Roommate, Portrait of a Scotsman, A Touch of Darkness, These Vicious Masks, Loathe to Love You, Book Lovers, )

Battle of the Books (it’s for school!): 4/?  (The Lightening Thief, Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, Battle of the Labyrinth, )

Top Ten Books of 2022

.Reading time 18 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ

            Okay, so it should shock literally no one that I read a lot in 2022, like seriously more than I have ever read before. I read like 130 books, plus as few that I didn’t count that I read at school or as a read-aloud to my fifth graders last year. 

            These are really in no particular order, the first two were my top book of the year and the runner up, but beyond that they are not in any order. Also, I did count series as a whole slot in the top ten, so one might have three books and that’s because it’s a series and I didn’t want to count them separate. 

            Am I currently sitting at my desk while eating lunch? Yes, I am, but is that going to stop me from getting at least most of this post done? No, I am going to try and get something done with my time while I have it. Now I must consult the Book Bullet Journal, which is super different from last year. Doing a Book Bullet Journal for the second year in a row has really allowed me to see what worked and what didn’t work when it came to my Book BoJu last year. I have expanded some things, gotten rid of some things and tries some new and different things, so we are going to see how that goes.

            You may not like the books I liked, you may think that all the books I unhauled last year were your favorites and I am an illiterate idiot who doesn’t know good literature. Reading taste is subjective, I like what I like because I like it. If you didn’t like it, cool, but to be honest, it doesn’t affect me, so what I enjoyed or didn’t enjoy shouldn’t affect you either. 

            All of these books were five star books for me, so I am not even going to put their ratings. 

  1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

This was my top book of the year, I read it in January and I could not stop thinking about it for the remainder of the year. That was how I knew this one needed to be my book of the year for 2022. I was late to the party reading this and some people didn’t like it. That’s totally okay, we can all like different things. I really liked Luc, from the moment that he showed up I was like ‘ooh look, my favorite’ and he was. I loved the premise of the story; I want to get I Remember Youtattooed on me because this book made me feel things. I did really enjoy it because it made me feel, I like books that make me feel and this was for sure one of them. 

2. Between by L.L. Starling

You want a book that is a cross between Monty Python and Labyrinth, this is for you. I loved this book, I read it in four days and I cannot wait for the second one. I love all the characters, the worlds, the story as a whole, and I could not put it down. I didn’t want to put it down as it had me in stitches so many times throughout the 737 pages, that is a daunting number but it is so worth it because there was not a part of this book that didn’t keep me wanting more. From her kindergarten class, to the coven, to Lorn as a person, to everything else that went with this. It was such an amazing read. 

3. Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood and Crescent City: House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas

Okay, so this series was not only amazing but the ending of the second one, it broke me, it broke me so hard core that I wasn’t sure whether or not I had imagined the ending as a whole. It was so well written and I really did love the story and the characters. I have my favorites of course, but using a vacuum cleaner after that, that was amazing. I laughed so hard at so many parts and some left me utterly destroyed. There was so much in both of these books but being 750+ each that is wholeheartedly expected, but Sarah do not hurt my faves, that’s all I ask, do not hurt my faves. 

4. Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco

Well, this for sure was an amazing conclusion to this series, so much was tied up from the second one and even the first one with this book. Someone on TikTok said that this was what happens when you don’t plan the rest of the series before writing it. I didn’t see it that way. Though Wrath is my favorite and I cannot wait to read the book that is coming out about Envy in the fall. (I am so excited for it!) She is one of those authors that is an automatic buy for me and I know that is different for everyone. The story was interesting and everything is a hot mess, a complete hot mess and I loved the whole thing.

5. Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Another author that is an automatic buy for me, I don’t care if it was the same story just a little different, this one went hard, it went from like a cute, little love story to attempted murder? I loved it though; it was so much but I love her writing style. I read it in one day and I could not put it down. It was insanity and I liked this one just as much or more than The Love Hypothesis. I have always been a fan of ridiculous characters and this for sure was full of ridiculous characters. 

6. A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, and A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

I read several of her books this year and I don’t regret one single minute of it. I have not read Silver Flames yet and there is a part of me that is so nervous to read it because I am not a Nesta fan, she made me hate Nesta so much that I don’t know if she is going to redeemed in my eyes. (I have seen all sorts of stuff online about it so I will reserve most judgement until after I finish it in a few months.) I loved ACoFaS and I know that a lot of people didn’t like it. It was the Christmas special and I loved it, the snow ball fight had me rolling because those characters…in a snowball fight, that visual had me dying. The world is amazing and I am planning on reading the rest of Throne of Glass this year as well so that will be showing up here eventually. 

7. What Lies Beyond the Veil by Harper L. Woods

This was an early BookTok made me buy it book and it didn’t disappoint. I know that there were people who didn’t like it and I for sure called the twist with the main male. I really liked the whole story though and I want to read the sequel so badly. I will buy it eventually. It was an insane story, but it was so well written and the world was fascinating. I liked the subterfuge, that book was a wild ride from the beginning to the end. It took me like 100 pages to get into it and then I could not put it down. Though, it should shock no one at this point that half of my favorite books from last year involved the fae. 

8. From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I was late to the party on this one, this book was one of those that I couldn’t put down either. So many people said that they couldn’t get into it, that it was slow, it was not slow! It was ridiculous and because of the internet I knew the twist, will that stop me from reading the next one? No, not even a little bit. Poppy and Hawke are a mess, that’s all I am going to say, a mess. The duke got what was coming to him, for sure what was coming for him. But some of it for sure broke my heart. Like I knew that the betrayal was coming because of the internet and it still hurt the whole time, it still surprised me. 

9. A Fate of Wrath and Flame by K.A. Tucker

This was the first BookTok made me buy it book, I think, this was the first one where I saw like several lines and decided that I had to have it. I love magic and court politics, this was such an interesting world to get lost in, the whole premise that happens throughout the novel. The cliffhanger! The cliffhanger, it was insane. I want a happy ending and we all know that about me, I don’t like when the story ends sad. I get really upset when something ends sad or there doesn’t feel like there is a resolution for the series. I will eventually buy the second one because I read a lot of firsts in series last year and this was one of them without buying the second. (Because Amazon keeps increasing the price on them.)

10. Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare

I swear, it’s like The Love Hypothesis where the main couple looks like the main ship from the newest Star Warstrilogy. Seriously, look at the cover…I loved the story though. I really did, Dru was a mess but she was the best, I loved the rest of the characters and the story as a whole. There is a sequel coming out later this year and again, the cover tells me some things and I am already looking forward to it. I really am, I love series or interconnected stand-alone’s. 

      I for sure had some honorable mentions, but those get to hang out in my own brain because one I bought because it sounded ridiculous and then I loved it so that was my most unexpected book of the year and it was the last book I read in 2022, that one was UNHINGED. 

            Well, there we have it, my Top Ten of 2022 even though it was more like the top 14 or so because I have a few series on here. I read so much last year and I had so many books that I loved. Some that didn’t make it on this list because I had 20 total five-star books and that is so many for me. I also had 30 books that I unhauled last year so that leaves about 80 books that I liked well enough or were just mid for me. I should probably really be cut throat about the books I keep, but I love books so much. They bring me so much joy and so much escape from everything in real life.

            I am hoping to read some amazing books this year and I am already excited to think about discovering my top ten for this upcoming year, most of the books that I had on this list were found along the way or bought during the year, but a few were from my TBR. I am hoping to find some of my new favorites on my TBR this year.

            If you want to check out everything, I read last year you totally and completely can, I will link my Books I Read in December post because all of the other months are linked at the bottom. If you want to check out what I Unhauled in 2022, there are two parts and you can check those out as well. If you want to actually see my book rating system (which I published early last year, you can do that too). I could link more, but at this point I think that would be edging toward excessive. 

            I will be back later in the week with another post so until then, I hope everyone stays safe, happy, and healthy!

-MJ 

Books I Read in January 2023

.Reading time 21 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ.

            I set my Goodreads goal to 75, my physical TBR pile this year is 55 and I feel like after reading 130, that’s right, 130 books last year I can hopefully hit at least 75 this year. 

            I would go through what I am reading and how I am doing my book bullet journal differently this year, but I don’t know if I am actually going to. I am going to give the TBR categories. 12 each of general fiction, science fiction/fantasy, and historical because those are my three largest genres, 4 non-fiction, and 2 thrillers, along with 15 free choice books. That whole list is done. It has been mostly complete since midway through last year. Next year I have no idea what my TBR is going to look like.

            I have already finished my first book of the year so let’s talk about that, like every year there will be a tracker at the bottom because that is what I need in my brain, more lists and things. 

            There might be spoilers, I am putting that up here because I think that giving my honest review unfiltered is how it’s always been. 

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (4.3/5)

            I grew up on the animated version of this, that was the reason that I bought the book and now I need to go and watch the movie again. I really want a movie that follows this book exactly because it is much more adult and grown up than I thought it was. I did enjoy it, there is a lot going on throughout, Wales surprised me. Sophie was sometimes a hard character to like, though Howl was as well, if we aren’t fooling ourselves. I still like the ending; it is much more compelling than the movie ending and I really did enjoy it throughout. I need to not compare the book to the movie because the movie had to curb the story to a younger audience, it was still good though!

The Gown by Jennifer Robson (3.3/5)

            It was good, until it wasn’t. I expected something different from this book, more royal wedding and all of that less sexual assault. It shifted between 1947 and 2016, I thought that was fun. It was and it was so good even though it took me a good hundred pages to get into, but a very out of place sexual assault of one of the main characters really threw me. It came out of nowhere and didn’t fit into the overarching plot at all, I do really mean, at all. It kind of sullied the rest of the book for me even though the rest of it was moving and amazing, but that’s what is going to stick with me about this book. The fact that the main character was raped because she wouldn’t give away information on the wedding dress of then Princess Elizabeth. The 2016 part of it was fun, though a little contrived and that was fine because it was fun. The ending didn’t feel like it was pulled together enough for me though, it just kind of ended, almost suddenly and I was left feeling adrift. 

Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen (3.6/5)

            It was really cute, super-duper predictable but really cute. So very very clean which was totally fine. I liked the story, I liked the characters and the tropes, I will never be a fan of the third act break up because that’s not something I enjoy. This was my January Book of the Month so there will be a more in depth review on this soon. 

Cocky Roommate by Claire Kingsley (4/5)

            Okay, I read the first one last spring which was Book Boyfriend and I liked that one, I really did. This one was a lot, I liked Kendra and Weston even though Weston started out with me wanting to smack him in the head with the book that was about him. I liked so much of it, the trauma, the building back up, but I will never be okay with the third act break up and he was dumb about it. I did enjoy the ending though I feared him proposing at Alex and Mia’s wedding which I would have been really upset about because I don’t believe in someone proposing at someone else’s wedding. I cannot wait to read Caleb’s story and I will get to it eventually since the person I borrowed this one from is getting that one in the mail in the next few days. 

A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander (4/5)

            I read the first in the Lady Emily mysteries last February and loved it. I have number 8 and 9 but not 3-7, so those are on my list of books to buy. A list that is continually growing and that’s a problem. I really enjoyed this book and was not expecting to blow through it in two days. I love Emily and Colin; they are a trip. I liked all of the twists and turns in this one and I didn’t predict the killer until it was revealed. I really didn’t and that is totally cool with me. All of the rumors swirling in this book remind me that while I find Victorian England intriguing, I as a modern woman would not want to be in that time frame (I wouldn’t know any better then, but as a person living in 2023, I think it’s interesting but would not want the pressure of it.) I would love Sebastian to make a reappearance, for no reason or every reason, I don’t know he just seems like a mess. 

You Will Get Through This Night by Daniel Howell (4.3/5)

            This is a practical mental health guide; I will go back and review passages and exercises. I am someone who has struggled since I was a teenager with my mental health (I am finally medicated and that has made me much more even.) I was in therapy for a few years late high school early college but when you have four therapists in three years because they keep moving it gets hard to trust. This was such a good book, it was part memoir, part mental health guide and there was a lot of practical advice. Split into three parts and that was such a good idea. Dan and his best friend, Phil, popped up on my Tumblr back in about 2015 and I started watching their content, they were two creators who got me back into watching videos and made me feel better. I watch their Sims 4 series around Christmas every year because it makes me smile. 

Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham (3/5)

            This one was not really for me it seems. When I bought it I was a much bigger Gilmore Girls fan than I am now. (I bought this book in 2014.) It just wasn’t for me; I didn’t really like the writing style. It was based in 1995 and that that was enough of the recent past that it was a little uncanny valley for me. The whole thing with the guy from her acting class that had a thing for her and then her roommate getting broken up with and then might have a thing? Who knows? The premise was interesting but I found the main character annoying on so many occasions. It felt like things just came out of nowhere and I was trying to consolidate them in my brain. The ending left it so open and just didn’t tie everything up enough for me to even say that would have saved it, it didn’t because it left it open and that didn’t feel like a semi-cliffhanger needed to happen. I also got the title wrong for years I thought it was Someday, Maybe Someday. 

Dark Horizons by Jenny T. Colgan (3.2/5)

            It’s a Doctor Who book and I bought a lot of them several years ago, I am slowly witling through them because I don’t really watch it much anymore, it ebbed a while back. It was fine, Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor was my favorite so I like when it’s one of his adventures. Though there were some weird elements in it, Vikings was a cool choice, the Arill were a cool bad guy or antagonist, whatever you want to call them, but I didn’t like the writing style or the pacing. Though I have read several of her books under her non-Doctor Who umbrella and I should have known. I had to look it up to see if it was the same author who wrote this one as well as The Littlest Chocolate Shop in Paris, and Meet Me At The Cupcake Café,which are both books that I have read and unhauled in the last few years. Well, that’s good to know. 

Mindset by Carol S. Dweck (4/5)

            I have a Psychology degree and I teach; I wear a lot of hats with my educational background and I have been meaning to read this book since about 2015, seriously, I watched one of her TED talks and wanted the book. I never bought it. It’s dense, I will for sure say that and I did skim some parts that didn’t apply to me as a person, but a lot of the research was fascinating. I always tell my students that they need to believe in the power of ‘yet’, “I can’t do it.” Okay, you can’t do it…yet. We grow through what we go through and I thank that there is such this stigma on having to be the best at everything and failure is not an option. I have grown into a growth mindset over the years but still am fixed in some things. It is just the way of the world. But it was such a good read and I cannot wait to apply it more to my life personally as well as my life as an educator. 

Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore (3.8/5)

            It was good, not my favorite in the series but still good. It was so much, very Beauty and The Beast, I thought that Tristan was a lot from the second one, Lucian is more. I don’t know how that’s possible, he’s so much. I loved the treatment of the social classes in this one, I really did, it was fascinating. Like they both needed to get over themselves so much though throughout the book, and if it wouldn’t have been a happy ending, I would have rioted. Everyone else in this series has gotten their happy ending and if Hattie didn’t, I was going to be upset. He’s so respectful, that was one thing that stood out to me, like he’s an ass, but so respectful to her. The drama near the end with her going to France, it was a little weird and that was what threw me from this being a four star book to being a little less than that. 

            According to this I only read 10 books, I didn’t I read 13 but I am not reviewing the first three Percy Jacksonbooks because I am reading them for Battle of the Books at school. So I read 13 books in January which is insane.

            There were a few books this month that were just kind of meh for me and that’s totally fine, it is the point of a TBR pile, I have to thin out some of the books that I bought almost a decade ago because they no longer might serve me like the books that are on my Amazon list, or on my Want to Read list on Goodreads, I have new tastes than I did when I bought a lot of the books I own, so it’s time to either love it or leave it. 

            I will be back next month with hopefully just about as many books, I am actually closing this post out on the 31st because I am starting a new book today and I am not going to finish it, I work for a living so therefore I don’t have unlimited reading time, even though today is an AMI day at school because weather. 

            It’s always weird to have the first post of the year like this one because I just have nothing to link down here, so with that being said, there is a link up top to December of last year and that has all the links to the rest of the books that I read last year. 

            I will be back in a few days with a new post, I am going about it a little different this year, I am going to post what I want, when I want. I am not going to try and stick to a schedule because this is for me, this blog is for me and if anyone enjoys any part of it, that’s super cool.

            So, until we meet again, I hope that everyone stays safe, happy, and healthy!

            -MJ

Let’s Keep Track Shall We?: 

General Fiction: 1/12 (Someday, Someday, Maybe, )

Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 1/12 (Howl’s Moving Castle, )

Historical: 1/12 (The Gown, )

Thriller: /2

Free Choice: 2/15 (A Poisoned Season, Dark Horizons, )

Memoirs/Autobiographies: 1/2 (You Will Get Through This Night, )

General Non-Fiction: 1/2 (Mindset, )

Book of The Month: 1/12 (Lunar Love, )

Extras: 2/? (Cocky Roommate, Portrait of a Scotsman, )

Battle of the Books (it’s for school!): 3/?  (The Lightening Thief, Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, )

Books I Read in December 2022

.Reading time 26 minutes.

Hey, hey it’s MJ,

            Well, here we are in December, I want to go back to January MJ and tell her that we are rounding out into the 120’s in books, I cannot believe that since my goal with my TBR was 50, my actual goal was 75 and here I am going to hopefully hit somewhere in the high 120’s by the end of the year. 

            I read so much this year and loved so much as well, but there were also several that I didn’t really like and I will be making a part two to my unhauled books of the year (you can check out part 1 if you want to). I read so much and a lot of the books kind of have blurred together, I might actually have to do some rereading because I need to, I need to really go back and savor the books. I didn’t this year as much as I usually do and that was difficult for me to realize as we round out November and move into the 12th month of the year. 

            I am hoping to read 13 books this month, but like I said, I have some chunky books to read this month. I am reading Crescent City at the moment and that book is 800 pages! Come on now! I love the series so far and by the time this comes out I will be done with it for quite some time. 

Crescent City: House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas (5/5)

            SARAH! That ending!? The book was so good, but the ending had me almost throwing it across my office, it almost ended up on the floor. Why? Why can’t we have nice things and everyone staying in their own lane? It was so good, I called none of the twists, none of them but I said some words at the end of this book that I cannot repeat in this blog post, I said them out loud to my empty office though. I really enjoyed the book, I did, I loved the world building and the character building and Bryce and Hunt 5ever, if that is not endgame, I will riot. I will, I promise I will. I have put up with a lot of heartache reading anything that SJM has written, like I love the ACOTAR series and CC is so good, I am only one book into ToG so that’s going. Seriously, I walked into this book knowing that everyone was going WTF at the ending, I get it now and I am in pain. 

Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan (3.8/5)

            It was really cute and sweet and very clean. Like it was super slow burn, there was no kissing or anything until in the 300’s and this book was only 369 pages. (Spoilers and all that.) I want to know what happens with Stacey and Rob because they would be so cute. I love Chris and Everly, they both needed to get over themselves and they finally did. Everyone by now knows that I need an HEA when it comes to a romance novel or a romantic comedy or something of the nature, so it was good. I really did enjoy it, I wanted something more from it though and I’m not sure what that was. I liked the treatment of anxiety in this because as someone with it, less now that I am medicated, knowing exactly what that feels like though. Knowing the rushing thoughts and not wanting to be in crowds or in situations I can’t control, I felt that to my very core. I had friends in college who pressured me to be social, to go out to bars, to drink. Not being in control in a large crowd triggers my anxiety, like I have had a panic attack in a crowd before. So seeing that in this, it was great to see it treated as a real issue, as a problem, not as something that everyone has to fix. 

This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab (5/5)

            I love her writing style whether that’s her adult fantasy series or her YA, this book took me a little while to get into and now I need the second one, I will get it eventually. I love the worlds that she creates and whatever August became near the end, that was super cool. I want to know how Kate and August’s story ends. The story kept me invested from pretty early on and the plot had me guessing and wondering what was going to happen next. The monsters are super interesting and I am so looking forward to the second. 

Babel by R.F. Kuang (3.8/5)

            This was my December Book of the Month book so a more in-depth review will be out soon. I wanted to like it, I actually wanted to love it because of how much the internet and TikTok hyped this up. I liked it, it was a well written book, but it was not the five-star book that so many people made it sound like it would be. There were footnotes, in a fiction text, there were copious footnotes and it read so much more like a non-fiction than a fiction. The concept was super interesting, but it just didn’t wow me like I expected it to and I was so excited to read this one. 

A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhew by Manda Collins (3.8/5)

            I liked it! It was really cute. It for sure reminded me of the Lady Darby mysteries by Anna Lee Huber and the League of Extraordinary Women series by Evie Dunmore. It had a lot of similarities in my head to those. It was really cute though and I enjoyed it, I blew through it in two days and that is always fun. It was sweet, kept me turning pages, and I laughed more than once. The murderer did shock me, well, partly shocked me. I had kind of figured it out early on at least in part and so when it was true it made sense. I could read a whole series with just Kate and Andrew, I really could. I have the second one so I will be reading that eventually. I could have actually used an epilogue in this one, or at least a more buttoned up ending, there was just a very open ending and I know that it’s a series, but I want a good closure for pretty much any romance novel. 

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon (4/5)

            It was so cute! I blew through this book; it was so much fun and as a human who has a degree in Radio and Television Production (and went on to do other things) this book hit really close into my heart. It reminded me a little bit of Ten Rules for Faking It which I read earlier this month. This was a little spicier though and I really liked Shay and Dominic. They were so much fun and who doesn’t love a fun couple in a rom-com. I really hated Kent, he seemed like the worst and I guess that he got his so, it’s okay. I know that this one had some mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it. I really did and that’s really all that matters. 

A Lust for Blood by K.C. Smith (5/5)

            It was so good! I love a good curse mechanic with true love, who doesn’t love a curse mechanic with true love? The whole concept of bloodlust as a creature and the gods interfering with things, it was so good. I love the book as a whole because I got a special edition and let’s be real Garren and Oriana are end game, if they don’t get a permanent happily ever after, I’m gonna be upset. This is apparently the first in a trilogy (?) I hope so because I want more of their story, more of their adventures. I want more in general, it does get a little spicy, which is fine. It was such a fun book to read though, I don’t give many books five stars, this one was for sure a five star book for me. 

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten (5/5)

            It was so good! I loved the concept throughout the whole beginning, the relationship that forms between Red and Eammon is so much fun and so tortured. It feels very Beauty and the Beast which I absolutely loved, I read it in two days. I could not put it down and I didn’t want to. I cannot wait to read the second one because I want to see where it goes. I really didn’t 100% like her sister, I hope there is a lot less weakness and sniveling in her in the second book. The whole plot that was subversive to this with Kiri and Arick, it made the story so much more interesting and painful. So painful. There was also just a lot of pain in this book but also so much that I smiled at and laughed at, a lot less laughter, but it was so good and I will be ordering the second one here shortly. 

Between by L.L. Starling (5/5)

            This was a TikTok made me buy it book and then it was gifted to me by my cousin. It’s 737 pages of really fun fantasy and I loved it with my whole being. I laughed so much throughout the whole and having it split almost down the middle between Sasha and Lorn, that made it so much more fun seeing how their interactions truly affected the other person. I swear though, Lorn needs to not do the thing and the High King needs to just stop, whatever they are planning and that nonsense, like don’t ruin this really cute relationship for me. The next one doesn’t come out until late next year and I am going to be chomping at the bit about it until then. I cannot wait to see what happens with the coven, with Lyla, with Ash, with Sasha and Lorn as she does become the Queen of Between. Seriously, the artwork in this was fun, the characters were great, and the world is a mess. Who doesn’t love a truly messy fantasy world that gives very hard Labyrinth meets Monty Phyton vibes? Also its starts out with a drunk unicorn headbutting a car, what’s not to love?

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout (5/5)

            We shall rise. (I had to!)

I heard some mixed reviews on this one, I knew some of the spoilers because of the internet and you know it’s popularity over on the clock app. I read it in two sittings, seriously, I could not put it down. I cannot wait to read the second one. There were so many points throughout where I wanted to smack all of them, every character in the book and some parts that broke me. Like I knew about the betrayal because of the internet, but that didn’t make it hurt any less or make it any less shocking. I love the ‘touch her and die’ trope, I really do and the ending! Now I have to wait and that’s just not fair. I want to go out and get the second on like right now, I’m not going to but dang do I want to. I love Poppy, she’s a secret badass and she’s amazing, all around amazing and the plot twists, I called a few of them but not many. I loved the world building and the relationships. I definitely fist pumped a couple of times when certain characters got theirs, I wanted them to get theirs. Seriously, it was awesome, I will never look at a certain melon the same way and that doesn’t seem fair, but here we are. 

Dance With the Fae Prince by Elise Kova (4.3/5)

            It was really cute. I read the first in this series in February. They are all stand-alone’s set in the same world which is really fun. I did call like 95% of the twists but I read it in one day, seriously. I was not planning on reading all of it yesterday into last night but I did and I don’t regret it one little bit. It was a really fun read; I liked the characters and the world building. It was very Cinderella which was for sure what it promised, I am excited to read the rest of them when I get a chance hopefully next year. 

A Court of Sugar and Spice by Rebecca F. Kenney (4.5/5)

            I want to preface this with, make sure you are aware of the trigger warnings because this book goes hard, I do mean that in so many senses of the word. It was really good; I loved the story as a whole and there is apparently going to be a sequel which is fun. This one is…spicy…like, MJ from a little over a year ago would have smacked me when I told her about it. I saw a snippet on TikTok and it lived in my brain, I showed the snippet to a coworker and she said “I wanna read that” so I bought it. I love the story of The Nutcracker and this one was, dark, twisted, spicy, and a little weird. It was good though, I was expecting it to be not as good as I found it but man, it was interesting and kept me reading.

            So, that’s it. It’s December 30th and I am not going to have time to read a whole other book before the conclusion of the year, so this is where I leave this post. I am going to do it the same way next year, once a month…if I keep the blog going, that is still a little up in the air to be honest. I haven’t had the joy or the time this year to really focus in on this as much as I need to or have wanted to in the past which is not fun. I like blogging but it doesn’t seem worth it to only put up a few posts a month because I get overwhelmed. 

            I read 130 books this year, that’s right, 130. I wanted to read 75, my TBR was 50 and here I am, in December and I read 130 books. I joked at the beginning of the year that reading 100 books in a year seemed like an impossible task and then I found my love for fantasy and apparently romance (?) because I don’t know where that came from. But I started to read more things this year that I wanted to read along with my TBR and I plowed through so many books.

            I don’t know what next year holds, I really don’t and that’s fine. I want to say that I want to set my goal immediately at 100, but I am shooting for 75 at the moment, I don’t want to set a goal that I am not sure is achievable two years in a row.  

            Now, it is time to close out my Book Bullet Journal for the year, it is time to prep and plan for next year’s reading, the Bullet Journal for next year is already done and very different from this year’s. It’s better. 

If you want to check out what else I read throughout the year, you totally can, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November!

            So, until next time, I hope that everyone stays safe, happy, and healthy. 

            -MJ

Post TBR Reads: 35/35 (Go Hex Yourself, Bringing Down the Duke, Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, Love on the Brain, The Devil in the White City, The Shadow in the Glass, Sky Pirates, The Orphan Witch, Mr. Dickens and His Carol, Throne of Glass, Not Your Average Hot Guy, Kingdom of the Feared, Six of Crows, Well Matched, What Lies Beyond the Veil, The Masked City, Book of Night, Defy the Night, Til Death, A Rogue of One’s Own, Hook, Line, and Sinker, Piranesi, Death on The Nile, The Summer of Broken Rules, Much Ado About You, Bride of the Shadow King, Crescent City: House of Sky and Breath, Ten Rules for Faking It, This Savage Song, A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem, The Ex Talk, For the Wolf, Between, From Blood and Ash, Dance With the Fae Prince, A Court of Sugar and Spice)

Unplugged Book Box: 6/6 (The Woman in The library, They Drown Our Daughters, The Last Housewife, Throw Me to the Wolves, The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn, A Lust for Blood)

Book of The Month: 12/12 (Reckless Girls, A River Enchanted, Dating Dr. Dil, Kaikeyi, Darling Girl, The Stardust Thief, The Bodyguard, Small Angels, Other Birds, Sign Here, The Heart Principle, Babel)

Books I Read in November 2022

.Reading time 20 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ,

            Well, here we are in November. I wanted to read more in October and I didn’t so here I am hoping that I can read more in November. I will have a whole week off later in the month because of Thanksgiving Break so I will hopefully have time to read and then just deal with it.

            The first book of the month only took me a few days to read, but has been on my Want to Read list for almost a year? If not about a year. I don’t remember at the moment. Mood reading is my whole life for the rest of that year and at this moment, I am totally cool with that. 

Defy the Night by Brigit Kemmerer (5/5)

            I blew right through this book. It was so good and it kept me engaged from about page one to page 443. I loved Tessa and Corrik and reading it from both of their perspectives made it so much more fun. The second one is already on my want to read list because I want more. I loved the whole story and it was so much the whole time. Like it kept me guessing as to what was going on and who was behind all the things. I want to see how they all grow as people in the second one and there were parts of this book that broke me apart a little. The reveal! I kind of called it, but I really liked all of the twists and turns that led from the beginning to the end. 

Til Death by Carol J. Perry (3.2/5)

            This was book 12 in the Witch City Mysteries and I love the series as a whole. This one though, it didn’t even hit the mystery part until halfway through the book. It was a lot of messy plot lines and maybe that will set up for later books, but it felt very disjointed and I wasn’t actually a huge fan of it. Like her uncle killing her parents? Like he orphaned a child and got away with it for 30 years? It just didn’t feel like the other Witch City books, there was just something about it that fell short for me. Maybe I am getting out of cozy mysteries, I don’t know. I just didn’t love this like I have loved the others. Like I said there was a lot of disjointed plotting and it felt like it took forever and a day to actually get to something interesting. Even then though, it didn’t feel like it was the quality and the caliber of the rest of the series before this one. Like there was this big build up to the wedding and then the wedding got like a chapter before moving on. Lee getting a Jeep had more coverage than the wedding which is really strange because the first half of the book was the prep and lead up to the wedding. A murder at the wedding would have been more fulfilling than this book was. 

A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore (4.3/5)

            I loved it, I loved Bringing Down the Duke as well. Like Tristan and Lucie are so much, in all the best ways. Everyone should know by now I love a good enemies to lovers where the guy for sure falls first! Victorian politics and decorum are a mess. I am glad that I don’t live in that time because no thanks. Her cousins are the worst, seriously, the worst. It was such a fun read and I read more than half in one day because it sucked me into the story and then didn’t let me go until the ending. I cannot wait to read about Hattie and Blackstone in the next one but that is way down on my list so that very well could be an early next year read. 

Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey (4.2/5)

            Wow, this one was a lot angstier than It Happened One Summer also a lot less spicy which I was okay with. I was so worried that Fox and Hannah wouldn’t actually make it and that to be honest would have been so sad about that. Like Fox holds my heart and he needs to be protected, he’s kind of a lot but so is Hannah. I liked the first one a little better, but this one had a very different vibe to it. Fox and Hannah just work and it makes sense to be honest. For him to have this persona that he tries to live up to in the first book, then you find out why and I want to give him a hug. People are the worst to be completely honest. He tries to change for her and I was like, ah yes, he falls first but she’s not far behind. I love their relationship to be completely honest. 

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang (3/5)

            This was my November Book of the Month because none of the choices sounded good. I should have just kept my credit for next month because I wasn’t a huge fan of it. There is a much more in-depth review that will be coming out soon. 

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (3.5/5)

            It was weird. Good but weird, I think that it was good anyway. It felt like a weird cross between The Starless Sea and Annihilation, I loved the idea of this place with the halls and the statues. The ending was weird though, I understand the mind fracturing and all of that. I know that this is a favorite of a lot of people and it’s been on my list for a long time. It was good, but it was also very strange, I know that’s kind of the point. I went into it blind so that was for sure a better plan than knowing anything. I liked that it was told in the forms of a journal or multiple journals. The random capitalizations were a little weird though, but I understood it. Like it was a lot, some of it was great and some of it was confusing, but that’s totally fine. 

Death on The Nile by Agatha Christie (3.5/5)

            This was written and published in the 1930’s I wanted to read it because they made a movie. I was not a huge fan and that’s okay. I love mysteries, I really prefer the cozy variety. This was a lot as a whole book, there was so much convolution. It ends in a murder/suicide and the detective figured that would happen, which was really strange. It didn’t actually start to interest me until like halfway through the book. There were just so many things going on, there were so many perspectives and I cannot judge it on the standard of today, but it’s just not 100% for me and that’s okay.  

The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther (3.8/5)

            I liked it, it was cute. That’s about all I have on it, it was insta love and v Taylor Swift inspired. I liked the premise of the game of Assassin and the story kept me wanting to read it. The whole thing with her ex felt like it was just thrown in there to be a plot point. I was not a huge fan of how her friends/cousins acted with the situation about her sister, like grief is hard and she completely shut down, which was her choice and how she was grieving. I did like the cast of characters though and I love big families like that, I don’t have a big close family, it’s small and everyone is slung across the country. We don’t spend almost any time together and the last time all of my cousins and I were in the same room was a wedding in 2017 and even then, it was just the four of them and their families. It was very small and quiet so there we are. I do wish sometimes that I was part of one of those big families that got together every year, but I’m not. 

Much Ado About You by Samantha Young (4.2/5)

            It was so cute! Like I read it in two days and I smiled so much. I didn’t really like the twist, but it was still a happily ever after because if it wasn’t I would have been upset. I loved the village so much, the bookstore, the whole cast of characters was so much fun. I loved all the Shakespeare references throughout the book. I really liked the main couple because of course I have to. He for sure fell first and head over heels because it was insta love for him which was super cute. I loved Shadow so much; I love when an animal character is featured so heavily. It was a lot of healing old wounds and all of that which was a really good story. A lot of emotional trauma came out through this book and so much of it was solved. 

Bride of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes (4.5/5)

            It took me some time to get into, but man do I ship them. Seriously. Some of the words were a lot because they were not in English and that’s okay, but it did detract from the story a little bit for me, like translations? Please. This for sure was a TikTok made we want it book. It was really good and such a slow burn, I will be getting the second eventually because let’s be honest, I need to see how their story ends but the third one doesn’t come out until next September, so I am going to wait a while before I buy the second one. There is so much in this book and I am wondering, if they would have been up front and honest about all of it, would it have been a very different story? Because let’s be real, boy is pining. I am so scared to see what happens in the second one though because it’s going to be rough, I just know it. 

The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn by Amber A. Logan (4/5)

            This was my November Unplugged Book Box book, it was really good and if you want a more in depth review (yes I promise this every time and then I don’t post anything for two months) it will be up in a few days. It was a good book if you like ghosts and The Secret Garden and Japan, it was for sure worth the read even though it took me some time to actually get into it. 

            Okay, I did want to read more in November, but honestly, life likes to get in the way and I read some chunky books this month. I have no idea how many I am actually going to read in December, my goal is 13, that’s my goal every month but I have three books that are at least 550 pages so that might be a stretch. I have two weeks off for Christmas break, so we are going to try. I promise we are going to try.

            There were a few books this month that I wanted to love, I wanted to really enjoy, but I didn’t and that’s okay. There were a few that left me wanting more of them and not having anything else. I had two books this month that I will be unhauling because I don’t want them in my permanent collection, that’s just the thing at this point. I have books that don’t bring me the joy that I want them to, so I will be saying goodbye to them at the end of the year. I feel like I say that a lot of months and that’s just how it happens because I know that I have more now than I even did last month with the separation of time. 

            If you want to check out what else I have read this year you totally can; January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, and October.

            Alright I will be back later in the week with another post, so until then I hope that everyone stays safe, happy, and healthy!
            

            -MJ

Post TBR Reads: 25/? (Go Hex Yourself, Bringing Down the Duke, Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, Love on the Brain, The Devil in the White City, The Shadow in the Glass, Sky Pirates, The Orphan Witch, Mr. Dickens and His Carol, Throne of Glass, Not Your Average Hot Guy, Kingdom of the Feared, Six of Crows, Well Matched, What Lies Beyond the Veil, The Masked City, Book of Night, Defy the Night, Til Death, A Rogue of One’s Own, Hook, Line, and Sinker, Piranesi, Death on The Nile, The Summer of Broken Rules, Much Ado About You, Bride of the Shadow King, )

Unplugged Book Box: 5/6 (The Woman in The library, They Drown Our Daughters, The Last Housewife, Throw Me to the Wolves, The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn, )

Book of The Month: 11/12 (Reckless Girls, A River Enchanted, Dating Dr. Dil, Kaikeyi, Darling Girl, The Stardust Thief, The Bodyguard, Small Angels, Other Birds, Sign Here, The Heart Principle, )

Books I Read in October 2022

.Reading time 20 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ,

            I am very nearly at 100 books this year, how? How is that possible? I want to go back to 2018 MJ who read 8 books because she got busy and then sad, I want to tell her that we just finished book 98 and its only October 4th. I want to go back to last year MJ and tell her the same thing, she would just stare at me and ask what’s wrong. She would also judge very hardcore what I have been reading. She would also question how I wrote eight books this year, so far. I think she would be concerned, I do think though that she would at least be kind of impressed. 

            I am however really enjoying reading and I think that’s what’s important. I have someone in my personal/professional life who made September difficult at work, it’s sad when you tell someone that you don’t know very well that it’s sad that someone is making you depressed through your antidepressants. So here we are, new month, that’s who we are looking at it, new month. 

            It should shock no one that the rest of the year is mood reading and that’s such a dangerous place for me to be. I don’t need to buy more books, too bad that book that I just finished is one of seven and I am just staring off into the middle distance wanting for a cheaper hobby. 

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (5/5)

            She could write literal garbage and I would still read it; she has a choke hold on me and it’s annoying. Ma’am no one gave you permission…I loved the book, I love her main female characters they are badass and amazing, multi-faceted and they grow so much throughout the story. I have heard that this series needs to be read in a specific order, I’m not going to, I am going to read it in the order it was published at least for the first read through. I loved the tournament element and the growing of the relationships that she finds herself in. I cannot wait to see how magic is integrated into the rest of the series and I have heard it’s going to break my heart, though Sarah has ripped my heart out several times and showed it to me while telling me that I like it. I do and that feels like a problem to discuss with a therapist. 

Not Your Average Hot Guy by Gwenda Bond (3.5/5)

            It was as cute story but the writing style and character voice were a little lacking for me. I am normally not super critical on that because everyone who writes has a different writing style and hopefully a unique voice. This one felt very juvenal at the beginning, it got better as the story evolved. It was a super cute story though and I will be reading the second one to see how Luke and Callie’s story ends. The twists and turns in this story felt both really fun but also tedious and just a little strange. I couldn’t really get a feel of all of it, I do love a cult leader turned into a pygmy fainting goat. That was the best. The whole thing with her friend and her brother, that was a little weird. Just everyone’s reactions didn’t feel genuine and it lacked purpose for me. 

Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco (5/5)

            I have been waiting for this book since last December of last year. Seriously, I have been waiting for almost a year to read this. I couldn’t put it down. I preordered it in April. It came in a few weeks ago and I read it after restraining myself for like a week and a half. It was so good and my 100th book of the year. I feel like that’s fitting, this author was one that really spurred on my reading last year and was my gateway author to a lot of other books and series that I have found since then. I love Wrath, I don’t think that will ever go away and I want to reread the series, which for me is rare. I will not spoil anything, but this book had me laughing, crying, confused, and a whole gambit of emotions that made it one of my best reads of the year no matter that this is the end of the series. I loved the princes and the rest of the cast of characters that were even further developed in this novel. It had me riveted from page one, literally page one and I will recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy and romance, this one was spicy. I will for sure give you that, spicier than I had expected, but it makes sense. 

Sign Here by Claudia Lux (3.5/5)

            This was my Book of the Month book so there will be a whole post about this book in a few days. It was fine, I wanted to like it so much but if felt like six books in one book and there was a lot in it that rubbed me the wrong way. It was a lot and most of it not in a good way. I am not going to spoil it, so that’s about it, if you want to see the spoilers those will be in the more in-depth blog post.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (4.3/5)

            It took me some time to get into and then I couldn’t put it down. I also took a full day off of reading, which is something I usually don’t do. I just wasn’t in the mood to read, which for me is weird and I’m not a fan. I really did enjoy it and I want to read the second one, like right now. I am not going to at the exact moment because I have like 30 books that I want to read before the end of the year…it’s a far-fetched goal, I will try… I promise. It was so good though and I loved the twists and turns that gripped me at the edge of my seat or curled up against in my chair hoping for them to get a break. The ending! What is going on?! I know that like everyone has already read this book, but here I am…late to the party. I will read Crooked Kingdom here eventually because I cannot handle not knowing that maybe there is some sort of happy ending, no matter what “happy” means. 

Throw Me to the Wolves by Lindy Ryan & Christopher Brooks (3.8/5)

            This has its own post coming eventually, I have been out of it for months now and just not posting as much. This one had me hooked from about a chapter in, it was really fast paced and the plot twists I didn’t really see coming, but kind of did. It was so much, but it was actually really good for what it was. It was a little dense overall, but it had me hooked early. The ending left me with a lot of questions and it’s so open for a second, but I don’t think there is going to be one? Who knows. 

Well Matched by Jen DeLuca (4/5)

            It was so cute! I read it in one sitting and it brought back the joy of reading Well Met it for sure brought back the New Girl vibes of the first book. I am so happy that Mitch and April got their own story, that pairing was a little shocking when I first read the synopsis, but it was so good and after the letdown that was Well Played, this was so cute. I love Mitch’s family, like I cannot wait to see Lulu in Well Traveled because I think that’s going to be a lot. I didn’t mind the tension in this one that led to the bad thing, of course there was a happily ever after because if there wasn’t, I would have been upset. 

What Lies Beyond the Veil by Harper L. Woods (5/5)

            This was for sure a “TikTok made me buy it” book and I regret nothing about it. It was so much and I kind of called or at least had an inkling of the plot twist and I want a happy ending, actually no, I need a happy ending. There were parts of it that made me question my sanity but also so much of it kept me turning page after page. Like the first 100 pages or so took me some time to get into and then I finished the rest of the book in two days because I could not put it down. I loved the world building, the tension, and of course we love a good male lead. There were a lot of topics that I am not great with but there are trigger warnings at the beginning so I knew what I was getting into and as long as it wasn’t the main male lead, I’m cool. 

The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman (4.3/5)

            It’s the second in The Invisible Library series and it was so good. I love the characters and I cannot wait to read the next one, which I will buy eventually. I still want Irene and Kai to be together (no one spoil it for me if they have read the series) I love their dynamic, but I would also love that dynamic as well. I really liked the introduction of the dragons in this one and their dynamic against the fae, dragons are order, fae are chaos. I feel like that’s not inaccurate. I am really excited to read the next one though, I would love more library because I love a good magical library. I blew through this book in three days, I could have done it in two, but it’s during the school year so I can’t. The next is already sitting in my Amazon cart and might be a book for next year because I think I am about maxed out for this year, as of this moment. 

Book of Night by Holly Black (3/5)

            This book was good until the last chapter, the last chapter of this book ruined it for me and I will not be reading the second in the duology. I was so excited to read this one, I have had it since I got it in May. I liked the story, I really and truly did, but the ending, the ending turned me off from even considering reading the second one. Also, there were so many things throughout this book that left me with more questions than answers and the ending. Nope. Nah. No thank you. That was so disappointing to me, but it could have ended with this one, if the last chapter would have been changed, it would have been a perfect s stand alone. It is now a duology that I won’t be finishing. This is the first ‘TikTok made me buy it’ book that I didn’t really love as much as I hoped. This was so hyped in the spring and it fell flat because of the ending! 

            Alright, well I wanted to read more in October, but I didn’t and that’s okay. I still got ten books read and that’s still quite a lot. I had some really good reads this month and some that left me lacking feeling or satisfaction. I wanted to like all the books I read this month and didn’t. 

            I still want to read like 13 books in November and I will have a week off later in the month for Thanksgiving so I will hopefully have the time even though I am going to tackle some pretty large books this month. I have hope that I will be able to inch a little closer to 120 by the end of the year, that would be nice. 

            Okay, so like I said, ten books in October for a total of 107 so far this year. How is that even possible? I would love to tell you that I bought more books, I haven’t only my book of the month book but that’s it. 

            If you want to check out what else I have read this year, you totally can, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September!

            I will be back later in the week with another post, so until then I hope that everyone stays safe, happy and healthy!

            -MJ 

Post TBR Reads: 17/? (Go Hex Yourself, Bringing Down the Duke, Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, Love on the Brain, The Devil in the White City, The Shadow in the Glass, Sky Pirates, The Orphan Witch, Mr. Dickens and His Carol, Throne of Glass, Not Your Average Hot Guy, Kingdom of the Feared, Six of Crows, Well Matched, What Lies Beyond the Veil, The Masked City, Book of Night, )

Unplugged Book Box: 4/6 (The Woman in The library, They Drown Our Daughters, The Last Housewife, Throw Me to the Wolves, )

Book of The Month: 10/12 (Reckless Girls, A River Enchanted, Dating Dr. Dil, Kaikeyi, Darling Girl, The Stardust Thief, The Bodyguard, Small Angels, Other Birds, Sign Here, )

Books I Read in September 2022

.Reading time 20 minutes.

Hey hey it’s MJ, 

            So, here we are in September. I am mood reading the rest of the year because I finished my yearly TBR in August, how? I did though so here we are and I am going to read whatever I want for the rest of the year. That’s super dangerous, it really really is. 

            I will still have my Unplugged Book Box books as well as my Book of the Month books, but other than that I am not sticking to a list. I have all the books I plan on reading on a shelf by my desk and I just keep adding to that list. Also, I have a list on Amazon that is just books, there is like 45 in there now…I have a problem. 

            Also, everything is terrible so I need so happy and books are about the only thing that brings me joy at the moment, isn’t that sad? Seriously, have to replace my car windshield (it will be in by the time this post goes up) and a lawn mower threw a rock through my living room window, both panes so that has to be replaced as well (the apartment complex I live in has to do that) September has already been a long month and I am currently only three days into it. 

            Alright, enough rambling. Here we go. My goal for September is 13 like it was last month and the month before that. Though I am reading a few really thick books this month so we will see.

Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare (5/5)

            It was so cute! It was for sure a Star Wars fan fiction, like The Love Hypothesis, did that stop me from reading it and loving every moment? No, I loved all of it and that’s the most fun thing about all of this. The story was really cute, it was a little spicy and the characters were so much fun. I cannot wait to read the next one that comes out next year. So many tropes that I love and that means that this was a five-star book for me. Dru is a lot and for sure my favorite, I want an aunt like her. I loved the magic system in this so much. There was nothing in it that I didn’t like, well there were a few lines that were questionable, but overall, I loved it! 

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (4.3/5)

            It should shock no one that I love Victorian based literature, seriously I have read a billion books where Jack the Ripper is a character, it’s not really that many but I think I read six last year. I love that era, it was insane. Like the treatment of women was not great, but it is such a fun era to read. This book was do good, I devoured it in two days, I read over 100 pages in it after finishing Go Hex Yourself, oops. I read the other 200 pages the next day. I couldn’t put it down. I get what so many people like historical romance, I have never watched or read Bridgerton and I don’t plan on it but this series with a strong and opinionated lead female and a duke who is so much. Like I love enemies to lovers, I really do and this was so good. I cannot wait to read the other two, which I already own because I was hoping that I would like the series. It was spicy, I will say that, though I feel like that is just going to be a pretty blanket true statement throughout the rest of the year. 

Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas (5/5)

            I love ACOTAR, everyone knows that. This one was better. I called none of the plot twists, none of it. I loved it so much; it broke me to my very core a few times. I love all the characters and I am not one to order hardcovers, the next book will be here tomorrow, I ordered it before I even finished the book after it broke me because I could not wait for it to come out in paperback. I love Bryce and Hunt so much. Like I was so amped up about this book the whole time I was reading it. It took like 80 pages or so to get into and then I could not put it down! 799 pages is totally worth it, it’s so worth it and I loved it. I cannot wait to see what happens next and there was so much death and destruction, but I cannot tell you that I loved this book enough times. 

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen (4.6/5)

            This was my September Book of the Month book so there will be a whole post out about this book in a few days, I really enjoyed this one if you can’t tell by my score of it. I read it in one sitting and it was such a fun read. 

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood (5/5)

            I have been waiting to read this book since I read The Love Hypothesis last December, I read it all in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down, seriously I have finished two books this weekend. I loved the whole thing, cats and Star Wars, enemies to lovers, the growth of relationships even when things get hard. I loved the whole book, the bad guy, that was insanity. The whole thing was amazing and I cannot get over it. I feel like I will have more things to say eventually because I am wrapped up in this book a little tightly. I loved the dynamics between Bee and Levi, but again I loved Adam and Olive too so that should shock no one because apparently Ali Hazelwood is an instant buy author for me, who knew. I really did enjoy this whole book because it’s insane, I laughed so hard so many times and the pure gut-wrenching pain of it as well. Seriously, five star book and I cannot wait for Love, Theoretically which apparently comes out next year! 

The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead (3/5)

            This one was a lot. I love a good thriller as much as the next person even though that is not really my genre. I liked it but there were a lot of things in it that really hit me and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, besides uncomfortable. This was my Unplugged Book Box book so that full review will be out with that post soon. 

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (4/5)

            It’s non-fiction. I love turn of the century serial crime. Jack the Ripper and H.H. Holmes were fascinating and I have read a number of books in the last few years when they are characters. This is true crime though and it wraps in the Columbian Exposition as well and I grew up near Chicago so I knew a lot of the places mentioned. Some of the parts about the fair we a little boring, I expecting more Holmes less landscape architecture. I read Depraved last year and I really enjoyed that because man it’s creepy! Like I don’t understand serial killers though I don’t think I would want to dive into their brains. He was charismatic and killed a bunch of people, the total still isn’t known. It was fascinating as a whole. 

The Shadow in the Glass by JJA Harwood (3/5)

            I wanted to like it, I wanted to badly to like it and I did, until I didn’t. I am going to spoil the fact that it didn’t have a happy ending and that did ruin it for me. I liked the idea of a dark Cinderella retelling; I was not on board for magical abortion. Seriously, that was where it lost me. For the first hundred or so pages I had no idea what was going on and then it got good and then it got not so good again. I grew to hate the main character throughout the story. Like she’s 17, she’s 17 and bargains away her soul for wishes. I get Victorian politics and social structure but this one was a lot and I didn’t enjoy it. I love a good love story and a good dark tale, but this tried too hard to be both and left some weird threads dangling at the end. 

Sky Pirates by Liesel Schwarz (4/5)

            This was the third in the Chronicles of Shadow and Light. I read the first one last year and the second earlier this year. It left it open, but apparently there was supposed to be a fourth, this book came out in 2014 so…I have a feeling that it’s over. I really enjoyed it. I love Elle and Marsh, I mean I love Elle in general who doesn’t love a strong female character, but this book had me rooting for Dashwood and Elle too. That’s such a problem. I read it quickly and I was totally okay with it because it kept me turning page after page. The oracle element was really cool, but it always is and Patrice is still the worst. I wish that it wouldn’t have left it open in the epilogue. I wish there was more closure, but there wasn’t so I will just have to roll through it on my own. It was a really fun book though and I would suggest it if you like steampunk as much as I do. 

The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher (3.6/5)

            It was good, super predictable but good. It took me a while to get into it and that was one thing that bugged me. I want to be thrown into the story. I loved the magical mechanics of this story as well as the Library. I love books with ridiculous libraries, we should all know that by now. I love ridiculous and/or magical libraries. They are so much fun. There was a lot in this book that I really liked, there were things that I didn’t. The fact that her family flipped on her was a little off putting and something I called early on. True was the worst and I didn’t miss her. The ending left me slightly unfulfilled and that’s okay. I did enjoy it, would I read it again? No, would I suggest it to others? Yea, sure. 

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva (3.6/5)

            Well, I read A Christmas Carol last December and who doesn’t love the Dickens classic? It’s a cultural phenomenon and has been for almost 200 hundred years, or so. It was fine, I liked it, but I didn’t love it. The story of the creation of A Christmas Carol felt a little weird in this one. I know it is fiction and that means that liberties can be taken. I liked it, but I wasn’t in love with it. I like historical fiction and there is so much going on in this book. 

            Well, there you have it, I read 11 books in September all while my body merked itself because I stopped taking my probiotic and then suffered the consequences. Seriously, it was bad, all bad for weeks. 

            I had a few really amazing books that I got to read this month, some were not my favorite and that’s totally okay. Seriously, you cannot love every book you read, it’s just a little disappointing when you pay for them and they aren’t great, but that’s the break of it. 

            I am on book 98 of the year so that’s really exciting since my original goal was 75 and now it’s 100 which I should hit like this week? Maybe next week? 

If you want to check out what else I have read this year, it’s a lot, but you can: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, and August.

Normally here would be my ‘Let’s Keep Track’ count, but I finished my TBR, so I am going to modify it slightly, if you want to check out the TBR look at August’s post. That’s the last one it’s going to be in. I am changing it up because I want to and not have a few hundred words down here.

Post TBR Reads: 9/? (Go Hex Yourself, Bringing Down the Duke, Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, Love on the Brain, The Devil in the White City, The Shadow in the Glass, Sky Pirates, The Orphan Witch, Mr. Dickens and His Carol, )

Unplugged Book Box: 3/? (The Woman in The library, They Drown Our Daughters, The Last Housewife, )

Book of The Month: 9/12 (Reckless Girls, A River Enchanted, Dating Dr. Dil, Kaikeyi, Darling Girl, The Stardust Thief, The Bodyguard, Small Angels, Other Birds, )

Books I Read in August 2022

.Reading time 25 minutes.

Hey hey, it’s MJ          

Happy August! (well September now, so Happy September!) 

By the time that this comes out in September I will be back in school, which is totally fine it just means less time to read. My hope and I do really mean my hope is that I finish my predetermined 2022 TBR this month! I only have seven books left on the TBR and I am hoping that even with my extras this month that I will be able to get all the way through it. I just want to be a mood reader the rest of the year! 

I didn’t expect to open this doc up on August 1st but I finished my July Unplugged Book Box book today and I figured I might as well get it done. As of this moment I have read 74 books this year. That’s insane since in 2021 I read 77 books in the year; I am in shock that I have read so many this year. I joked early that I thought that people who read 100 books in a year were insane, my goal is now 100 this year. I blame BookTok and sadness. 

The Woman in The Library by Sulari Gentill (3.7/5)

            I wrote a whole post on it a few weeks ago so you can for sure go and check that one out. It was really good; I love the novel within a novel concept because that it hard to do overall. I have seen some less than stellar attempts in the past, but this one was overwhelmingly the novel so I was totally cool with it. Leo gave me the creeps (for good reason). It kept me guessing until the very end and that was so exciting. It was a solid novel that made me want to go and check out Boston. 

The Fifth Heart by Dan Simmons (2.2/5)

            I hated it, I slogged through 600 pages of unfulfilling novel and I hated it. I should have gone with my instincts after like 200 pages to DNF it, but I feel bad doing that. It had such potential but shifting between character perspectives and formatting between sections. It was weird. There were too many plot lines going on, there was too many subversive moments and I hated it. Sherlock Holmes is fiction or not fiction in a book that is fiction. I was confused, I was concerned, and I hated it. This one was not for me and that is totally okay. You may love this book and I might not see the merit or whatever, but I didn’t enjoy reading it. I should have put it down and moved on. 

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (4.3/5)

            I read all but the first 36 pages in one day. I could not put this book down. I love the characters, the concept, and the world building. I have already ordered the second one because I had to. I had to have it already even though I am not going to be reading it anytime soon. I loved all of it, it kept me wrapped from the first page to the end. I love Irene and Kai and I cannot wait to see where that goes. I love detective stories; we all know that and to have an almost Sherlockian style mystery just with magic and alternate realities was so much fun after the last book I read. Like we know that the library has secrets and I am so looking forward to seeing where it goes in the next book. 

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey (4.6/5)

            Y’all when I say that I couldn’t put this down, I couldn’t! TikTok made me want this one and now I want to read Hook, Line, and Sinker so bad. It was so good, I loved the characters and the world building in it, I want to visit this place now. It was spicy, it really and truly was but I have a few of her books on my want to read list and I have seen her on TikTok more than once. This was not supposed to be my next book, I was supposed to finish my Book of The Month book first, but I slogged through the first 100 pages yesterday and needed a good book. I finished it this morning. I was up until 11:30 reading it last night and up at 7:30 reading it this morning. That was how much I loved it, I really loved Piper and Brendan’s transformations throughout the book, it was so cute. They are a lot and I would want it no other way, can’t wait to see how Fox and Hannah get on. 

Small Angels by Lauren Owen (3/5)

            There will be a whole post out about this next week, this one wasn’t for me. This was my August Book of the Month and y’all know by now that I post that as a whole thing all by its lonesome. It was an interesting story and concept but it fell really flat for me. It’s just not my kind of fiction and that’s alright, it happens. I have read a lot of books this year and not every single one of them is going to be a winner. 

Star Wars: Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse (3/5)

            It was a filler book between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, it was fine. It was very much a filler with a lot of characters that I couldn’t connect with and a plot line that was messy. It was not bad, but I was so shocked that there was no perspective from Rey, it was a lot. The writer I feel like ships StormPilot and I agree with that so here we are. I also kind of wish that there was an interlude with the First Order. I was glad that I read Bloodlines a few years ago otherwise there would have been other things that didn’t make sense in this book as well. For a casual Star Wars fan, it was a lot. 

Well Played by Jen DeLuca (3.7/5)

            I wanted to love this one as much as I loved Well Met, it paled in comparison. Catfishing, but make it faire? I liked it, I really did, but it just didn’t feel like a cohesive story, maybe because it starts off where Well Met pretty much ended, well the Epilogue, I think? I am not actually sure and then it went to the next year, taking little snippets of time throughout the year so that spacing was odd for me. I liked Stacey and Daniel, I thought they were fun, but the lies were a little much. I loved the cat, Benedick was a great addition to the story and I am glad that she got out, okay I am. I am glad that Stacey gets to live her life. I thought that problem was going to be with her mom throughout. I will never stop hating the third act break up, I won’t. It’s a very overused trope in contemporary romance, and I am always glad to see a happily ever after or at least to the end of the epilogue, but I don’t like the third act break up. 

They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe (2.8/5)

            This one wasn’t for me; it was in my Unplugged Book Box for August and when that post goes out you can see a more in-depth review of it. It had some really good parts and some that just didn’t sit right with me. This might be someone’s favorite book and that’s awesome, I love that for you. I don’t read horror very often and this one just wasn’t for me. 

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab (5/5)

            I loved this whole series, I read the first last September and then the second in November, I think. I don’t remember at the moment, but I could not put this one down. I love the world that has been built in this series and all of the characters feel very real. This one hurt, it hurt so much! I loved it though so much, the arcs throughout and the magic, I can’t! All of the twists and turns left no threads loose and I can’t say enough good about this book. The ending I felt like left it open and I think that she’s writing more in The Threads of Power, I’m not sure. I would love more with these characters, but I don’t know if that is happening. I loved the entire series though V.E. Schwab like Erin Morgenstern write these beautiful, thrilling, and vivid worlds that suck you in and don’t let go.  

Meet Me at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan (3.5/5)

            It was cute, but very predictable. I didn’t dislike this one as much as I disliked The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris. The main character going back to her ex who was clearly the worst, that hit me in a place. I liked the friendships developed throughout the story and it was cute. It was a tale of picking yourself up after great loss and keeping going. That seems a common theme in Jenny Colgan’s books, a new life in the face and wake of a tragedy. There is a second one that I will not be reading, like it felt very tacked on that (spoilers) Austin is moving abroad and she’s willing to go with him to expand her business. I thought that felt a little sloppy and just a ploy for a sequel. It could have wrapped up nicely in one book not with a Christmasy sequel. It was cute and I enjoyed it, but not that much. 

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker by Rae Carson (3.7/5)

            It’s a movie tie in, I love a good movie tie in novel. I saw the movie when it came out and I did enjoy it. I really did, but I am also not a super huge Star Wars fanatic, I like Star Wars as much as a normal fan. I liked the movie and I know that a lot of people didn’t. Reading it was still different than watching the movie but I did enjoy both the novelization and the film. I really don’t have much to say about it though, if you have seen the movie and enjoyed it you will probably enjoy the book as well.

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas (5/5)

            This is the last book for my 2022 TBR, of the fifty that I picked for this year I have read 49, one I did DNF. This book was hilarious, I laughed so much, the snowball fight had me just about rolling. I liked the different perspectives and I know that this is the bridge between ACOWAR and ACOSF, which my copy should be here at some point this month, I ordered a paperback and I am hoping it’s the same size or I will be taking it back to Barnes and Noble and buying their exclusive version. I loved it, I read it in one sitting because I wanted to get it done. I’m still not a huge Nesta fan and maybe ACOSF will change my mind, I don’t know if it will though. This series showed up in my life because of BookTok and I would say it was probably my gateway series to a lot the other books I have bought in the last year or so. I want to go back to MJ at this time last year and tell her about all of this. She would laugh at me because I have read 85 books this year. She would laugh, hysterically. Az actually talked in this one, it was like a miracle. 

Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley (4/5)

            Alright, there is going to be a major spoiler for this book, so if you want to read it, skip this blurb, I promise it’s a big deal. The revelation of him actually being engaged at her friend’s wedding almost broke me. I was so mad! Like there is still a happy ending but that almost ruined the book for me. Yea, soulmates are great and all but he was engaged! To the woman that he claimed to have cheated on her with when they dated in college. I loved watching their relationship flourish and then that happened and I was gutted. Like it left a bad taste in my mouth. I loved the book within a book aspect. The epilogue was weird, but if you know me, I think that most epilogues are weird and I am not a huge fan of them. 

            Alright, well I read 13 books in August which is insane. August has been a rollercoaster for me that’s for sure and at this point I don’t know what the rest of the year is going to look like. I am 20 books ahead of my goal which is insanity. I have read 86 books so far this year and I finished my TBR with A Court of Frost and Starlight. I finished 49 of my 50 TBR books, I did DNF one because I couldn’t get behind it. I think that my goal of 100 would have been lofty at the beginning of the year. 

            There were sure a few books this month that I could have done without reading and that’s totally okay. Not every book is for everybody there were also some really amazing books that I have read this month. Now I get to mood read the rest of the year and so this series is going to turn spicy, it’s going to just be fantasy and romance because that is apparently who I am now. I didn’t know that about myself until like October or November last year and now here I am…I am allowed to read and enjoy what I read and enjoy. I have to be a professional human all day and so when I get home and decompress, I want to read what I want. 

            Alright, well I think I need to stop on this post, it’s getting super long. If you want to check out the rest of the books that I have read this year (if you are so inclined or want to see my ramblings about books) you totally can! January, February, March, April, May, June, and July!

            So, until next time I hope that everyone stays safe, happy, and healthy and I will see y’all later in the week with another post!

            -MJ

Let’s Keep Track Shall We?: 

General Fiction: 10/10 (The Runaway Princess, Since You’ve Been Gone, Admission, Delicious, The Royal We, The Long Dark Tea Time of The Soul, One Evening in Paris, Solsbury Hill, Girl Online: Going Solo, Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe)

Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 9/9 (because one has been DNFed) (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Hiddensee, The Crystal Cave, Sword of Destiny, The Map of Time, Dreams of Distant Shores, The Invisible Library, Star Wars: Resistance Reborn, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)

Historical: 10/10 (The Velvet Hours, In the Shadow of Paris, And Only to Deceive, Radio Girls, Black Rabbit Hall, A Study in Death, In Falling Snow, Sea of Lost Love, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, The Fifth Heart)

Thriller: 2/2 (The Alienist and Meddling Kids)

Free Choice: 14/14 (Love and Gravity, A Fate of Wrath and Flame, City of Lost Dreams, It Devours!, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Study in Ashes, A Clockwork Heart, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Beast’s Heart, A Court of Wings and Ruin, The last Days of Magic, The Devil’s Workshop, A Conjuring of Light, A Court of Frost and Starlight)

Memoirs/Autobiographies: 2/2 (Buffering and Always Look on The Bright Side of Life)

General Non-Fiction: 2/2 (The Happiness Advantage and Teacher Misery)

Book of The Month: 8/12 (Reckless Girls, A River Enchanted, Dating Dr. Dil, Kaikeyi, Darling Girl, The Stardust Thief, The Bodyguard, Small Angels, )

Extras: 21/? (Midnight Spells Murder, Hot Vampire Next Door S1, Twisted Love, Malibu Rising, A Deal with the Elf King, Hot Vampire Next Door S2, The Fine Print, Well Met, Book Boyfriend, The Sound of Stars, Twisted Games, A Not So Meet Cute, Not the Witch You Wed, Hot Vampire Next Door S3, Hooked, The Flatshare, The Cartographers, Twisted Hate, The Library of the Dead, A Winter’s Promise, Well Played, Talk Bookish to Me)

Unplugged Book Box: 2/? (The Woman in The library, They Drown Our Daughters, )