Let's get to know the full list:

1. Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo

As I stated in a previous post, I started learning about the Grishaverse by reading this book, which was not the best idea. It was easy enough to follow and know more about the Grisha world and the characters were probably one of the best I have ever read about, but the whole time I was reading it I felt like something was missing. I gave it a 4 star but after reading the whole The Shadow and Bone trilogy I upped the rating to 5 stars.

2. The Starless Sea, by Erin Morgenstern

I can't wait to read this one again just for the tales in between the chapters. I know Erin Morgenstern's books aren't for everyone, but I fell in love with her writing after reading The Night Circus a few years ago, so I knew I had to get this book as soon as it came out. The book itself can be very confusing, and you will probably spend the majority of the reading experience wondering what's going on, but I just felt compelled to keep reading it because there's just something magical about it.

3. I am Number Four, by Pittacus Lore

What can I say? I love me some Sci-Fi books. One of my goals this year was to go through as many books from my Goodreads shelves as I could, starting from the oldest one shelved. This was one of the first choices and I can say that I was obsessed throughout the year to keep reading them. They are just so good! I don't think I have rated less than four stars any of the following books. I loved the development of the story, and getting to know the characters and their place in all that was happening. I have only one left, which I hope to read in the coming year.

4. The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig

This one tackles very important topics such as mental illness and self-harm and I get why it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think it gets us thinking about life, it's meaning and how many implications a single decision or action can have in us, the one's surrounding us and our world. Sometimes we just have to take a step back and reevaluate our life, getting to see it through another perspective. And sometimes we have to be stimulated to do it by someone else.

5. The Knife of Letting Go, by Patrick Ness

A very pleasant surprise. I was expecting to enjoy it, but not as much as I did. I don't usually like reading books in children's perspectives, I still haven't realized if it has to do with the books (looking at you, Room) or with experiencing the world from a child's point of view. When I first picked this book I didn't notice it the main character was 12-years-old so I started reading it cautiously, but once I started getting into the story I couldn't put the book down. The next book in the trilogy is one of my priority reads of 2022. And do yourself a favor, if you've seen the movie and didn't like it, just read the book. The movie didn't do it any justice.

6. Heartstopper (Volumes 1-4), by Alice Oseman

There's not much to say, except I understand the hype. I gave all four of the published books 5 stars. I don't normally read comic books, but this one is worth the read, specially as it sheds a light on such important topics in a way that is so simple, everyone can read them.

7. The Love We Left Behind, by Katherine Slee

Thank you Netgalley for existing and giving us a chance to browse books I wouldn't give a second thought otherwise. This book was honestly incredible. I couldn't help but relate to the main character on several occasions and the writing was amazing, pulling you in instantly and making you feel like part of the story.

8. Tiny Pretty Things, by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

I have to admit I have seen the Netflix show before I read the book and I enjoyed both. They follow the same main story but there are a few tweaks that made both of them good. This one includes a lot of talking about disordered eating, weight, and the baggage that comes with competing with others to reach your goal no matter what, including bullying and complicated family relationships.

9. It Ends With Us, by Colleen Hoover

My first CoHo book and I couldn't be more pleased. This one also deals with heavy topics such as domestic violence but I think it gives people an important insight on what's like to live in an abusive household, abusive relationship and the consequences it can have on your life, as well as why sometimes leaving can be difficult (either it be for monetary reasons or any others), and a much needed perspective from the victims.

10. The Bromance Book Club, by Lissa Kay Adams

I have to say I haven't laughed this much reading a book in a while. I liked how it portrayed normalizing men having actual feelings and showing emotions, supporting each other and promoting positive relationships with their partners. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book!

What were your favorite reads of 2021?

Hey guys! It's been a while since I came here, but between work and reading some things tend to get neglected sometimes, which is something I hope it can change with the coming year because I want to update this blog more often.

Even though I still request Netgalley ARCs here and there, this month I decided I will only read the physical copies I have on my TBR and Get a Life, Chloe Brown is my first reading of December. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I was expecting, although it was still a fun read.

This book follows Chloe who struggles with everything that comes from having fibromyalgia, which lead her to a very boring, very safe life until she has a near death experience that prompts her to create a very specific, adventurous, and filled with everything she didn’t get to do “Get a Life” list. To complete the first item on that list, she moves out of her huge house to a flat where she meets superintendent Redford ‘Red’ Morgan who seems to dislike her for some reason.

I give this one a 3.5 stars. Here are my non-spoiler thoughts on it:

I’d say the first half of the book started out fine. I enjoyed reading from both points of view, with the whole ‘I don’t like you because for some reason you strongly dislike me and you make sure to show it’ but when they got past that stage and started to get involved was when I started to lose interest, my disinterest growing as the story progressed. At a certain point, it seemed like Red was a horny teenager in a 30-something-year-old body who can’t think of nothing but sex. Some of their sex scenes even had me cringing, I’m not going to lie. 

Some time ago I read somewhere you have certain stages to write a book. It was something like: you have a starting point, and you have a destination. In between you must have something that keeps the characters from going to that destination and find a way to get past it. Here we have Chloe and Red, who have to end up together in the end. After they admitted their feelings for each other it was as if the author was getting too close to their destination, so she had to come up with something, an obstacle, for them to overcome. For me, it was unnecessary. 

Chloe’s family seemed very supportive, and I wish we got to see more about her sisters and Gigi, since they obviously play a huge role in Chloe's life.

For someone who knew close to nothing about fibromyalgia, I think it was well represented and gave us an insight of what to live with it looks like. With the bonus that Red treated Chloe with the respect she deserves and not like a damsel in distress when it comes to living with it. I also enjoyed that we got to see from a male perspective what’s it like to be in an abusive relationship and what it can do to you, even after you got out. 

Overall, I enjoyed the story, but I feel like Talia Hibbert could have given us more. I will also probably still read the next books, as I’m curious to get to know more about Dani and Eve.

What about you? What are your thoughts on this book?

Hello, I'm Carolina and welcome to my first post on this blog! I was searching for what I could use to start publishing here other than the newbie tag and came across The Last Ten Books tag here so let's get started! 

Disclaimer: I removed a few of the answers because I didn't have any book for that category. 

Last Book I Bought  

The Devil and the Dark Water follows Sam and Arent as they try too prove Sam's innocence for a crime he may of may have not committed, only to discover that the boat they are being transported in may have the solution they are looking for.

Last Book I Re-read

The only book I ever re-read so far is Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. The Grishaverse was being highly talked about on the Goodreads community, particularly this book, so since I saw multiple people saying you could read it before reading the Shadow and Bone trilogy I decided to just go for it. For me it was a mistake. Although it was instantly an all time favorite, as I was reading the book I kept feeling I wasn't having the full experience so I decided that once I finished it, I would read the entire trilogy and re-read SoC before diving into Crooked Kingdom. My advice is that you read the trilogy before this one.

Last Book I Gave Up On

I admit I have a hard time giving up on books, even if I'm dreading reading them. For some reason I seem to think they still have a chance of turning around and being great, even if they don't. The last book I gave up on award goes to The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. I really wanted to like this book, but about halfway through I just looked for who the killer was and didn't read anything after that.

Last Book I Wrote in the Margins of

I'm honestly not a fan of marginalia. Instead of writing in the margins I use sticky markers to annotate my favorite quotes or scenes. The last book where I've done that is The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. This is one of my favorite books read this year and follows Nora as she deals with her mental illness, realizing that maybe the path you're already in is the right one for you. Even if you haven't figured it out yet.

What about you? What would your answers to these questions be? Leave them in the comments down below!