New Year, new me… right? Well, I’m going to try again to set some reading goals for the new year that is coming! So that’s exactly what we are going to do today.
I’m using some of the goals that I set for 2022, but I changed a few things! I also added 3 new goals to keep things interesting! Needless to say, I’m very excited with my new plan for 2023!
So after some thought and deliberation, I put together all of my bookish goals that I want to achieve! Ready to take a look? Here they are:
1. Read 60 books
Every single year I set my reading goal for 60 books per year (which means 5 books per month). This amount works perfectly for me. It’s a very achievable goal for me, and if the year gets trickier, it becomes more of a challenge. Most years I surpass this amount, but I’m still happy if I get to read 60 books in a year!
2. Reduce book collection to 200 (or less) books
I’ve had this same goal for 2022, but it didn’t go as well as I thought it would, so I decided to try again in 2023. I have a ton of books on my shelves and I would love to reduce my collection to a more manageable number. The truth is that nobody needs that many books – I have about 260 as I’m writing this. It’s time to reduce the collection for good!
3. Read 20 books from my physical TBR
I also had this goal for 2022, but this time I’m reducing the value to 20 books. I read books in different formats, but I want to prioritize what’s currently on my shelves. I found 30 books to be a lot, so in 2023 one of my goals will be to read at least 20 of my physical copies… we’ll see how that goes!
4. Read 2 fantasy series I have always wanted to read
Another repeated goal, but I’m downsizing this one to 2 fantasy series. The thing is: I love fantasy series, but I have a hard time compromising with long series with a ton of volumes. Which is a shame, because from my experience, these kinds of series are amazing! My TBR list is FILLED with all the ones I never got to read, so in 2023 I want to go through some of them, no matter the size. For example, some of the fantasy series I want to read are: Dune, The Lord of the Rings, A Curse so Dark and Lonely, Red Queen, City of Bones, Shadow and Bone, Ready Player One, Throne of Glass, and many more!
5. Read 2 big books (>500 pages)
Another repeated goal, but I’m making it 2 this time! So, not only am I intimidated by big series, but I’m also intimidated by big books (for me this means over 500 pages). I always try to go against my fear of big books, because I know I’m missing out on some amazing stories and world-building. And that’s the reason why I’m doing this! I want to pick up at least 2 of these in 2023.
6. Do not finish books if I really don’t want to
A new goal for the new year (finally)! This is pretty self-explanatory, but I’m tired of keep reading when I’m not into the stories. So this year I want to remind myself that life is too short to read boring books. If it’s not good, I am moving on!
7. Read a book for every genre
Another thing I want to try to achieve this year is to read from different genres! I think of myself as a diverse reader, but this year I’m putting it on paper! I want to get out of my comfort zone and read some cool, different books so this year I’ll try to check the following genres:
Romance
Thriller
Fantasy
Young Adult
New Adult
Adult
Horror
Historical
LGBTQ+
Contemporary
Science Fiction
Science
Self-Development
Memoir / Biography
Mystery
Paranormal
Graphic Novel / Manga
8. Do TBR lists again!
I did this for a very long time, but I stopped because at some point I felt like I was being forced to read whatever I planned for the month. I want to try this again for a few different reasons, but mostly because I really liked how organized I was with my reading. It was a lot of fun to write my TBR posts every month and pick new books for each month! Another plus is that I can track my reading goals a little better this way as well. For me these are all great reasons to try again, so why not? 🙂
So what do you think of my reading goals for 2023? To be honest, I’m feeling confident! I think all of the reading goals that I’m setting for 2023 are both challenging and achievable, just like in 2022.
Tell me about you! Do you have any reading goals for 2023? Let me know!
Did you see my last post “The Best Books I Read in 2022”? I honestly believe I had an amazing year full of amazing books! It was a very positive year because most of the books I picked up were good. Now with that said… I read some bad books as well.
Fortunately they were very few! So that’s exactly what I’m sharing with you today: the worst books I read in 2022. To be more specific, I’m bringing you 4 books I read last year that I disliked and the reasons why I disliked them.
Just a small, but necessary disclaimer: please don’t take it personally if I mention a book you loved! We all have different opinions and tastes when it comes to reading and I’m not trying to offend anyone… this is just my personal opinion 🙂
Okay, now let’s go into the list! Here are the books:
1. The Blouse by Bastien Vivès
This was by far one of the worst books I have ever read in my entire life. I got this book from NetGalley, and I absolutely hated it. I rated it 1 out of 5 stars – which is one of the lowest ratings I have ever given a book. Just to explain quickly what the book is about: we follow a plain Jane named Séverine. She doesn’t stand out in any way, shape or form… until she puts on a silk blouse. Then all of a sudden she becomes a sex bomb. And not only that, but her personality changes just like magic. First she’s very shy, does not smoke and is very quiet. After putting on the blouse, she starts smoking, starts cheating on her boyfriend recklessly and “interacts” with strangers with confidence. Aaaand… that’s it, that’s the whole story.So why did I dislike this so much? There are a lot of reasons, so to name a few: it’s a very shallow book, it has no story (or explanation, or goal, or motivation, or direction or anything); it has a lot of weird, vulgar and icky scenes – I’m no prude, but it was too much; the artwork was bland and underwhelming… I just don’t get what this book was trying to achieve. I don’t think I will ever find anyone I would recommend this book to. It was a complete waste of time.
2. Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker
I was a little sad that I started the new year with a bad book. It wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read in my entire life, but it was still bad and very confusing. The artwork was beautiful and I liked the magic and witchcraft theme of the book… but what really went wrong for me was the plot. The story was mostly focused on a romance, so the plot felt secondary and unnecessary. It was very weak and rushed, and the timing of the images felt weird. I also had a hard time connecting to the characters, because they were extremely bland and boring. The insta-love romance was weak and lacked chemistry, so I didn’t care for it either. The only thing I really liked about this book was the art, but… why on Earth is the art different in the last chapters? It looks like the work was left unfinished which was super weird. Unfortunately it wasn’t even entertaining, I wouldn’t recommend it as well.
3. How To Be Better At (Almost) Everything by Pat Flynn
Well, this one didn’t work out for me as well. Do you know the famous quote “a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one”? Supposedly, this was the main idea of the book. However, one of the reasons why I didn’t like this book is because it feels more like a random memoir than a self-development book. It’s very focused on the author’s experiences and interests. There is a lot about him playing the guitar, working out and faith/religion… but not much about actual self-development. There’s bad, cringe humor and a lot of biased religious references that ended up being a little too preachy. I always say that I always learn something about every book I read, but I don’t think I learn anything from this “self-development” book. It was underdeveloped and all over the place, there was a lot of filler and the good/evil preaching session was unnecessary. I didn’t take much from it, and I believe it’s a waste of time.
4. Tidesong by Wendy Xu
What are the odds of the same author appearing two times in a “Worst books” list? Not only “Mooncakes” is here, but also “Tidesong” by Wendy Xu. I thought “Mooncakes” was probably an isolated situation, so I decided to pick up “Tidesong” this year as well. Even though the plot was a little better this time, the reading experiences were very similar. Again, the illustrations were beautiful, but… that’s pretty much it. That’s all I liked about this book. The story was weak, the pacing was weird, and the timing between the frames felt super off sometimes – and I had the exact same experience with “Mooncakes”. It felt like everything happened in two or three pages, and then nothing happened for a longer time. These books lack structure and a solid plot to shine. So what’s the conclusion here? Wendy Xu’s books are not for me, so I think I’ll avoid them in the future.
Like I said, please take my opinion with a grain of salt. Everyone likes what they like and we all have different opinions!
So tell me, have you ever read any of these books? Let me know in the comments! I hope you enjoyed this post and I will see you in my next post!
Happy new year! Let me ask you something: is there a better way of starting the new year than with great book recommendations? Because that’s exactly what I’m bringing you today: the best books I’ve read in 2022!
I read 60 books last year, and let me tell you… it was an amazing reading year! It was overwhelmingly full of 4 and 5 stars ratings, so it was very necessary for me to make this post to tell you all about it!
Just a small disclaimer: these are not necessarily books that came out last year! This list is focused on my personal reading year and the books that were part of it.
So here are 7 books I read last year that I loved! Let’s get into it:
1. The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns
This book was absolutely stunning! It reminded me of my all-time favorite book “Memoirs of a Geisha”, and I honestly couldn’t help falling in love with this story. This is an historical romance, with a setting in Japan. This book is beautifully written and the reading experience is very immersive. Not only will you feel like you traveled in time, but you also get a good glimpse of what life in Japan was like in 1957. The author used two different time periods for the story.and when these timelines converge, the story is blended perfectly and a big revelation is made! The inspiration for this book came from someone close to the author, who lived a similar reality, so she worked on this fictional story for years before publishing it. It’s just a beautiful story. It is so much more than a love story. It’s a story about heartbreak, love and loss. It’s an emotional rollercoaster, but it’s absolutely worth it.
2. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
This year I found the best book I have ever read about financial freedom: the amazing “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. This is the kind of book that changes your perspective forever. It had a huge impact on my life and I will forever be grateful to Mr. Robert for sharing his knowledge with this book. My perspective on money issues has forever changed and I’m now on the right path to achieve financial freedom. There were so many things said in this book that made me reflect on my life and my own beliefs about money. To create a different reality, we need to think differently and get out of our comfort zone. And that’s exactly what I have been doing this last month! My reality already changed drastically and I’m even more motivated to keep going. I don’t know what else to say other than: you need this book in your life. No matter how much money you have (or don’t have), this is definitely worth picking up. There’s no way you’ll stay indifferent to your financial situation after reading this book. You need to read it!
3. Atomic Habits by James Clear
This book is absolutely phenomenal! The focus of this work of art is to teach you how habits work and how to make changes in your life using practical and easy techniques. It’s a very practical book because the author gives easy and clear instructions for the reader to follow. He also explains what’s behind each tip with a fresh and new perspective. It is a very simple and easy book to follow. It’s not a dense, complex or hard book to keep up with. Everything is very well structured and the language used is accessible to readers of all ages. I learned a lot from this amazing book and I already use some of its teachings in my daily life. I strongly believe you’ll take something from this book if you give it a chance. If you are looking for a book to create new habits or to stop old habits, this is the book for you!
4. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
This is one of the best memoirs I have ever read in my entire life, and trust me… I’ve read a few already! Like everyone else who came across this book, I was hooked by the words “I’m Glad My Mom Died”. The title hooked me in, but the book amazed me. Jennette shares a lot about her and her life in her book, including her family dynamics, the abuse from her mother, what it is like to go through child stardom, and body image issues/eating disorders. This is a very personal memoir, but mostly – it’s an important one. This is just a real life example of what so many child actors go through growing up. They frequently are abused and exploited by parents and people in the business, and they’re scarred for life – just like Jennette was. It’s a very impactful and tough book to read, and I’m very impressed with what was achieved with this book. If you’re into memoirs, I have to recommend this one!
5. The Obesity Code by Jason Fung
If I had to pick the best book I have read in 2022, this one would be my first choice. This was a life changing book for me. I’ve struggled with overeating and being overweight for a few years now, and I’m always looking for new information and new things to read on the subject. This was a very important read for me because I learned a lot and I applied a lot of the teachings to lose weight… and guess what? It worked perfectly! I’m happy to say my habits have changed and I’ve lost a lot of weight so far! The author uses A LOT of human studies to back up every claim. It’s the kind of book that you will definitely take something from, even if you’re an expert in the subject because he covers a lot of areas. Not only does he explain what works and what doesn’t for weight loss, but it uses a lot of proof to back it up. And the best part? It’s very easy to read because the language used is simple so anyone can read it. This is an amazing book and an essential read with anyone struggling with losing weight! It’s a must read.
6. The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne
And the award for best retelling book read in 2022 goes to… you guessed it, “The Book of Gothel”! Yes, I’m a big fan of retellings – especially with villains -, and this was one of the best I have ever read! I’m very surprised this is a debut novel, because it’s absolutely stunning and well written. Every single element of this book created a beautiful and immersive reading experience. I would describe this book as young adult fantasy, but it definitely matures as the story goes. It’s nothing too graphic (in my opinion), but it talks about more serious topics as the book progresses. There’s a bit of romance in here, but it’s not the main focus of the book. The focus of this book is 100% the main character’s development. It’s a coming-of-age story with a touch of feminism, folklore and paganism. I just love how original, creative and inspiring this story was! If you like retellings, this is definitely a must-read!
7. The Power is Within You by Louise L. Hay
Another great book! When I started this book and I got through the first chapters, I thought this would be a pretty simple self-development book. But as the book progresses, I started to read about things that really spiked my interest and curiosity. One of these topics was on how we create our own diseases with our negative emotions such as frustration and anger. Not only that but she also talked about how the affected organs and side of the body are also not coincidental. Honestly, I just loved this one so much. It’s a very positive, feel-good book, and I learned a lot of new things. Even if you don’t take everything it preaches, I guarantee you’ll still find something here that you can take with you.
I’m just so happy with all of the amazing books I found this year. It was truly an inspiring year dominated by self-development and non-fiction. I feel like I learned a lot through reading in 2022 and I’m forever grateful for that.
Like Dr. Phil always says, “no matter how many times you flip a pancake, it always has two sides’ ‘. But why am I referencing this quote? Because even though I had read amazing books in 2022, I also read bad books… and that’s exactly what I’m bringing you in my next post: “The Worst Books I’ve Read in 2022”! So stay tuned for that. 🙂
What about you? What were the best books you read last year? Did you read any of the books I included in the list? Let me know in the comments!
It’s that time of the year: the time I look back at the reading goals I set myself for the past year… and laugh at how miserably I have failed. To be fair, I try to achieve what I planned at the beginning of the year, but life sometimes has a sense of humor that doesn’t always go with my plans.
I really like setting goals for myself for different areas of my life, and reading is no exception. I think it’s the perfect opportunity to push our boundaries, explore new things and get out of our comfort zone. I highly recommend that you do the same! My recommendation is to start with a quantity goal, which means you could start by defining a number of books you want to read for the year. And don’t worry, even if you don’t always achieve what you plan… the important thing is that you try and grow along the way!
So how does this work? In the following list, I will list all of my reading goals for 2022. In front of each goal I added an icon: ✔️ if I achieved it or ❌ if I failed. So here are the reading goals I set for 2022:
1. Read 60 books: ACHIEVED ✔️
Another successful year of achieving my goal of reading 60 books! This was not very hard for me to achieve since this has been my yearly goal for the last few years. This year I was able to read 62 books, which means I read about 5 books per month (average). At this point I’m already used to reading this amount!
2. Reduce book collection to 200 (or less) books: FAILED ❌
Oh, this was a MAJOR flop. I started the year having 262 books in my collection, and right now my book collection count is at 264. So somehow I ended up with two more books than when I first started the year! The funny thing about this is that I sold dozens of books this year… but somehow I bought even more! This is something I desperately need to fix, so I’m working on this in 2023.
3. Read 30 books from my physical TBR: FAILED ❌
I was very surprised with myself with this goal, because even though I wasn’t able to reach the goal of reading 30 books from my physical TBR… I got to read 22! That’s crazy! I ended up reading a lot of my physical books, so I’m very proud of myself nonetheless!
4. Read 3 fantasy series I have always wanted to read: FAILED ❌
Another goal that didn’t go according to plan because I wasn’t in the mood to pick up book series. I picked a lot of standalones and non-fiction books, so fantasy series were not on my priority list this year. From all the fantasy series I wanted to read, I only read one complete series: “The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” duology.
5. Read all the books sent/lent to me: FAILED ❌
I have a few books that were sent to me by authors and publishers, so I want to read those in 2022. Not only that, but I have also accumulated a lot of books that were lent to me by friends. I want to read them all and return them afterwards so I’ll have more space on my shelves and time to read my own books.
6. Read 3 big books (>500 pages): FAILED ❌
If you read my “My Fear of Big Books” post, you know I’m intimidated by big books. I wanted to work on this fear of mine because I don’t want to miss out on all the amazing stories out there. So one of my goals was to read 3 big books in 2022. This also was a failure, because I only picked up 1 big book, which was Karin Slaughter’s “Pretty Girls” (with 548 pages). I’m not super mad with goal, because I was still able to read at least one!
And there you have it friends, my reading year. Try not to judge me, please! I’m still very proud of myself for trying because this was a hard year for me. My illness and surgery took a lot of my time and energy, and I was still able to achieve something and make progress with my reading. I’m not going to be hard on myself. It was a tough year, but hopefully I’ll achieve more goals in 2023 🙂
What about you? Have you revisited your goals? Let me know how your year went! I wish you a great reading year with amazing books 🙂
Once again, I just wanted to pop on here and wish you all a happy New Year! This last year was a little tough for a few different reasons, and my hope is that 2023 will be a better year for all of us. I’m very grateful for all of the lessons this past year has taught me… but I’m ready for a new chapter!
Friends, I wish you all the best for 2023. I wish you health, wealth and a lot of happiness and fulfillment in your lives. Nothing less than that. 🙂
Cheers! Let’s grow and have a great 2023 together.
I just want to take a few minutes to wish you all a merry Christmas! I hope you are spending the holidays with the ones you love, surrounded by tons of love, warmth and great food! Most importantly, I hope you have a lot of fun during this magical season, and who knows, maybe Santa will bring you a few books that have been on your TBR list for a while 🙂
I hope you all have a wonderful festive season. See you in the next post!
With a new year right around the corner comes amazing new releases.
I’ve been wandering around Goodread for some inspiration for this post, but I admit it wasn’t easy. There weren’t a lot of book releases I was excited about, so I did some digging on some of the authors I adore. So after some time, I found 8 books that I want to read that will be released in 2023!
So here are the books I found! Let’s get into it:
1. Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The author Silvia Moreno-Garcia caught my attention with the book “Mexican Gothic”, and when I saw this synopsis I got a very similar feeling. It also fits the genre since it’s a Mexican historical mystery novel, so I’m very curious about this one!
Synopsis:
“Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood. Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed. Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse… but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her, and Tristán begins seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend. As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán may find that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies.”
2. Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon
I became a fan of Rachel Lynn Solomon when I first read “The Ex Talk”. I just thought the book was super creative for a romance, and now I want more. That’s the main reason why I added this one to my TBR for next year!
Synopsis:
“A ghostwriter and a struggling actor help each other on the page and in the bedroom in this steamy romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Ex Talk. Chandler Cohen has never felt more like the ghost in “ghostwriter” until she attends a signing for a book she wrote—and the author doesn’t even recognize her. The evening turns more promising when she meets a charming man at the bar and immediately connects with him. But when all their sexual tension culminates in a spectacularly awkward hookup, she decides this is one night better off forgotten. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. Her next project is ghostwriting a memoir for Finn Walsh, a C-list actor best known for playing a lovable nerd on a cult classic werewolf show who now makes a living appearing at fan conventions across the country. But Chandler knows him better from their one-night stand of hilarious mishaps. Chandler’s determined to keep their partnership as professional as possible, but when she admits to Finn their night together wasn’t as mind-blowing as he thought it was, he’s distraught. He intrigues her enough that they strike a deal: when they’re not working on his book, Chandler will school Finn in the art of satisfaction. As they grow closer both in and out of the bedroom, they must figure out which is more important, business or pleasure—or if there’s a way for them to have both.”
3. Borrow My Heart by Kasie West
I mean… it’s a Kasie West book, no more explanations needed. And apparently this is a series, so bonus points for that!
Synopsis:
“When a girl overhears a guy getting verbally destroyed by his friends for being catfished, she jumps in to save the day—and pretends to be his online crush. A young adult romance from the critically acclaimed author of Places We’ve Never Been. Wren is used to being called a control freak. She doesn’t care; sticking to the list of rules she created for herself helps her navigate life. But when a cute guy named Asher walks through the door of her neighborhood coffee shop, the rulebook goes out the window. Asher is cute, charming . . . and being catfished by his online crush. So Wren makes an uncharacteristically impulsive decision—she pretends to be the girl he’s waiting for to save him from embarrassment. Suddenly she’s fake-dating a boy she knows nothing about. And it’s… amazing. It’s not long before Asher has her breaking even more of her own rules. But will he forgive her when he finds out she’s not who she says she is? Wren’s not so sure. . . . After all, rules exist for a reason.”
4. Heartstopper: Volume Five by Alice Oseman
I love this series so much! As you can see, this book still has no cover because I feel like there are a lot of things that are not defined around this book – probably between the editor and author. I’m super excited to read the conclusion to the series, and hopefully this will be released this year like Goodreads is promising!
Synopsis:
It doesn’t have a synopsis yet, sorry!
5. Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire
Another series I fell in love with from the start and I’m very excited to continue reading. If you have never read it and you love fantasy series, this is a must. The best part is that the books are fairly short!
Synopsis:
“A young girl discovers an infinite variety of worlds in this standalone tale in the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire, Lost in the Moment and Found. Welcome to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go. If you ever lost a sock, you’ll find it here. If you ever wondered about favorite toy from childhood… it’s probably sitting on a shelf in the back. And the headphones that you swore that this time you’d keep safe? You guessed it…. Antoinette has lost her father. Metaphorically. He’s not in the shop, and she’ll never see him again. But when Antsy finds herself lost (literally, this time), she finds that however many doors open for her, leaving the Shop for good might not be as simple as it sounds. And stepping through those doors exacts a price. Lost in the Moment and Found tells us that childhood and innocence, once lost, can never be found.”
6. Five Survive by Holly Jackson
Another book I’m very excited about is a new release coming from the amazing Holly Jackson, titled “Five Survive”. I added this to my TBR for the author once again, because I fell in love with the “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” series. I’m very excited to see what this one is about!
Synopsis:
“The brand new unmissable crime thriller from Holly Jackson, best-selling, award-winning author of the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder trilogy. Eight hours. Six friends. One sniper… Eighteen year old Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV, heading to the beach for Spring Break. It’s a long drive but spirits are high. Until the RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere. There’s no mobile phone reception and nobody around to help. And as the wheels are shot out, one by one, the friends realise that this is no accident. There’s a sniper out there in the dark watching them and he knows exactly who they are. One of the group has a secret that the sniper is willing to kill for. A game of cat-and-mouse plays out as the group desperately tries to get help and to work out which member of the group is the target. Buried secrets are forced to light in the cramped, claustrophobic setting of the RV, and tensions within the group will reach deadly levels. Not everyone will survive the night.”
7. Snow & Poison by Melissa de la Cruz
As you probably know by now, I’m a huge fan of fantasy retellings, so when I saw that Melissa de la Cruz is going to release a Snow White retelling, I immediately added this to my 2023 TBR!
Synopsis:
Raven-black hair, red lips, and skin as white as snow—Lady Sophie has led a sheltered life. . . . But that tale ends here. Duchy of Bavaria, 1621. The palace is abuzz with excitement. The widowed Duke Maximilian is marrying a lady named Claudia, and at last, introducing his daughter Sophie to Bavaria’s high society. At the ball, Sophie charms the dashing Prince Philip, heir to the Spanish throne. But as days pass and Sophie and Philip fall deeply and dangerously in love, the king of Spain orders Philip’s return home and his engagement to a princess. Heartbroken, Sophie finds comfort in Claudia. But might the rumors of her stepmother’s dealings with magic be true? And when conflict between kingdoms puts a target on Sophie’s back, can a vanished witch be the key ally she needs? A new tale begins: one where Sophie must shield her heart, fight for life life, and protect her home.”
8. The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary
Another book from Beth O’Leary means another book to add to my TBR. She writes amazing romance books, and I’m sure this will not be an exception!
Synopsis:
“Two sworn enemies. A failing hotel. One chance to save the season… It’s the busiest season of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So when Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and see it through. The hotel won’t stay afloat beyond Christmas without some sort of miracle. But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management that this might be the way to fix everything. With four rings still sitting in lost property, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel – and their jobs. As their bitter rivalry turns into something much more complicated, Izzy and Lucas begin to wonder if there’s more at stake here than the hotel’s future. Can the two of them make it through the season with their hearts intact?”
And there you have it friends, these are a few of my anticipated releases for 2023. Like I said, I found these because I did some digging on some of my favorite authors, but other than that I was having a hard time finding books I’m interested in reading.
Tell me about you, do you have any books you’re excited to read? Let me know so I can search them up!
I hope you’re doing well and I hope you are excited for the holidays. I sure am, and that’s exactly why I’m having so much fun writing these Xmas posts!
Last year I wrote a post titled “7 Books I would love to find under the Christmas tree”, and I thought it would be nice to keep the tradition alive! It is also a way for me to share with you a few books that have been on my radar for the last few months.
This year’s version is not 7 books, but 10! I was planning on doing the same number, but I honestly couldn’t reduce the list – and trust me, I tried! There are so many amazing books out there that I still haven’t picked up, so the list got a little longer for 2022.
Enough chit chat, let’s get into it! Here are 10 books I would love to find under the Christmas tree:
1. It Starts With Us (It Ends With Us #2)by Colleen Hoover I mean… is there any question on why this book is in this list? Not only Colleen Hoover is one of my favorite authors of all time, but I loved the first book in this series – “It Ends With Us”. I’m pretty sure this wasn’t supposed to be a duology/series, so I’m curious to see what this book is about. To be completely honest with you, it’s only a matter of time I’ll get this one – gifted or not!
2. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Another book I would love to get my hands on is “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau“. The reason why this is on my wishlist is simple: I read “Mexican Gothic” and I was obsessed with it. I really wanted to read this new Silvia Moreno-Garcia because it seems like the book has a similar vibe to it. It’s also historical gothic horror themed, and I’m so here for it!
3. Realm Breaker / Blade Breaker (Realm Breaker series) by Victoria Aveyard I’m super curious about this new Victoria Aveyard fantasy series! Some people say it’s a duology and others say it’s a trilogy, so I don’t know exactly how long this series is. Either way, I would be more than happy to get the two first books. *wink wink*
4. Places We’ve Never Been by Kasie West A new Kasie West book always means “new addition to my TBR”. Kasie West is one of my favorite authors of all time, so the fact this book is here is self-explanatory.
5. Not Here To Be Liked by Michelle Quach This is a pretty random addition to my wishlist, I admit. With that said, I’m still curious about this one. Some people compare this book to Moxie, but I haven’t read it so I wouldn’t know what that means. The story sounds cool and the cover is gorgeous, so why wouldn’t I want to read it?
6. Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie I’ve been wanting to pick up this book ever since it came out. Fortunately this was published in Portuguese, which I thought was awesome! But for some reason I never actually bought it. I would be super happy to find it under the Christmas tree!
7.Blade of Secrets (Blade of Secrets series) by Tricia Levenseller Tricia Levenseller is one of my favorite authors as well and this is one of the books I still haven’t picked from her. I think this is the first book of a duology (or maybe a trilogy?), and I’m very curious about it. I love her strong female characters! I’m definitely picking this up sooner or later.
8.Twisted Love by Ana Huang The reason why I added this book to my wishlist is because there is so much hype around this series! I have friends who recommend it to me all the time, so I got curious. Another good thing is that this was also translated to Portuguese, so I’ll try to get it in the future to support Portuguese editors.
9.Ariadne by Jennifer Saint I don’t know a lot about this book other than it’s super popular among fantasy readers. I believe this is a mythology book, which is a genre I always love to read about!
10.House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas And the last book on this list is another book I’ve been wanting to read for a while! The newest fantasy series from Sarah J. Maas grabbed my attention since the day it was announced. For this reason, I’m also going to get this one in the future… gifted or not. 🙂
Great books, right? I really want to pick these in the future, and I hope I’ll get to (at least some of) them in 2023! Of course, I have more books I would love to put my hands on… but we would be here all day if I kept writing!
What about you? What books do you hope to get this Christmas? Do you have a bookish list for Santa ready? Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!
If you saw my last post The Best Books I Read in 2021, you know I had a great reading year last year. But even the best reading years have terrible books, and that’s exactly what I’m sharing with you today.
Today I’m bringing you the 8 books I read last year that I disliked and the reasons why I disliked them. A big disclaimer: please don’t take it personally if I mention a book you loved! We all have different opinions and tastes when it comes to reading and I’m not trying to offend anyone… this is just my personal opinion 🙂
Okay, now let’s go into the list! Here are the books:
Twelve Nights by Andrew Zurcher This book… oh Lord, where do I start with this book? I’m always very grateful when authors and publishers reach out to me and give me books to review, but I have to be real when I review them and this book ended up being absolutely dreadful. I wish this was only my opinion, but apparently it is a very popular opinion with almost everyone who read this book. This was the worst middle grade book I have ever read, and one of the worst books I have ever read. I think it had great potential, but the execution killed the story. I personally wouldn’t recommend it, but if you’re curious give it a go.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern I spent almost 4 months trying to read this book, and I jumped with happiness when I finally ended it. It was one of the most boring, dense and confusing books I have ever picked up. There’s like six or seven POVs in this, and it’s very difficult to keep up with what’s going on. Not only that, but I found the book extremely slow and uninteresting. I personally wouldn’t recommend it as well, but in this case I think it’s a matter of taste.
Maid by Stephanie Land Although I’m a big fan of reading true stories and non-fiction, this was a major flop for me. I think the intention of the book was to show resilience and strength from Stephanie, but it definitely backfired on her, because it ended up giving the opposite effect. Stephanie was unbearable, whiny and kept a “poor me” attitude through the entire book. It wasn’t even inspiring, just a waste of time.
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins What made me dislike this book so much was the main character. I never disliked a character more, like I disliked this one. She was annoying, entitled, mean and was always jealous of other people. The story also wasn’t very strong, so overall this was a fail to me.
Normal People by Sally Rooney This is a very unpopular opinion and I’m aware of that, but I really disliked this book. I just couldn’t take the romance or the characters seriously, because I found them childish and immature. I’m not sure if my experience would be different if I read a physical copy instead of the audiobook version, but I don’t think I will ever find out.
Hungry Hearts This anthology disappointed me for different reasons. As a foodie, I love to read about food and cooking, and even though this had that, it was the only thing I enjoyed about this book. The stories on this were crazy and other than being in the same neighbourhood, there was absolutely nothing that connected these stories. You get a bit of everything here: one story is about romance, another is paranormal, another one is fantasy, another one is about dangerous gangs and killers, etc. There was a lot going on, and at one point the range of genres just felt silly. Didn’t work out for me, but maybe you’ll enjoy it?
Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards The problem I had with this book was the weak plot and slow pace. It almost feels like the story didn’t progress, and there were too many loose ends and nonsense. I wouldn’t recommend this one. If you’re looking for a good mystery, there are many amazing books out there… this is not one of them.
Eight Perfect Murders by Peter May This story was overall okay, but there was something in this story that really made me dislike this book: the spoilers. So, if you don’t know, this book basically exposes the mysteries of some well-known books, and I was furious because I wanted to read some of the books mentioned. I’m still really mad at this and I can’t comprehend how something like this happened. Why not make up books and stories to use in this book? Was it really necessary to spoil mysteries from books that actually exist?
Like I said, please take my opinion with a grain of salt. Everyone likes what they like and we all have different opinions! So tell me, have you ever read any of these books? Let me know in the comments! I hope you enjoyed this post and I will see you in my next review 🙂
Today I’m bringing you the best books I read in 2021! I read 120 books last year and I found new, amazing books I want to share with you today. Just a small disclaimer first: these are not necessarily books that came out last year! This list is focused on my personal reading year and the books that were part of it. I wanted to pick 10 of my favorite reads, but I ended up picking 14 because there were so many books I loved! So let’s get into it:
1. Badass Habits by Jen Sincero I’m a huge fan of Jen Sincero’s books, but this book surprised me even more. I honestly loved it and I think this is probably my favorite book from her. The format of this book is a little different from the others, because this is more of a practical guide. You are given clear instructions with examples of what you should do to change your habits. It was really good and I’m definitely picking it up this year again to work on some of my habits. Highly recommend it!
2. The House With Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson Sophie Anderson books may appeal to you because of the cover, but you will fall in love with her stories. This book blew me away with how good it was. Not only was the story beautiful, and full of magic, but it was very well written with a solid story with a great meaning. I can’t stress this enough: if you like middle grade books, you need this in your life!
3. Warcross by Marie Lu This includes the second book in the duology, “Wildcard“. I started 2021 the best way by reading the “Warcross” duology! I’m not a huge science fiction fan, but this duology was an amazing surprise. The story (and mystery) was compelling, the theme was interesting and it was written in a really approachable way! Definitely one of the best books I read in 2021!
4. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden I actually started this book a few years ago, but never finished it. This year I decided to pick it up again and this time I finished it! Needless to say, this story is absolutely beautiful and a must-read in my humble opinion.
5. Verity by Colleen Hoover This was one of the only Colleen Hoover’s standalones I was missing, and I finally read it in 2021. I LOVED the mystery of this book, and it quickly became one of my all time favorites from this author. If you love Colleen as well and you haven’t read this one yet, you NEED to pick it up!
6. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune I was very curious about this book because I heard a lot of amazing things about it. I honestly never read anything like this before, but in a nutshell: it’s an amazing fantasy book with great characters and a wholesome story. I don’t know what I was expecting when I first picked up this book, but it surpassed all of my expectations. Highly recommend this one!
7. A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas Even though I’m mentioning the second book of the series in this post, this is valid for the entire series. I picked the second book for this post because it was definitely my favorite, but the entire fantasy series is incredible! I can’t believe it took me so long to read it, because it was really good. One of my favorite reads from this year, for sure!
8. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig My first Matt Haig book and it was a bop! I really like when stories have deep meanings and messages behind the main stories, and this was a treat. It’s a book that makes you think about life after death and life regrets. It’s amazing, can’t recommend it enough!
9. Kill Joy by Holly Jackson I admit I didn’t expect this novella to be as good as it was. I love the popular Holly Jackson’s series, but I never in a million years thought this was just as good as her full-length books. I just wished this was a normal sized book because I wanted more!
10. Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson Another Holly Jackson book from the same series, but I thought this one deserved to have its own spot. This was amazing. I think it’s difficult for an author to continue writing a series with the same quality as the first book of the series, but this author surprised me. This was just as good as the first book and I can’t wait to pick the third book of the series now!
11. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah I picked it up randomly and I ended up loving it! Trevor Noah really poured his heart when he wrote his story, and as a reader I really appreciate what he did with this book. Not only do we get a very raw testimony of what it was like to live in South Africa, but I also learned a lot. I loved how strong his mother was and how she did her best to raise him. It doesn’t matter if you are a fan or not, I highly recommend it if you like non-fiction.
12. One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London Another book I randomly picked at the bookstore. I heard about it before, but I never considered picking it up because it didn’t look like a book I would like. I ended up buying it and really liking this book because I saw myself in the man character. The main character struggled with her weight and felt insecure about other people commenting on her looks – which is something I also struggle with. The writing was really good and made the story even more realistic to me. Great message and great story!
13. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward This book was… something. For a horror book it was perfect: a good dose of disturbing energy, mystery and not a single loose end. I’m aware that this book has mixed reviews, but I personally loved it and I would still recommend it if you are a fan of horror!
14. Heartstopper by Alice Oseman Another great surprise to my reading year! I DEVOURED the first four books of this series last year, and the only reason why I didn’t read the fifth book is because it’s not out yet. This is the cutest romance I have ever read in my life, and that’s saying a lot! Highly recommend it if you’re curious about it.
What about you? What were the best books you read last year? Did you read any of these books I included in the list? Let me know in the comments! 🙂
Sprayed Edges 