January Reads
— goals: get in the habit of reading daily, read 1 book per week —
finished 14/52 books
- To Love Jason Thorn, by Ella Maise | 3/5 ⭐
- things I loved: easy read, full of fun romance tropes that were never too cheesy to enjoy
tw: ambiguous consent in one scene - things I loved: enemies-to-lovers, beauty and the beast retelling, the writing syle
tw: — - things I loved: title and the cover art (it lured me in), easy read, forking hilarious, diverse characters, unique worldbuilding
tw: descriptive gore - things I loved: soulmate trope, elves, fun foreshadowing
tw: — - things I loved: easy read, regency backdrop, the pride and prejudice parallels
tw: animal cruelty in one chapter - things I loved: fun cast of characters, slow burn enemies-to-lovers, witty dialogue, worldbuilding
tw: — - things I loved: somehow the slow burn gets even slower, mermaids, the pain
tw: mentions of child neglect - things I loved: the resolution <3
tw: mentions of child neglect - things I loved: cardan <3
tw: mentions of child neglect - things I loved: the worldbuilding, the fun cast of characters
tw: mentions of child abuse - things I loved: a good murder mystery
things I hated: the ending
tw: murder?? - things I loved: love story that feels authentic and unrushed, healthy messages about romance and mental health, diverse cast of characters, the reality show backdrop, the pain
tw: mental health, periodic homophobia by minor characters - things I loved: it was absolutely horrifying
tw: cannibalism, gore, violence - things I loved: stem girls <3, demisexual representation
tw: sexual harassment in one scene
A Deal With the Elf King, by Elise Kova | 4.5/5 ⭐
That Time I Got Drunk And Saved a Demon, by Kimberly Lemming | 5/5 ⭐
Spellbound, by Bethany Adams | 3/5 ⭐
Sixteen Scandals, by Sophie Jordan | 3.5/5 ⭐
The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1), by Holly Black | 5/5 ⭐
The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2), by Holly Black | 4/5 ⭐
The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #3), by Holly Black | 5/5 ⭐
How The King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (The Folk of the Air #3.5), by Holly Black | 5/5 ⭐
A Dance With The Fae Prince, by Elise Kova | 3/5 ⭐
A Stranger In The House, by Shari Lapena | 1.5/5 ⭐
The Charm Offensive, by Alison Cochrun | 5/5 ⭐
Tender is the Flesh, by Agustina Bazterrica | 4/5 ⭐
The Love Hypothesis, by Ali Hazelwood | 4/5 ⭐
— goals: read 1 nonfiction book + three books by Black authors —
finished 27/52 books
- An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir | 5/5 ⭐
- things I loved: the world-building, the dual POVs that complemented each other, the cast of characters, the dark themes
tw: gore, death, mentions of rape (but no actual scenes of it) - things I loved: single mama things, fun genetic dating app concept, healthy relationships
tw: mentions of drug use/addiction - things I loved: friends to lovers, subverting expectations with the personalities of the love interests, secret lesbians, turtles
- things I loved: the messages hidden in the details and narrative choices
tw: this is a Holocaust story - things I loved: new take on vampire/werewolf lore, the twist in the last half
things I did not like: the entire first half of the book - things I loved: unexpected plot twist, the relationships, the writing flow
tw: gore, child abuse/murder - things I loved: the entire of vibe of "What if Monster High [as in, the dolls] was set in Hogwarts and everyone was either trying to kill each other or sleep with each other 24/7?".
tw: bullying-bordering-torture??? - things I loved: relatable MC, slightly meta commentary about writing novels and publishing
- things I loved: the writing style, fun take on the end of the world, MC & love interest's character development
tw: torture, gore, murder, plague - things I loved: the characters are great, how the author continues to build this world
tw: murder, gore, mentions of rape, torture - things I loved: the mc in this one is probably my favorite <3
tw: murder, graphic depictions of gore, mentions of rape, torture - things I loved: the fated soulmates trope is my guilty pleasure, ngl
tw: murder, graphic depictions of gore, torture - things I loved: finally getting all the Orwellian references that are tossed around in our society
tw: torture, death, mentions of rape
The Soulmate Equation, by Christina Lauren | 4/5 ⭐
Second First Impressions, by Sally Thorne | 3/5 ⭐
The Boy In The Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne | 4/5 ⭐
From Blood & Ash, by Jennifer L. Armentrout | 3/5 ⭐
A Torch Against the Night (Ember in the Ashes #2), by Sabaa Tahir | 5/5 ⭐
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening, by Susanne Valenti & Caroline Peckham | 3.5/5 ⭐
Meet Me In The Margins, by Melissa Ferguson | 4/5 ⭐
Pestilence (Four Horseman #1), by Laura Thalassa | 5/5 ⭐
War (Four Horseman #2), by Laura Thalassa | 5/5 ⭐
Famine (Four Horseman #3), by Laura Thalassa | 5/5 ⭐
Death (Four Horseman #4), by Laura Thalassa | 5/5 ⭐
1984, by George Orwell
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A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (From Blood and Ash #2), by Jennifer L. Armentrout
- my thoughts: OKAY FINE I like this series. Sue me.
- my thoughts: I finished the first one at 11:59pm on NYE of 2021, so I'm glad I finally got around to the sequel. I love it <3
- my thoughts: cute concept so far
The Traitor Queen, by Danielle L. Jensen
Stirring Up Love, by Chandra Blumberg
- A Reaper at the Gates (Ember in the Ashes #3), by Sabaa Tahir
- Zodiac Academy: Ruthless Fae, by Susanne Valenti & Caroline Peckham
- The Crown of Gilded Bones (From Blood and Ash #3), by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My philosophy this year is "If it does not spark joy, throw it away"... mostly.
- Love At First Spite, by Anna E. Collins @ 25%
- I hyped this book up because there is nothing more fun than spitefully building a house across from your ex with your hot architect coworker, but when it's marketed and written as an enemies-to-lovers without establishing the "enemies" part—well, it just falls flat.
- I didn't like the dynamic between the two main characters, which sucked because the book was hilarious.
- bad, per se; I simply wasn't invested enough to continue it.
- I might pick this back up again, but I lost interest so I'll just leave it for now <3
- I actually love this book, but my desire for a horror book was overtaken by rom-coms and fantasy and I didn't really want to touch it. Will probably finish at a later date.
Something Fabulous, by Alexis Hall @ 31%
Rules For Vanishing, by Katie Alice Marshall @ 25%
Radiance, by Grace Draven @ 28%
My Best Friend's Exorcism, by Grady Hendrix @ 16%
