Welcome to 2022! Is it possible to hope for a better year?? Or is that just wishful thinking at this point?

I'm happy for a new year and a new planner to try to make my life a little less chaotic. Keep my street teams straight (I'm on 4 at the moment, I love it so much!!!), keep my family schedule straight, and try to plan life out as much as possible hahaha I use the Happy Planner and have for many years, I truly enjoy how easy it is to write things in the day to day and how pretty the designs are! 

This month I have a small goal to read more indie books than traditionally published ones. I've done pretty well and I still have a LOT of ARCs to finish to make sure I keep a good standing with NetGalley, and I have enjoyed my membership immensely and I'm grateful for the opportunity to read more amazing books!

I don't have many goals for the year. I am very hesitant to make goals because I am very hard on myself if I don't accomplish them, so I try to just kinda generally throw ideas out to the universe instead of full blown goals. Just being in survival mode for the past few years has kinda made it hard to look too far into the future just in case, ya know, life happens hahaha

The past couple years I've used my books to help me escape and while I will still use them for such, I'm looking forward to having some other grounding methods and coping mechanisms. 

These bookcases, other than our office redo, were the best purchase of last year for sure! I've enjoyed decorating them and filing them with so many amazing stories. I've met so many amazing people through the social media circles of the book community and for that I am so grateful, especially so many indie authors and those friendships are so precious to me.

This year will be better than the previous ones. One thing I decided for myself for this year however was to finally put my mental health at the forefront and to help myself. With that in mind, I have my first therapy session scheduled and I am so excited and terrified at the same time. I've wanted this for so long that I'm worried it won't work or help me, but I know eventually it will. If I'm open enough and willing to work hard this will absolutely help me handle my anxiety and hopefully my depression too. Happy New Year everyone!

Hello my party people! I know, I KNOW! It's been a hot minute since there's been a post here and for that I am sorry! But I'm here today with some of my bookish buddies to share some amazing holiday reads with you!

Halfway Wicked by Dara Kent - Demon hunters, and sisters, Riss and Lily are twice marked - both Heaven and Hell claim their blood. In order to save their souls they have to kill as many demons as possible to hopefully cancel out Hell’s hold on them. When their friends start dying and Riss starts having more paranoid thoughts than normal she has to put aside her issues and find out who’s really going to help her free her sister’s soul. Nothing else matters but Lily’s safety to Riss, and she’ll do anything to keep her that way. The premise was good. I liked the idea and maybe later books will be better overall but this just felt like a LOT of set up and not enough fleshing out. But I enjoyed the characters, the spice level was excellent, language was a bit much for my personal taste but overall I’m hopeful for the next books to have more depth. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Letter to Three Witches - Cousins Trudy, Gwen and Milo all receive a letter from Tannith - another cousin that is always wanting to be the center of attention no matter what. On the premise of her moving away, Tannith tries to make some mischief between them all and chaos ensues. A cacophony of misunderstandings, Magic and mayhem make up this fast paced contemporary. This was cute! A little hard to follow on occasion but I enjoyed it enough to ensure the 4 stars! I love Gwen finding her inner power and standing up for herself. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

​Iron Widow - Holy crazy awesome!!! Zetian, born a girl therefore meant to be a sacrifice to the war effort with her spiritual energy to the pilots of the famous Chrysalis’. After the death of her Big Sister however she’s plans her revenge on the pilot that killed her, once she is successful in that attempt she is labeled the infamous Iron Widow. Paired once again with a male pilot, the Iron Demon, they have to work together to win the war and save themselves. This is so action packed and Zetian is a firecracker! I love her spark and her passion and her determination. She’s not timid ever and for that I admire her. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dromfrangil - A fun new fantasy series with a MC with a prosthetic arm and uses a cane! It was fun, had adventure, love, loss, friendships and is about finding your power while also helping others. Looking forward to more! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fools in Love - Very cute little anthology of love stories and the range was really nice to read and change between! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Dating Dare - A steamy romance between two people that do not want to fall in love. After a drunken dare to 4 dates Tara and Seth start on a journey of desire and denying it as long as possible to save yourself from hurt. A game of cat and mouse ensues and it's fun to watch them figure out whether or not love is worth it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Female Preferred - Multiple POV little love story. Brigette and Connor couldn't be more different but when circumstances lead them to become roommates they form a friendship that could blossom into something much more and so special. Pretty good quick read though the changing POV was hard to follow sometimes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

​Beyond the Tracks - Another harrowing story of the horrors of WW2 and the experiences of Jewish people of Europe. The narrator was incredible and was a great performer. We follow Jakob and Ethan as they grow up through their experiences and the camps they lived in. For anyone that wants to learn more about the war, this is a fantastic historical fiction piece. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Accidental Gatekeeper - FINALLY a main character in a fantasy that isn't a teenager! I loved this book and Everly's story! She's snarky, too tired to do deal with people's crap and is fiercely protective of her daughter and it was a heck of a ride from start to finish! Loved this! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aftermath - ​A beautifully written story about trauma, heartache and loss. Even if the circumstances are different, loss changes people and can be hard to discuss. I loved the narrator and the emotion she brought to the performance Trigger warning: school shooting survival, loss of child, trauma responses. ​⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

​The Boi of Feather and Steel- Beautiful story yet again from this author! Love the LGTBQ representation in this. Love the characters. Loved everything about it and the narrator!? LOVED THEM!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Gatekeeper's Staff - Beautifully woven story based on Nigerian mythology and magic! TJ is the perfect coming of age character and his needing to live up to his sister's legacy?! Priceless! Narrator was wonderful and gave the story life and made it so entertaining!​ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn - ​I loved the concept of this story, the world building and most of the characters but the plot also fell a little flat and became predictable. Asa and Riven are great foils to each other but the overall recklessness of Riven made it hard to really want to see any ending other than the one provided. Hopefully the sequel will answer more questions and also give us more to guess. ⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit by Colby Cedar Smith - The writing of this book is beautiful. The poetry angle is refreshing and full of feeling. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the different couples and the dynamics between them and their families and how they intertwine. I absolutely loved reading it ​⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

The Places We Sleep by Caroline Brooks DuBois ​Gorgeous poetry writing about the tragedy of 9/11 and the roller coaster of emotions of having an Army dad while also not wanting violence. All while being a girl in middle school growing into womanhood. Triggers include grief, trauma, bullying ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Never Say Never by Justine Manzano - ​Super cute fast read! Aphrodite is banished to earth for the events of Troy and hundreds of years later falls into Brynn’s life and is determined to make her believe in love again. Brynn wants nothing to do with love seeing as her own parents aren't in love anymore, it’s all just magic that doesn’t exist so why bother? ​⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Once Upon a Royal Summer by Terri Wilson, narrated by Brittany Pressley - ​Cute little rom com and a perfect Hallmark traditional story. Fake princess, real prince, a vacation that changes them both and love is in the air! Loved the narrator and it was a good light and quick listen! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Hexing the Ex by Susanna Shore - ​Way cute little read about a girl getting accidentally cursed by her boss's ex-wife and the shenanigans of that. Witty writing and fun new characters and a house of magic make it an enchanting novel and I'm excited to read the sequel! ​⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Reasons for Avoiding Friends by Megan Leavell - ​I love the relationship between Gwen and Iris. It's clear how much they still care for each other even after years of no contact. This story speaks to the true friendships people have, and it also speaks to the ridiculous pressure women are under in our society to be a specific way. Iris is struggling with keeping her husband happy and has a drinking problem, whereas Gwen is a homemaker who's husband is now unemployed and there's 3 kids to feed and take care of. Both women are refusing to open up about their problems when they truly need a friend to help them get through these dark times. Finally they talk and can be each other's support. I enjoyed their relationship and the proof that friends can make it through anything together. ​⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

​All the Blues Come Through by Metra Farrari - Ryan has finally found a way to battle the CO2 levels polluting the earth! Her seemingly magical Weeping Diana’s are the only way for humans to breathe clean air - the problem? She’s the ONLY one that can get them to grow! Frustrated by the media playing her out as a cheapskate and by the disappointment of no other scientist being able to duplicate her process she is THRILLED when a postcard comes to her filled with pictures of her flowers! A mysterious island full of people that dress differently than she does and she can’t quite put her finger on what’s different about them……..but there IS something possibly magical going on here. Really good story and writing, I’m looking forward to a sequel! ​⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Spells Trouble by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast - ​Firstly, the narrator (Cassandra Campbell) is incredible and has a great voice for audiobooks! This story is wonderful, sad, complex, and full of familial love. Twin witches that need to save their world from monsters from different realms of power?! Sign me up! Norse, Egyptian, Hindu, Greek, Japanese gates that needed to be fixed and closed again to keep the "Oogly-Boogly's" away from the world. Hunter and Mercy must work together starting on their shared 16th birthday, and the night of their mother's murder by a monster that was loosed, to seal the gates or risk being separated. I loved this so much! It was full of magic and just had the greatest weaved story! ​⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

A Chorus Rises by Bethany C. Morrow - ​Following the events of A Song Below Water we find Naema wanting to tell her half of the story. After all she is an eloko and deserves to be heard in her beloved Portland after Effie and Tavia so cruelly stoned her - in her own words.

I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as I was hoping after the awesome prequel. I was 80% in and Naema was still a spoiled, whiny thing and it was driving me crazy. Once she meets up with her family in the Southwest things got better but it was still a slow book for me.

The narrators were amazing! The way they captured the emotions of the different characters was great and made it easier to follow along. ⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

The Keening by Anne Emery - Two timelines interweave in this historical fiction tale of a hotel owned by the Tierney's in lush Ireland. In present day the Tierney's are trying to keep an American investor from developing the land behind them into a casino and horrid tourist attractions by having an archaeological dig to find something to stop them. But old Cait is worried that they will find something that will turn the public against them because of the tumultuous past of the family and their land. In the late 1500s there is a string of murders in the town and the Tierney's are in the middle of helping find the murderer while also being careful not to bring the notice of the English to them. How will the past and present handle what's unearthed beneath? ⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Big Boned by Jo Watson - Lori has just been uprooted from all of her friends in Johannesburg to live in Cape Town so her autistic brother can be at the best school in the country for him, and so her mother can escape her father's impending wedding to his mistress after a messy divorce. She adores her brother and is happy to have found a potential place to help him, but once she sets foot in the local high school she knows this will not be good. No one else looks like her, she is the only fat person on campus and even though her anxiety meds should be helping, and therapy does sometimes, she feels instantly out of place. When the hottest guy in school starts paying attention to her she freaks out even more thinking it's all a joke. Can she get over her inner bully and discover that she also deserves happiness in her life regardless of other people's choices for her life? Beautifully raw and moving, Lori's story is one of finding your voice when you feel powerless and believing you deserve all the happiness in the world regardless of what anyone else has to say. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

​The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin - I loved this book! Rachel weaves a story of love, loss, trauma, magic, and healing in a brand new way! Clara is broken and fears so much about who she is as the only Everwitch in a century, and that with her use of her powers, the ones she loves are dead. This book is about not running from who you are regardless of your past, your mistakes, or whom you presume yourself to be. It's about finding a safe person that helps you see what's always been inside of you and helps you amplify others because of it rather than in spite of. One of my favorite reads of 2021 and of all time!​⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

The English Girl by Sarah Mitchell - I love a good war time forbidden love story! We follow Frances, Fran, as she works for the prisoner of war camp hosting German soldiers in her British village in the wake of WW2's end. There she meets the handsome Thomas, a prisoner that speaks English and steals her heart. She also meets Martin, a man who was medically excused from the war and has immense guilt about it, and he and Fran build a friendship which could develop into more. With the war right behind the world can Fran be with the man she loves or will a safer choice rule out? Great storytelling and weaving of real events with the fiction of the love triangle. I can't wait to get a physical copy!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

The Text God by Whitney Dineen & Melissa Summers - Super adorable story of love and faith. Jen is an artist trying to make her way in the New York art scene but is having a hard time. When she gets a mysterious text message from God, her life is changed forever. Gabriel Oliver Daly has a plan: make partner, marry Alexis, have a family, and everything will be the way he's alway imagined it. Wen he meet a pretty front desk clerk at the hotel he's supposed to meeting a friend's sister at, his life is also changed forever. Very cute and well written and part of a series that's fun ad innocent and very fun to read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Shadows of Saigon by Mark R. Anderson - From just the cover art and title you know this will be a sad story, The U.S. involvement in Vietnam is messy and complicated and always has a sad ending. This was no exception. Written beautifully and weaves a tale of love and sorrow and the aftermath for our soldiers that served so faithfully. It's a good book overall and reading Grady's story will help put things in perspective for us to not take anything for granted. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas - This was a heartbreakingly beautiful retelling of Peter Pan and Wendy. Wendy went missing with her brothers 5 years ago and only she came back after being lost for 6 months. What happened to her in that time frame? She has no idea. She's tried to remember but can never get past the blackness that invades her mind when she tries. When Peter crash lands back in her town looking for her everything she's pushed down so deeply comes back to the surface but can she and Peter save the other missing children and Peter's life before the shadow takes hold forever? I absolutely loved this book! It was heartrendering, tender, traumatic, faithful to the fairytale, and brought fresh storytelling back to Neverland. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Foretold by Violet Lumani - ​This book had many good qualities: a heroine with mental illness and dealing with grief, a magical world right under her nose that she's inexplicably drawn into, supporting characters that deal with their own trauma while helping their friend, and an overly supportive parent. Sometimes I didn't quite understand how the scrying worked. Even with explanations it was difficult to keep straight but I enjoyed how Cassie learns and develops as a person and scryer. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

The Queen's Spy by Clare Marchant - ​A timeless tale of intrigue and the balance of spying with family life. Tom is both deaf and mute, making him the perfect spy for Queen Elizabeth while she waits for an assassination to come for her from her cousin Queen Mary of Scots. With Tom's ability to read lips and melt int the background he becomes entangle in the web of the Queen's spymaster but will it be too much for the family he leaves behind? Mathilde has never known home to be a place of refuge. Always on the run with her mother and then alone at the age of 16, her beloved van as seen her home and has always provided a way to escape. When she is summoned to England she learn her father left her his estate despite being told he died in an explosion when she was very small. Now with new found family, and dare she say even love, will she finally put down roots? Seeing how Tom and Mathilde's stories intertwine and mirror was fascinating and I enjoyed going back and forth in time between resent day and the Tudors!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Where There's a Whisk by Sarah J Schmitt - ​This book was absolutely adorable and I loved it. The characters are complex, even for teenagers, and seeing how they take on the cooking challenges and the show drama. Reading about the New York landscape and the fun they have together even with show drama was enjoyable and made me reminisce about my own trips to New York. Staying true to yourself no matter what people try to force you into is the perfect theme for this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Another Beast's Skin by Jesseka Grewe Glover - ​This was a great story! I enjoyed escaping to the UK and learning all the dynamics within a family/combat cadre and how much they impact our world and the world we can't see because of the Veil that separates Fae from human. Nesya begins on this journey after losing her father and after her divorce. She's always had a sword strapped to her back and has always wondered why he father would be insistent that she learn to defend herself. When she meets Cade, Corra and Silas on her vacation she starts to learn what part she may play in a bigger universe than she ever knew was there.

I look forward to a sequel!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

A Girl Made of Air by Nydia Hetherington - This was a great tapestry of a tale! The pieces wove together in colorful ways and had many layers to it. Circus life is thrust upon our narrator as the daughter of a very famous water act and the animal keeper. Sadly, her parents don't really want anything to do with her so she's on her own until another soul, Serendipity Wilson takes her under her wing and teaches her the art of the high wire. After many years and much hardship, our narrator, known by her friend as Mouse, sets off to the US in search of a baby girl gone missing. In pursuit of her psudeo sister, she becomes the Greatest Funambulist of All Time! It's a tale of love, loss, war times, happiness, and dealing with generational trauma. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

The Return of the Sorceress by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - A fun magical short story! I liked the magic stem and the nahuale as her "familiar" that both helps and feeds off of her was a great twist. It was a quick tale and even though it was short there was plenty of character development and magic to be had!

My only drawback was that I went in thinking it was a full novel and it's a novella, the story and writing is incredible.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

The Secrets of Thistle Cottage by Kerry Barrett - I loved this book! Historical fiction and a thriller to boot! I enjoyed reading about the witch hunting in Scotland back in the 1600s as well as the correlation to social media being similar to that mentality. The characters are developed and the mother daughter relationships are prominent and functional. I thoroughly loved meeting Honor and Alice and Tess and Jem and see how their stories line up thanks to the connection to Thistle Cottage by the sea in Scotland's lush backdrop. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

Constellations of Scars by Melissa Eskue Ousley - ​This story reminded me of Rapunzel so to me it was a retelling of that classic fairytale. Mia escapes her controlling mother that hordes the pearls she sheds from her body claiming "if people knew about you, they'd lock you away and use you!". She starts a new life as a worker in a museum of oddities and selling her pearls to help with the mermaid display. But is all as it seems in her new found world?? Really well written and compelling! I was hooked within a few pages and I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚

​✨✨ The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas✨✨
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Star is trapped between cultural worlds. Her friend, Kalhil, is shot by a police officer while driving her home from a party. She is asked to testify about the shooting and has to navigate her feelings between the two sides of herself: the one that goes to her prestigious dominantly white school and the one that mourns for her friend and lives in her Black neighborhood.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I think this is one EVERY person needs to read regardless of age. The language is so heartbreaking and I felt her pain as she tried to figure out what was best for her and Kalhil’s legacy and name. It’s eye opening to those of us with privilege to never have to live with these kinds of choices. It will change you if you let it and maybe just maybe we can change the world for the better because of it.
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Add The Hate U Give to get some perspective on the racial divide in our world.

**Forgive me for the random books here - technically I read these in 2020 but never wrote about them so now they count as 2021 Bookworm reads hahaha**

Book review ✨✨✨The Ninth House
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​(Galaxy) Alex Stern is not a normal girl. She can see the Greys in the world. When she's approached by Lethe House in New Haven to become a student and thus help them keep bad magic at bay. When her mentor goes missing though her world is turned upside down and she has to decide whom she is really going to be and what part she was going to play in it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I only gave this a 4 star because it took me a bit to get into it. It's a rich story but also has some triggering things like abuse, drug use and language. Once the story picked up for me I was hooked and I am excited for there to be a sequel to come in the future!

Book review ✨✨✨ The Throne of Glass series
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We follow Celeana Sardothein in her journey to figure out who she is and what her destiny really is in the world. Her story is all encompassing and deals with trauma, grief, loss, love, healing, and beauty in the good in the world. The spice level is about 🔥🔥🔥/5
​⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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​This series Is my favorite of Sarah J Maas. Reading the 8 books changed my life for the better. It's the perfect series for fantasy fans. The relationships are explored in such a beautiful way that promotes healthy boundaries and trust and it just made me so happy!

Beautiful alternate dust jackets from NerdyInk

All books I've read thus far this year are in my Amazon Store page!

Halfway through February and I thought I should recap my books so far this year! My goal is to read 50 new to me books, not counting rereads (currently in a reread of A Court of Thorns and Roses in prep for A Court of Silver Flames coming next week!!). I'm excited to go over some of them in detail with you here! And as always, my IG has the book reviews a lot faster than I will here so you've been warned hahaha

I will link to each book from Amazon as well ;)

For all my 2021 reads I also have them in a list on Amazon since I don't always have time for a review of each one! I will only link to the ones I liked/enjoyed - no duds there!

2021 Reads