Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber – I think I’m going to like this series more than Caraval. I love the amount of magical elements that are in this new land. 4/5
Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis (audio) – A wonderful story that gives you hope that everything does happen for a reason. 4/5
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – I liked the story but did not fall in love with this book like so many others. I have always found mythology interesting but the way people treated others in these stories and how the innocents were treated like criminals never sat right with me. Greek tragedies at their finest. 3/5
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrick Backman (audio) – This is my third novel by this author and though i enjoyed it I think it isn’t my favorite. If you love his other books it is worth a read. 3/5
The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson – An adorable book that any book lover would enjoy. I honestly don’t know what else I could say about it. 4/5
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (audio) – Whew boy, this is NOT like the movie we all know and love. I cannot stress how different this story is and though it was ok, I’m afraid I’m going to say it: THE MOVIE WAS BETTER. 3/5
The Wicked King by Holly Black (audio/book) – I’ve been dragging my feet on continuing this series. While I’ve started to find more fairy stories that I enjoy, I hate the way everything is political in these books. Where is the romance? I feel like a bait and switch was pulled on me. I’ll finish the series out but unless the next book really cranks up the romance this isn’t a series I’d ever reread. I think I will need a break before reading the next book regardless. 3/5
The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time) by Robert Jordan (audio/book) – I’ve slowly been collecting this series to try and binge and the more I collected the more I realized I would never be able to binge it. These are hefty books but I wanted to get at least the first one done before the show premiered, which I’ve done by the skin of my teeth. I can tell you I’m not sure what would be better, audio/versus physical but the amount of world building and names being thrown at you is rough. I struggled for quite awhile to even separate everyone in my head. I think because of the magnitude of the world if you haven’t started these books yet, start with the show so you can picture the actors as their characters. Overall the story was great, a true adventure, and if the show is half as good as the book it will be a hit for years to come. 4/5
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood – There was a ton of hype on this one and I think it was justified. I’ve only recently started back reading more books classified as romance (haven’t read much in this genre since high school). I’m 100% on board with the grumpy/sunshine trope and I’d love more recs for it! My only issue here is I know this was a Kelo Ren/Rey thing so I immediately saw Adam Driver as the lead and while he is an attractive man I’m not so gung ho about him as others so that threw off a bit for me. Otherwise a great read, I read it over 2 days but only because I started it so late in the day. I will definitely check out any books by this author in the future. 4/5
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling – Anything with Gothic vibes is sure to intrigue me enough to investigate but this one fell flat. Some of the decisions made were beyond ridiculous and the plot was so convoluted that I just couldn’t care about the characters. It’s hard to root for someone or even care when they were only in a few chapters. 2/5
The Broken Girls by Simone St James (audio) – This is my second book by this author and I can tell you I will be reading her entire backlog. She perfectly balances ghost stories with thrillers. 4/5
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (audio) – An extremely quick audio that was very entertaining. Don’s growth was believable and this was one of the most realistic books I’ve ever read. I can’t wait to see the movie version. 3/5
Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey (audio) – After finding Tessa with It Happened One Summer I knew I’d have to go and read some of her older titles. If you loved that one you will definitely like this one as well. Book one in a three book series, it was very spicy as tiktok would say (think about IHOS on steroids) and a super fast read. I have book two ready to go! 4/5
Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey – Another series I had to pick up a physical copy of the second book. So here’s my issue. I don’t like romance books in which the couple is already married and they are working on issues after the fact. It’s depressing and if I’m reading romance it’s not what I’m looking for. With that being said I still read this in a day and Tessa Bailey can write some spicy scenes. 3/5
Tools of Engagement by Tess Bailey (audio) – Probably my least favorite of the series but I’m not sure I can explain why? Something didn’t sit right for me and I’m going to have to think about it for a while. 3/5
The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox – I’m embracing the holiday season book wise. This was billed as comparable to The Holiday, Gilmore Girls, The Parent Trap, and the GBBO, none of which are a bad choice. This has a Hallmark story vibe as well, in fact I’m fairly certain there was a holiday swap with Candace Cameron Bure?? It was a cute read but hard to believe that identical twins who swapped places all the time when they were younger would struggle so much though. 3/5
If the Fates Allow: A Short Story by Rainbow Rowell – a COVID check-in novella with our favorite sarcastic friend Reagan. Cute. I wish it was longer. Can we get a full book on adult Reagan? 3/5
Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah Maclean – One of my 12(but really 13) friends recs for the year. Overall I liked the story, I wish I knew before starting that it connects (vaguely) to her other books. I’m also very interested in seeing how I’m going to like the third book in this run as he is currently not a good guy. 3/5
Brazen and the Beast by Sarah Maclean – In continuing on with the Bareknuckle Bastard series I can tell you I do like the storylines but I do not like either of the heroines so far and i have absolutely no idea how the villain of both will be redeemed enough in book three for me to like him. I don’t hold much hope at this point. Hattie just thought she could pay back a debt of that size? Would that be fair? People died and that was never brought up. Again, another woman that as written as someone that is supposed to be independent and it just comes off as ignorant to me. 3/5
Daring and the Duke by Sarah Maclean – I quit. I couldn’t read it. I only got 4-5 chapters in and I was still so mad at the villain getting a book so I can’t rate this one. I don’t think I’ll be able to finish this series but I might try to come back to it at a later date to check.
Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed for You by Jenara Nerenberg – A very interesting read about women and how they process things while potentially dealing with some mental health concerns and how they are generally misdiagnosed or their diagnose is overlooked. Very informative. 3/5
Not a bad run for one month in which there was a holiday! How about you? What did you read this month?