Reading other people’s favorite books of 2022 | Wrap up

This is my second year doing this, but unlike last year (you can read my wrap up here), this time it didn’t take me the entire year to read the books on my tbr. In January, I posted a tbr with 6 books that were included on lists of favorite books of 2021 from bloggers and booktubers, and today I wanted to tell you how that experiment worked out, if I enjoyed the books or not and if I found a new favorite.

Here are my thoughts on the books I selected:

• I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy: I was expecting more. Quick and accessible read, but very descriptive, I wanted more reflection and insight into the effects of all she went through. (review)
• Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield: ⭐⭐⭐⭐- Beautifully written, haunting, atmospheric, and even claustrophobic at times.  A slow-paced exploration of loss and grief, with interesting sci-fi elements. (review)
• Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda: ⭐⭐⭐ – Unique take on vampires. The distant tone of the story and the narrative voice didn’t work for me. Some interesting topics could have been explored more deeply. (review)
• The Book of the Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – A quick, entertaining read. Engaging narrative voice and good writing, little plot, and a mystery that slowly unraveled, interesting side characters, and a realistic ending. (review)
• Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2 – A well-balanced mix between dark and lighthearted tones, it deals with heavy subjects, especially domestic violence. An interesting quest plotline, a cast of mismatched but lovable characters and fantastic writing. (review)
• The Push by Ashley Audrain: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – rough start, but it ended up being a quick, entertaining, and a little anxiety-inducing read. It addressed the hardships that mothers face, intergenerational trauma, and nature vs nurture. (review)

CONCLUSIONS

Just like last year, I think the biggest advantage of doing this is that I end up reading books that are outside my comfort zone, that I may have not read, or that it would have taken me forever to get to.

I will admit that this year the experiment was not as successful as last year when I found one 5-star read and the rest of the books were all 4 stars. Unfortunately, this year I didn’t get a 5-star but I did find a 4.5 stars book, and the other books were a mix between 4 and 3 stars. But I think the 3 stars are a result of stepping outside my comfort zone and that’s not a bad thing, since it helps me discover more about my reading taste.

I ended up reading books by 5 new-to-me authors, and from those, I’m sure I’ll read more books by Sara Gran and Julia Armfield. I also ended up reading a book by an author that I discovered while doing this experiment last year: T. Kingfisher, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I would say this is a good strategy to find new authors that I enjoy.

Overall, I think this a really cool experiment, I have fun doing it and I can’t wait to do it again in 2023.

What were some of your favorite books of 2022?

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Fantasy Series I Want to Finish or Continue Reading in 2023

I have made posts similar to this one in previous years and I have always failed terribly. But within the last year, I have become so much better at sticking with my tbrs so I want to give this another shot.

I love making things hard for myself so I put together an overly ambitious tbr of fantasy series, even when I have been reading very little “hard fantasy” in the last couple of years. But it used to be my favorite genre and I want to start reading more of it and more frequently again. So without further explanations, here are the fantasy series I want to finish or make progress on this year:

SERIES TO FINISH

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin: I just read the second book in the series in February, it has been 2 years since I read the first book and I refuse to let another 2 years pass before finishing this series, especially because I really like it. So I’m pretty sure I’m reading book 3 in April.

The Poppy War Series by R.F. Kuang: I’m so embarrassed that I still haven’t read The Burning Sun, I have put it on at least 5 tbrs in the last couple of years and I never get to it, which needs to change. I’m putting this on my May tbr.

Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb: I made it 65% of the way through book 2 in September 2022 but I had to stop because Latinx Heritage Month started, so I was supposed to continue once that was over but I didn’t. So my goal this year is to finish that book (finally) and read the thrid book in the series.

The Witcher Series by Andrzej Sapkowski: I have been making progress in this consistently for the last 2 or 3 years and I decided not read the prequel, Season of Storms, so I only have one book left: The Lady of the Lake and I’m sure I’ll finish it by the end of the year.

SERIES TO CONTINUE

The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee: I read the first book in this series in 2020 and I loved it but I was scared to continue because I think this going to break my heart, but my library just got the audiobook of book 2, so it’s time to continue.

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher: I started this series in 2020 and I have read 8 books so far, so I want to keep that rhythm and read at least two books this year and the next books are White Night and Small Favor.

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan: I have read the first two books in this series and I have liked them, but it’s such a long series and I don’t know if I want to commit to finishing it, so my plan is to read the third book and make the choice of DNFing it or keep reading it.

The Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews: I read the first books in this series in 2022 and I have been meaning to continue, but book 4 follows side characters and I think that has made me less excited to read it. But I want to read at least book 4 before the year is over.

What series do you want to finish or continue in 2023? Have you read any of the series I mentioned?

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Reading 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Winners

I want to start by saying that I know the Goodreads Choice Awards are a popularity contest, which doesn’t reward the best book in a genre and which has nominees that lack diversity. But when I saw the winners, I realized that, while I had only read 2 of them, I was actually curious about some of the others. So I wanted to see if the most popular books were actually any good and, in the categories where I had read other nominees if there were books that deserved the win more.

What I read and what I didn’t:

• I read the winners of some of my fav genres: romance, mystery/thriller, and sci-fi.
• I read the runner-up of one of my fav genres (horror) because the winner had transphobic content
• I read the winners of genres that I don’t read often but that sounded appealing: fiction, memoir, humor, and poetry.
• The only genre that I read often but wasn’t included was fantasy because the winner is a sequel in a series that I have no interest in reading and the runner-up was Babel, which I do plan to read at some point but not anytime soon.

Without further ado, here are my thoughts on the winners:

Fiction

Winner: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Other nominees I’ve read: none

My thoughts: I loved this book, and I’m so glad it won. The characters in this were deeply flawed and sometimes made me want to scream at them to communicate and be honest with each other, but their struggles, insecurities, and mistakes felt so realistic that it was easy to root for them. I was so invested in each of them and their relationship. I think above everything else, it’s their complicated, unbreakable bond that made me love this book. Also, the writing was incredible and the conversations about making games and the video game industry were interesting.

Mystery/ Thriller

Winner: The Maid by Nita Prose

Other nominees I’ve read: The Bullet that Missed, Killers of a Certain Age, Daisy Daker

My thoughts: I’m not mad this won, but I enjoyed all the other nominees that I’ve read more, so I would have preferred if any of the other 3 won. I found The Maid to be entertaining, well-written, humorous, and a fast read. But all of the characters were kind of one-dimensional and Molly felt at times like a caricature of an autistic person. Also, she was so clueless and naive and she kept digging a bigger hole for herself and it got to a point where it became frustrating because it wasn’t realistic and it was almost like the author was making her act out of character just to further the plot.

Romance

Winner: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Other nominees I’ve read: Love on the Brain, Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, Hook Line and Sinker, The Wedding Crasher

My thoughts: I liked this book, but I would have liked to see Delilah Green Doens’t Care win this category. Still, I really liked the romance storyline in Book Lovers, it had a relatable heroine and a swoony hero, I loved their chemistry and banter, I loved seeing them bond over their love for books and the writing was really good. But, I didn’t love the way the storyline between the heroine and her sister was developed, they were supposed to be on a trip to reconnect, but they ended up avoiding important conversations and it wasn’t until the very end that everything blew up and it was resolved in a rush.

Science fiction

Winner: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Other nominees I’ve read: the daughter of doctor Moreou, Dead Silence

My thoughts: While I enjoyed Dead Silence more, I think of it more as a horror book, so I’m actually very happy that Sea of Tranquility won this category. The writing in it is beautiful and accessible, and I think it was why this book captivated me from the beginning. This short book is engaging the entire time, packs a lot of thematic content including a bit of philosophy, and weaves different storylines together very successfully.

Horror

Runner up: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

Other nominees I’ve read: What Moves the Dead, Our Wives Under the Sea

My thoughts: I hate that the book that won was a transphobic book and I refuse to read it. I would have been happy if any of the three books I’ve read in this category won. In terms of the runner-up, The Hacienda, it was an atmospheric haunted house story with the unique twist of being set in Mexico and including some of the culture and history of the country. It had characters that it was easy to root for and that had very realistic responses to what was happening around them, there wasn’t a ton of character depth but the characters worked for the type of story the book was telling. The plot was well executed and the reveals made sense.

Memoir

Winner: I’m Glad my Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Other nominees I’ve read: none

My thoughts: I don’t read that many memoirs but this book is so popular that I got curious and decided to read it, unfortunately, I didn’t love it as much as most people did. This was a quick and accessible read. It was a very descriptive book and I was expecting a bit more reflection and insight into the effects of all the situations that McCurdy was narrating. The writing felt a bit detached but it still manages to convey how disturbing the things McCurdy went through with her mother and being a child star were, and also her resentment and sadness about so many of her experiences.

Humor

Winner: The Office BFFs by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey

Other nominees I’ve read: none

My thoughts: I never thought I was going to read a book in this category, but I watched The Office for the first time during lockdown and loved it, which plays a big part in why I enjoyed this book. I loved hearing all the behind-the-scenes stories and since I don’t listen to the podcast this is based on, all the stories were new to me. I think the love they have for the show comes through in this book and makes it an enjoyable reading experience for fans.

Poetry

Winner: Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman

Other nominees I’ve read: none

My thoughts: Call Us What We Carry was a beautiful poetry collection that heavily deals with the pandemic. I really appreciated that the writing was lyrical and complex but it was easy to understand what Gorman was trying to convey with each of her poems. As someone who doesn’t read that much poetry, I discovered that I like shorter collections because this did feel a little overlong at times.

CONCLUSION

I definitely don’t think all the winners I read are the best books in their genres, but I already knew that. So I can at least say that I don’t regret reading any of these books, they were not terrible, and from the genres I read often, I actually enjoyed the winners. Also, I read a couple books I really loved that I may not have read otherwise: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (which is one of my favorite books of the year so far), and The Office BFFs (which was such a fun read). Overall, I would say this was a success.

What do you think about the 2022 Goodreads Awards winners?

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My favorite books of 2022

This post is so late and I wish I could say there’s a good reason, but the truth is that I started watching my very first Turkish series, Love is in the Air, and I have watched 60 episodes in one week, which is an absurd number, and honestly I didn’t want to anything else besides watching it, so no posts were written.

But better late than never, here are my favorite books of 2022. I decided to divide this list by genre and the books in each genre are ranked starting with my favorite.

HORROR

1. Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas: This was atmospheric, unique, and intriguing. I was utterly captivated while reading it. The fact that the plot was so mysterious and we don’t get all the answers worked perfectly for me. The complex and chaotic characters, as well as the found family element, were some of my favorite things about this. Also, the ending had me on the edge of my seat. (Review)

2. Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes: This was so atmospheric, having an abandoned ship in the middle of space as the setting was a perfect choice, and there were some tension-filled, disturbing moments. The interesting and unique concept was executed really well and while the main character in this book is really flawed, it was also easy to root for her. I also enjoyed the little bit of romance that there was in this and I overall was really invested in the story and couldn’t stop reading.

3. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher: This was a short, atmospheric, gothic read. It was engaging from beginning to end and had a really satisfying ending, which is hard to do in short horror books. While it wasn’t a scary story, it had a few very unnerving moments.

4. The Houseguest and Other Stories by Amparo Davila: This book is full of disturbing and fascinating short stories that conveyed feelings of dread and desperation very well. There were a lot of vague or open-ended stories, often there were no answers to what was happening, there was no way of knowing if things were real or not, if the narrators were reliable or not, and this added to the unnerving feeling of the stories, which was the strength of the collection.

5. Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente:  This short book was mindblowing. It’s smart and quietly disturbing and it touches on some powerful themes and includes interesting commentary revolving around religious and feminist ideas. I found it really thought-proving. (Review)

ROMANCE

1. Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese: The main characters in this book were so endearing and their romance was cute and heartwarming. I loved how understanding they both were with each other. I appreciated that there was autism and anxiety rep and while that didn’t become the focus of the book, I appreciated that the way it impacted different aspects of their lives, including their relationship, was addressed. There was a mix between a “you’ve got mail” setup and the fake dating trope in this book, and they were executed so well.

2. Lovelight farms by B.K. Borison:  This was an excellent friends-to-lovers romance. I loved how much the main characters cared and were there for each other, and how easily they transitioned to a romantic relationship. Luka was a swoon-worthy hero, he and Stella had such a sweet relationship, and there were also a few good steamy moments.

3. Don’t Go Baking My Heart by N.G. Peltier: This is the best representation of the grumpy/sunshine trope I have read. Throughout the book the character development of the two main characters was outstanding and it ended up being really easy to root for them. The chemistry, tension, and slow development of their relationship were all great. Also, the steamy scenes were fantastic.

MYSTERY

1. Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano: This cozy mystery was fun, fast-paced, full of twists and turns, and absolutely absurd. It has a main character who was easy to root for and compelling side characters, as well as a plot that was ridiculous but also really entertaining. (Review)

2. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman: This was a charming, quirky and quick read. Seeing a group of old people in a retirement home trying to solve a murder was fun, all the characters are incredibly endearing, and I was interested in the mystery the entire time. 

SFF

1. A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine: The political maneuvering and intrigue in this book were fantastic, the characters were so clever and interesting, and the worldbuilding was complex without being hard to understand. I also appreciated that this book went in directions that I wasn’t expecting and there were a couple surprising twists that kept it interesting. My favorite thing about this is definitely the discussion about loving and enjoying a culture that it’s imposing itself on your own culture

2. Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper: I loved the witchy small town, the magic tournament, the humor, the captivating characters, the lovely sapphic romance, the banter between the two main characters, and the personal journey the main character went through. Overall, a fantastic fantasy romance book. (Review)

3. Witchlings by Claribel Ortega: This was such a sweet book, I don’t really read Middle Grade anymore so I wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did. The characters in this were so charming, the friendship that developed between the three main characters – who are the most unlikely allies ever – was so sweet, the writing was excellent, the worldbuilding intricate but easy to understand, and I loved the use of Spanish in the magic. 

LITERARY FICTION

1. Kim Ji-Young, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo (4.5 stars): This book was very unique, I sometimes felt like I was reading an academic text or a reportage about the challenges women face in South Korea, thinly veiled as a novel, but at the same time, the story managed to keep me interested. This book covered so many topics, it’s an introduction to the challenges women face, but it doesn’t go too deeply into any of them. Still, by the end of it, especially after reading the last page, it hit me really hard, it made me emotional and I felt a bit hopeless.

2. Happening by Annie Ernaux (4.5 stars): This book is a testament to the power of descriptive writing, Ernaux managed to convey what she was seeing, hearing, feeling, and thinking, accompanied by poignant commentary that makes her experience feel relatable and resonate with women. While the writing in this was beautiful and it was a unique reading experience.

What are the best books you read in 2022? If you posted a list of your best books of the year, leave me a link in the comments, I would love to check it out!

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Disappointing books of 2022 (+ worst book of the year)

I’m not someone who gives 1 and 2 stars a lot, so that’s why I don’t usually make a “worst books of the year” list. Instead, I like to make a list talking about the 3-star books that were meh and disappointed me. All of the books on this list are 3-star reads except for the last book which is my worst book of the year and it got 2 stars.

Here I talk about the reasons why these books disappointed me, but since they are all 3 stars, there are things that I enjoyed about them that I don’t mention here, so I left links to my Goodreads reviews of all of these books in case you want to know what I liked about them.

Without further ado, here are the books:

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey: I had high expectations and really enjoyed the first half, but unfortunately, I had so many issues with the second half. The hero decides that he wants the heroine forever after less than 3 weeks of knowing her and he becomes pushy and annoying, and the book becomes so cheesy that it was almost unbearable at times. (review)

Honey Girl by Morgan Roger: I had heard great things about this, but sadly the writing wasn’t for me, the author was trying SO HARD to be profound and poetic and it felt forced and sappy. Also, I didn’t feel the connection between the main couple, and their relationship felt a bit forced and awkward at times. (review)

A Sweet Mess by Jayce Lee: the dialogue was cringy and stilted at times, and the depth of the main characters’ feelings didn’t match the amount of time or experiences they shared. Also, in the end, a trope was used in a way that didn’t work, there was so much miscommunication and the protagonists acted so out of character, so it was a very frustrating ending. (review)

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren: This book relies way too much on the main character’s connection from their short time together 10 years ago. Beyond the physical attraction, there didn’t seem to be much to their relationship in the present or past timeline. Since I didn’t care about the romance, I wasn’t invested in the plot either and I kept noticing how unrealistic and convenient everything was. (review)

The Spinster and The Rake by Eva Devon: This sounded like something I would love and I have heard nothing but good things, so I went in with high expectations. But this ended up being just ok for me, I didn’t feel invested in the romance, and since not a lot happened plot-wise, I was a bit bored while reading it. (review)

Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux: After reading and loving Happening I was looking forward to picking up another book by Ernaux. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything particularly unique or special about this, and after finishing, I was left feeling like the whole thing had been a bit pointless. (review)

Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher: This book feels at points formulaic and repetitive. Honestly, the plots of the books in this series are starting to feel very similar to me. Also, I know these books have a lot of sexism and hypersexualization of female characters, but this book took it to another level that made me really uncomfortable because it happened with a 17-year-old. (review)

The Tower of the Swallows by Andrzej Sapkowski: I found this book boring and meandering. I feel like Gerald and Ciri’s storylines are almost pointless in the macro storyline of the series and Gerald gets forgotten in the last part of the book. The plot has advanced really slowly in the last few books, so I’m nervous that the final book is going to be rushed and it’s not going to give the series a satisfying ending. (review)

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion: This dragged at certain points and it felt pretentious at times because the name-dropping was relentless, I don’t think there was one page where she didn’t name someone she knew that was famous or well-known (I didn’t know most of these people, but I guess other people do). (review)

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson: I had high expectations because I really loved 2 of Lawson’s more recent books. But I found parts of this boring, the fact that every story revolved around animals (dead or alive) was something that I didn’t love, and I had issues with some of her jokes (about sexual assault, eating disorders, race) which crossed lines. (review)

Vulnerable AF by Tarriona Ball: besides a couple of standout poems, the rest were just fine. I actually ended up enjoying the short prose pieces much more than the poetry, but none of it was anything special.

Break Your Glass Slippers by Amanda Lovelace: This was the worst book I read in 2022. Amanda Lovelace’s books have always been very hit-or-miss for me, but the last few have all been misses so I think it’s time I stop reading them. This book didn’t evoke any sort of emotion out of me and it didn’t leave a lasting impression either. This collection felt repetitive and unsubstantial.

What are some of your worst or most disappointing reads of 2022?

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2023 Bookish Goals (reading & blogging)

I’m not someone who likes to set reading and blogging goals because I know that most of the time I completely lose track of them, especially if they are too specific. But here are just a few not-so-specific goals that I want to want to try and accomplish in 2023:

Read a minimum of 52 books

This is my goal every year because I don’t like to put pressure on myself even if I haven’t read less than 100 books in a year in a long time.

Get back to being intentional with my reading

This year I felt really slumpy the entire time and because of that, I was less intentional with my reading choices regarding diversity. The result of that is that my reading this year was less diverse than it has been in a long time and I want to change that, so I’m hoping to read at the very least 50% diverse books every month in 2023.

Post more consistently

At the beginning of 2022, I was doing a good job of posting two times a week, but I took on more responsibilities at my job, and, by the end of the year, I was posting very little and with no consistency. I’m hoping to change that and post at least 1 time every week (I’ll try to make it 2 times)

Do more creative reading/blogging projects

This year some of my favorite posts were when I wrote about reading other people’s favorite books of 2021 (1,2) and when I posted about trying to read 100 pages every day, so I’m hoping to have done more projects like that in 2023.

Host Latinx Book Bingo

Latinx Heritage Month is my favorite month of the year in the bookish community, I love highlighting Latinx authors and I have hosted the Latinx Book Bingo for 5 years and I can’t wait to do it again in 2023.

Be more active in the bookish community

This was one of my goals for 2022 and I completely failed, but I think this is important, so for 2023 I want to comment more on blog posts and youtube videos and see if I’m staying on Twitter or going to another platform and try to interact with the bookish community there,

Do you like setting yearly goals? Do you have bookish goals for 2023?

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Anticipated book releases of the first half of 2023

This type of blog post is always my favorite to write because I get so excited for the coming year knowing I have a bunch of fantastic books to look forward to. After going through my Goodreads shelf of 2023 releases, I chose the ones I’m most excited about that are coming out between January and June:

JANUARY

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix: I have become a fan of Hendrix in the last couple of years and while his last release wasn’t my favorite, I still enjoyed it and I’m excited to read his take on a haunted house story. The premise sounds interesting, two estranged siblings trying to sell their dad’s house after his death get a sinister surprise. (January 17)

Do I Know You? by Emely Wibberley and Austin Siegemund- Broka: I read this author duo’s first romance book and, while I had some issues with it, overall I really enjoyed it, so I’m looking forward to this book. The premise of two people in a marriage in trouble pretending to be strangers and falling back in love sounds so good. (January 24)

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano: I’m in my cozy mysteries era and I’m loving this series, it’s so fun and it has great characters. A story about an author and single mom who gets in the most ridiculous situations and this time she owes the mobe a favor. (January 31)

MARCH

A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn: I’m equally excited and nervous about this book because while I loved the first three books in the series, the last three have definitely been less good. Still, it’s a fun series that I plan to continue because I love the story of Veronica and Stoker solving mysteries and falling in love in the Victorian era.

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher: I’m quickly becoming a fan of this author and a project for 2023 is reading more of their works. I’m a big fan of haunted house stories, so this sounds fun. A woman goes home to visit her mother and quickly realizes her home isn’t what it used to be. (March 28)

To Swoon and To Spar by Martha Waters: I’m not reading that much historical romance recently but Martha Waters’ books in The Regency Vows series are an exception. I love Waters writing and her characters. This is a marriage of convenience story between a viscount and a woman who hopes to chase her husband from their home.

APRIL

Happy Place by Emily Henry: I really like Emily Henry’s romances so I was reading this regardless of what it was about, but luckily the premise sounds so good: a couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends. I want this now!

MAY

The Golden Frog Games by Claribel A. Ortega: the first book in this middle-grade fantasy series was one of the biggest surprises for me in 2022, I truly wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. I’m excited to see how the three witchy friends keep getting into trouble in this book.

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren: I really liked The Soulmate Equation, so I’m excited for this companion novel to that book. This sounds like a fun story about a romance novelist who has never been in love starting in a dating reality show to find love and falling for the creator of the show instead.

Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron: I have read and loved Heron’s last two releases so I’m excited for this one. While I’m not the biggest fan of second-chance romances, this sounds like the type that I like, two people co-parenting together who still have feelings for each other. (May 2)

JUNE

Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon: I loved Weather Girl and I’m so excited for Solomon’s next release. Her characters always have very specific and interesting professions and I really like that, this time is the romance between a ghostwriter and a struggling actor who have to work together on a book.

The Only One Left by Riley Sager: this list truly exposes my not-so-secret love for haunted house stories. This one sounds like it’s gonna be creepy and dark, it’s about a young caregiver assigned to work for a woman accused of a massacre decades earlier.

What are some of your most anticipated releases of 2023?

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Books & series that need prequels, sequels or companion novels | Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently hosted on That Artsy Reader Girl. 

I’m usually not someone who wants prequel, sequels or companion novels because I feel like a lot of times they ruin the original story and also a lot of times they are done for financial reasons and not because the story truly needed to be continued, so this list was hard to put together. Nonetheless, I found a few books and series that I would actually like to get continuations for.

The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club Series by Theodora Goss

I know the author has said that she is open to writing more books in this series and I need the publish to let her because while the general storyline comes to a close, some of the individual storylines, especially around one of the main characters, is not wrapped up. Also, I just feel like there are so many more stories that can be told with these characters.

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

This is such an interesting concept, a world where cannibalism is the new normal and people are being harvested, and I would love to see another story with different characters exploring a new side of this world.

Rolling in the Deep series by Mira Grant

I’m convinced that this was supposed to have a sequel that never happened because while it closes the story, there’s a final scene that hints at a continuation of the story.While I liked the prequel, I really want a sequel or a companion novel because I want to know what happens next and because the idea of killer mermaids and the way Mira Grant executed are so interested.

Crazy Rich Asians Series by Kevin Kwan

I really enjoyed reading about these ridiculously rich people living in this world of opulence, gossip, appearances, and power, so I would another book set in this world following other characters.

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

I want a sequel because I want to know what happened to all the characters, I feel so invested in their stories and while it’s a slice-of-life novel and the ending fits that type of story, I want to keep reading about their lives and see where they end up.

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

I think a prequel about how Catherine House came to be and how the experiments started would be really cool. I just think this book has such an interesting setting that it would be a waste to not have more stories set there.

Sal and Gabi series by Carlos Hernandez

I don’t read that much middle grade but I love this series and I really want more stores with these precocious and very endearing characters. Also, the whole concept of other universes and opening holes in the fabric of the universe is so cool, and want more of it.

Brooklyn Brujas Series by Zoraida Córdova

I want Nova’s story, we see him and heard so much about him throughout the series, he is such a complex and compelling character, and his backstory is so sad and heartbreaking, that I would love to learn more about him and see how his storyline would end.

The Black God’s Drums by P. Djéli Clark

I want another story set in this world. I love the 1884 New Orleans setting, the alternative history concept, the inclusion of African Folklore, and the steampunk elements, so I want a companion novel. Also, if it follows the spy nuns that would give it extra points.

What books or series do you think need prequels, sequels or companion novels?

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Books I’ll (probably) never read

I did the anti-tbr tag a couple of years ago and I thought it was such a fun concept but I didn’t want to do the same tag again, which is why I decided to do something a little different. This time I’m going to talk about some books that should sound appealing to me or that sounded appealing at some point (some even made it to my Goodreads shelves), but that I’m not interested in reading anymore and I truly believe that I’ll never read them. 

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

I have heard so many people talk about this book but none of them seemed to have really liked it. Actually, most of them actively disliked it. So even if contemporary romance is one of my favorite genres, I don’t feel any desire to pick this book up because the things people don’t seem to like about this sound like things I will also have issues with. 

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

I have to confess that I used to love the Throne of Glass series a few years ago and when this book came out I actually added it to my tbr, but after the letdown that was the ACOTAR original trilogy (there was only one good book) and some of the issues I have with Sarah J Maas, I’m no longer interested. 

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon  

This sounds like the exact kind of book I should want to read, SFF with a heavy romance element. But this has never sounded interesting to me and after finding out how long the books are, I decided I could live without reading this popular series. 

Book of Night by Holly Black 

As someone who really enjoyed The Cruel Prince trilogy, I would have probably been interested in reading this if it wasn’t for the terrible reviews it’s getting. Honestly, I haven’t heard a single person say that they liked this book.

The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary 

While the premise of this book didn’t sound that appealing to me because I’m very picky with second chance romance, I still added it to my tbr because I loved two books by Beth O’Leary in the past and I wanted to read more books by her. But this book has gotten really mixed reviews and some of the things people have mentioned about this in their reviews make me think I wouldn’t enjoy it.

Neon Gods by Katee Robert

This sounds perfect for me, a fantasy romance book that it’s a Hades/Persephone retelling. I actually know so many people who like this book, but the bad reviews have left me with no desire to read it because I feel like I would have issues with a lot of things that people mention. Also, it seems like the series only gets even worse after the first book. do it’s going to be a thank you, next.  

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but unfortunately, I tried to read Daisy Jones and The Six and found it so boring, and since this book doesn’t sound interesting to me and I know that it’s loosely connected to Daisy Jones, I don’t think I’ll ever pick it up. 

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I have been tempted to read this because all of the hype, the truth is that I have a feeling that I wouldn’t enjoy this since a lot of people I trust and that have similar tastes as me, have either thought this was meh or have really disliked it. Also, all of the books in the series are so long that I have no interest in making that time investment in this. 

Do I think I should give one of these books a chance? Which one?

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Books on my 2022 TBR posts that I STILL haven’t read | Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently hosted on That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week’s topic is books from Past TBR Posts I STILL Haven’t Read.

I’m not someone who usually makes tbrs but in 2022 due to a reading slump I have been making them and they have helped me actually read some books. This year, I posted a themed tbr in January with books other people included on their lists of favorites of 2021, then I posted normal tbrs in February, May and June. These are the posts I took into account to make this list:

• Reading Other People’s Favorite Books of 2021 | TBR
• February TBR: books I want to read for Black History Month
• May 2022 TBR: so many books by Asian authors
• June 2022 TBR: queer books + 2022 releases

I did not included the July tbr for this post because the month is not over yet.

Without further ado, here are the books that I included on my 2022 tbrs but still haven’t read:

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: I read about 13% of this earlier this year and I wasn’t loving it, I didn’t have a problem with the fact that it was confusing because it drops you in the middle of a world and story that doesn’t make that much sense, my problem was that I was a bit bored reading it. I felt like maybe I wasn’t in the mood for it so I put it down thinking I’d read it another time and I still haven’t done it.

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake: There are so many mixed opinions about this book and that has made me a little nervous and not as excited to read it. Nonetheless, I’m still interested and I’m just waiting for my turn to listen to the audiobook on my library.

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher: I read 26% of this book a few months ago and I was loving it but it was creepy, and tense, it kept me at the edge of my seat and unfortunately it was making my anxiety worse so I had to stop reading, but I’m hopefully finishing it next month

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson: I started this book and read about 30% of it, but it was one of those cases where I thought “I’m liking this, but if I wait and read it when I’m in the mood for it, I think I’m going to LOVE it” so I decided to wait. I’m planning to pick it up soon.

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata: I have heard this is really weird and really good, and since I enjoyed another book by this author, I’m still looking forward to reading this when I’m more in the mood for it.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo: this book is short, I have heard amazing things and I have the audiobook, I have no excuse I NEED to read this.

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang: I mentioned recently in a blog post that this is one of the books I need to read before the end of the year, it needs to happen. I really want to read this, I’m just scared because I know it’s gonna be sad.

Our Violent Delights by Chloe Gong: Another book that’s on my list of books I want to read before the end of the year. I haven’t read this because I have lost interest in reading YA, I read like 4 YA books in 2021 and I haven’t read any in 2022, but I really enjoyed book one and I want to know how the series end.

Ace by Angela Chen: I started to listen to this and I feel like I didn’t like the audiobook but I’m not sure I was simply not in the mood for this book and that’s why I felt that way. So I’ll try to read it again at some point, maybe the ebook to see if that works better.

What books have you included on your tbrs this year but still haven’t read?

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