anticipations, discussion

2022 Five Star Predictions

I have never tried this before because I can barely predict what books I read each year. But Iโ€™ve been seeing a number of these posts pop up over the last month and I thought Iโ€™d see how accurate (or not) Iโ€™d be predicting books Iโ€™ll enjoy this year (if I even read them).

Iโ€™ll post something in December then to look back on these predictions. Until then, here are the ones I feel Iโ€™ll really enjoy!

Book of Night by Holly Black

#1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black makes her stunning adult debut with Book of Night, a modern dark fantasy of shadowy thieves and secret societies in the vein of Ninth House and The Night Circus

In Charlie Hallโ€™s world, shadows can be altered, for entertainment and cosmetic preferencesโ€”but also to increase power and influence. You can alter someoneโ€™s feelingsโ€”and memoriesโ€”but manipulating shadows has a cost, with the potential to take hours or days from your life. Your shadow holds all the parts of you that you want to keep hiddenโ€”a second self, standing just to your left, walking behind you into lit rooms. And sometimes, it has a life of its own.

Charlie is a low-level con artist, working as a bartender while trying to distance herself from the powerful and dangerous underground world of shadow trading. She gets by doing odd jobs for her patrons and the naive new money in her town at the edge of the Berkshires. But when a terrible figure from her past returns, Charlieโ€™s present life is thrown into chaos, and her future seems at best, unclearโ€”and at worst, non-existent. Determined to survive, Charlie throws herself into a maelstrom of secrets and murder, setting her against a cast of doppelgangers, mercurial billionaires, shadow thieves, and her own sisterโ€”all desperate to control the magic of the shadows.

With sharp angles and prose, and a sinister bent, Holly Black is a master of shadow and story stitching. Remember while you read, light isnโ€™t playing tricks in Book of Night, the people are.


Iโ€™ve been getting into dark academia lately. I absolutely adored A Deadly Education and Ninth House. I have no idea if this will be absolutely amazing but the synopsis has me super excited.

Continue reading “2022 Five Star Predictions”
top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Books With Character Names in the Title

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.


Itโ€™s February! I am hoping a new month means a new start (yes, I already want a new start in 2022). I will hold my breath with optimism but we shall see. In the meantime, itโ€™s also Tuesday so this weekโ€™s TTT is looking at books with character names in the titles.

Of course, who can just stop at 10? I had to be a little extra but let me know if you thought up of any of these in the comments below!

Classics

Anna and the French Kiss (series)

Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday: Books With Character Names in the Title”
wrap up

January 2022 Wrap Up and TBR

First wrap up of 2022! This month has felt really long for me. Getting sick (which sucks more than I remember since itโ€™s been so long) and slow days at work (which is fine since Iโ€™m getting my full strength back) just make the days feel different, you know?

There were things to celebrate though so I have to be thankful for that. My birthday passed and it was quiet and lovely with my family. We are also celebrating Lunar New Year this weekend. A little less festive than non-pandemic years but I can only be grateful weโ€™re all well.

With regards to reading, as part of my 2022 reading goals, Iโ€™ve been trying to diversify my reading a little bit more whether in genre or medium. So this is what Iโ€™ve been up to this month.

What did I read this month?

Most outstanding: I normally donโ€™t love sad stories but thereโ€™s just something about Youโ€™ve Reached Sam (review here) that gripped me from the start to give it a try. I listened to this as an audiobook and that probably made the experience even better, although tears were just sporadically coming out while I was working.

ARC shoutout: These Deadly Games (review here) releasing SO soon on February 1st was thrilling with its edge-of-your-seat games that had the protagonist making the hardest decisions. I was so lucky to have gotten an ARC and Iโ€™m glad it didnโ€™t disappoint.

New genre: Iโ€™m not much of a nonfiction reader but I said I wanted to try it out more. So I knew I had to start with the epic true crime compilation by the late Michelle McNamara, Iโ€™ll Be Gone in the Dark. While some donโ€™t credit her enough for the capture of the Golden State Killer (a moniker she gave him), I think it wouldnโ€™t have garnered the amount of attention into the investigation if it wasnโ€™t for her. Full review on my thoughts coming out later this week!

Satisfactory expectations: While not all sequels or books from authors we love are what we expect them to be, Youโ€™ll Be the Death of Me (review here) and Auroraโ€™s End definitely worked out for the better. I enjoyed them both in different ways. It may not have been LOVE but it was definitely a very strong like to have met the high bar I set for both.

Graphics!: I so rarely read graphic novels or mangas but I want to get back into it. I love good art, especially โ€˜cause I canโ€™t draw at all, and appreciate those who do this for a living. Since I havenโ€™t done a re-read in forever, Graceling the graphic novel was the perfect venture into this medium and it was beautiful. It captured the story even if it was rather fast-paced. What a wonderful way to revisit a story I loved.

Unrequited love trope: Is it bad that I really enjoy this trope? I love the angst of it, but I do hope it will end well eventually. Unbreak My Heart was a good one that filled the niche I was in the mood for while I was sick. Perfect comfort read – though I canโ€™t say I absolutely love the guy after all he put our protagonist through.

Ratings

4.5 Drink Me Potions

  • Youโ€™ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao

4 Drink Me Potions

  • These Deadly Games by Diana Urban
  • Unbreak My Heart by Nicole Jacquelyn
  • Iโ€™ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
  • Graceling (graphic novel) by Kristin Cashore & Gareth Hinds
  • Auroraโ€™s End by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

3.5 Drink Me Potions

  • Youโ€™ll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

2 Drink Me Potions

  • A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Current reading list

  • The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout
    • didnโ€™t I mention Iโ€™m a sucker of punishment?
  • Only a Monster by Vanessa Len
    • Blessed ARC!
  • The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

TBR list

  • The Maid by Nita Prose
  • Wires and Nerves (graphic novel) by Marissa Meyer

Thatโ€™s my January! I hope you had a good start to the new year (or at least better than I did).

How are you doing with your reading goals for the year so far? Have you read any of these books I listed above? Iโ€™d love to chat with you below!