2022 | A Year in Review

It’s that time again in the year, the end of the year where I look back and see how much I’ve read during the year. The only place I track my reading is on Goodreads so this is what Goodreads says I’ve read:

Ever since I’ve become a blogger I hit 150++ in books read for the year. Before that I think I barely hit 100 because I re-read my faves a lot and mostly, ONLY read popular hyped books. This hasn’t always been the case…I’ll say this was the case since Twilight and The Da Vinci Code came out. Before that I read every genre out there.

But now with the blog I’ve gravitated towards Young Adult and Adult Romance. I do miss re-reading my faves and branching off into new genres but lately I feel like I have no time.

Of course Sarah J Mass will always have the highest page count of the year lol. I did more reading with my daughter this year because she’s in Kinder and she has to read and log books so I did add a few books we read together.

Wow, Where the Crawdad’s Sing was shelved 3m++ times?! That’s crazy. My rating average stayed the same as last year and here I thought I was being less generous this year.

I was hoping to do some detailed review but honestly these last few weeks have been busy for me and with the kids on winter break and my husband calling from overseas constantly lol…I feel like I have no time to myself except when I go to bed. Sigh and I haven’t been able to finish a book because a few pages in and I knock out. So no detailed review this year, guess I’ll add that to my list goal for next year!

How was your reading year?

Monthly Wrap Up | December 2022

December started with recovering from our vacation, recovering from catching a cold on vacation – then of course my daughter caught my cold or another cold from school. My husband was busy was packing up to leave for Okinawa, Japan and me trying to figure out everything what I needed to get in order. Plus Christmas shopping! Ugh…I ordered my photo Christmas cards the second week of December and apparently they won’t get to me until 12/23/22 or later LOL. Oh well – so I didn’t read much this month but that’s okay. Here’s what I posted this month:

What I Posted: 8 Books

5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️:

4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️:

2.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️💫

2 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️

ARCS I READ FOR FUTURE POST: 0

I’m working on arcs and hope to be finish with my January arcs SOON. 😬 At least that’s what I’m hoping for…

Friday I’m in Love by. Camryn Garrett | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Friday I’m in Love

Author: Camryn Garrett

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 288

Publication Date: 1/10/23

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult, Teens, LGBT+, Coming of Age

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

It’s too late for a Sweet Sixteen but what if Mahalia had a Coming Out Party? A love letter to romantic comedies, sweet sixteen blowouts, black joy and queer pride.

Mahalia Harris wants.

She wants a big Sweet Sixteen like her best friend Naomi.
She wants the super cute new girl Siobhan to like her back.
She wants a break from worrying–about money, snide remarks from white classmates, pitying looks from church ladies . . . all of it.

Then inspiration strikes: It’s too late for a Sweet Sixteen, but what if she had a Coming Out Party? A singing, dancing, rainbow-cake-eating celebration of queerness on her own terms.

The idea lights a fire in her, and soon Mahalia is scrimping and saving, taking on extra hours at her afterschool job, trying on dresses, and awkwardly flirting with Siobhan, all in preparation for the Coming Out of her dreams. But it’s not long before she’s buried in a mountain of bills, unfinished schoolwork, and enough drama to make her English Lit teacher blush. With all the responsibility on her shoulders, will Mahalia’s party be over before it’s even begun?

A novel about finding yourself, falling in love, and celebrating what makes you you.

Content Warning: racism, n word use in classroom setting, parental issues

What drew me to this book was the colorful, vibrant cover. The synopsis sounded intriguing and here is what I thought about the book:

+ This is a great book for teens. Mahalia has turned sixteen but instead of a big sweet sixteen party that her mom can’t afford she thinks of doing a coming out party instead. And she will save up her paychecks from her part-time job to be able to afford the party. I love that Mahalia has a plan, she works, she goes to school, and she helps her mom who is a single mother.

+ Mahalia is queer and I like how we get to see her crush on a girl and see how it goes. The representation in the story is fantastic. I loved the playlist Mahalia makes for Siobhan – it gave a deeper glimpse into Mahalia’s personality.

+ I like that Mahalia is sixteen, and acts sixteen. She’s going through a lot of teen related things like trouble in her friendship, crushing on someone and hoping something happens, stress from trying to save money for a party and helping her mom out when money gets tight. She’s very relatable! Her life isn’t perfect but this book was all about hope.

+ I thought the romance was cute – Siobhan is the girl Mahalia is crushing but she has a boyfriend. It’s very confusing for both of them but I think it’s realistic.

~ Adults may find this book a bit cheesy but remember this is for teens and I think it’s perfect for that age group.

~ There is the use of the N word when Mahalia’s class reads a classic novel in class but I like that it brought up race issues that Mahalia has to go through, such as feeling uncomfortable in class

Tropes:

Why you should read it:

a great coming of age and coming out story for a black, queer sixteen year old
Mahalia is relatable – she goes to school, works part time, and helps her mom out – she’s also falling in love and having some challenges with her bestie
perfect book for it’s target audience

Why you might not want to read it:

might read too young for adults — because it is targeted for teens

My Thoughts:

I think teens would love this book because Mahalia is a relatable sixteen year old. She deals with typical issues that a queer, black girl who is being raised by a single mother, would go through. Mahalia wants to through a coming out party, she wants the girl who she likes to be into her too and she wants her best friend to be on the same page as her. There are some challenges she deals with but I think she handles each situation very well. I like that she was putting in the work to throw her own party. I thought the tone of this book was hopeful, and I love the happy ending where Mahalia gets to celebrate how amazing she is.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon

Let’s Talk Bookish: 2022 Reading & Blogging Reflections | 12/30/22

Let’s Talk Bookish is a bookish meme that was created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and now is hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits, where each Friday, bloggers write posts discussing the topic of the week! Definitely check out her blog for more bookish content plus more Let’s Talk Bookish topics and the schedule.

This week’s topic is:

December 30: 2022 Reading & Blogging Reflections

How many books did you read in 2022?

According to Goodreads and I think it’s mostly up to date – it says I read 116 books!

Did you meet your reading goals?

Yes, my goal was 52 books.

What were some of your favorites?

What were your least favorite books you read this year?

How did you feel about your blogging in 2022?

I think I felt more comfortable. This is my 4th year blogging I believe and I felt more sure of what I wanted to do and what posts I wanted to make. I feel like I found a good rhythm and schedule for posting

What are your favorite posts you wrote in 2022?

I don’t have a favorite post but this are the top 5 of my most viewed posts in 2022:

The Final Gambit by. Jennifer Lynn Barnes | Book Review

10 Book Quotes from Book Lovers by. Emily Henry| Top Ten Tuesday | 5/24/22

Reminders of Him by. Colleen Hoover | Book Review

Kingdom of the Feared by. Kerri Maniscalco | Book Review

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by. Carissa Broadbent | Book Review

What are some of your favorite posts from the community that you read this year?

Let’s Talk Bookish: Do Bloggers Owe Their Readers and Vice Versa? by. DiniPandaReads — love all her Let’s Talk Bookish posts

Birthstone Book Covers: November! by. booksarethenewblack — this was a fun book tag to do

The Modern-Day Christmas Song Book Tag by. acereader — another book tag I want to do

2023 BOOK RELEASES by. KristinKravesBooks — she has great booktube videos!

TOP TEN TUESDAY – BOOKS I WANT YOU TO GET FOR CHRISTMAS by. birdiesbooknook- another fun blog with great posts!

There were so many favorites posts but I have so little time to find them on here lol…but definitely check these blogs out!

Reading Goals of 2022

I didn’t have big goals for 2022 but let’s take a look and see if I actually met them:

Read LESS. Read what I want to read and make sure I have enough time to finish it especially if they are arcs. I read about 13-15 books a month and it would be nice to get it down to 8-10 at least.

NO – I did not consistently meet this goal because I ended up reading 170+ this year. My goal was 52 but more like 100 max. 😆 The only months I met this goal was the last 2 months of 2022.

Keep my book buying ban still because I save money when I borrow it from the library and 2022 is about controlling my finances.

YES/NO – I was so good this year. I did buy books but they were severely discounted. So I did save money, but I still bought books. This goal is continuing on in 2023 because I have trips to plan!

Cut down on NetGalley requests.

YES – I stuck to this one I think because there was less catching up for me to do.

Have the guts to DNF more books that I’m struggling through.

YES – I did DNF more but not as much as I was thinking I would.

I think I did pretty good on my goals! I still want to cut down on the amount of books I read. Just so I can find that enjoyment of reading I used to have when I wasn’t a book blogger. I still love it but it does feel like work sometimes to finish arcs. Anyway, I’ll figure out a good balance someday – maybe 2023 will be that year!

Did you meet your reading goals?

2022 | A Year in Review

But now with the blog I’ve gravitated towards Young Adult and Adult Romance. I do miss re-reading my faves and branching off into new genres but lately I feel like I have no time.

Wow, Where the Crawdad’s Sing was shelved 3m++ times?! That’s crazy. My rating average stayed the same as last year and here I thought I was being less generous this year.

How was your reading year?

WWW Wednesday | 12/28/22

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

I think I’ve officially slowed down for the year. I mean there is only a few days left of 2022 and there’s no book I’m pressing to finish before it ends. What I am trying to work on are arcs that are due in January and February. And some pleasure reading from the books I treated myself to, One Dark Window being one of them.

I’ll have more time to read when my kids go back to school next week Thursday (maybe) – I have a birthday party to throw. Maybe after that I’ll have more free time. But I can’t believe 2023 is already starting off so quickly. 😩 I also possibly have a Okinawa trip to plan soon so…I’m a bit overwhelmed lol. Hope you are getting to unwind a bit before the New Year!

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

What are you reading right now?

Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 12/27/22

Happy book birthday to these new releases! Check out this list today:

From the author of The Widows of Champagne, and inspired by true events, comes a gripping and heartwrenching story of two very different women united to bring light to the darkest days of World War II.

London, 1933

At first glance, Austrian opera singer Elsa Mayer-Braun has little in common with the young English typist she encounters on tour. Yet she and Hattie Featherstone forge an instant connection—and strike a dangerous alliance. Using their friendship as a cover, they form a secret society with a daring goal: to rescue as many Jews as possible from Nazi persecution.

Though the war’s outbreak threatens Elsa and Hattie’s network, their efforts attract the covert attention of the British government, offering more opportunities to thwart the Germans. But Elsa’s growing fame as Hitler’s favorite opera singer, coupled with her secret Jewish ancestry, make her both a weapon and a target—until her future, too, hangs in the balance.

From the glamorous stages of Covent Garden and Salzburg to the horrors of Bergen-Belsen, two ordinary women swept up by the tide of war discover an extraordinary friendship—and the courage to save countless lives.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Senior year at Ellingham Academy for Stevie Bell isn’t going well. Her boyfriend, David, is studying in London. Her friends are obsessed with college applications. With the cold case of the century solved, Stevie is adrift. There is nothing to distract her from the questions pinging around her brain—questions about college, love, and life in general.

Relief comes when David invites Stevie and her friends to join him for study abroad, and his new friend Izzy introduces her to a double-murder cold case. In 1995, nine friends from Cambridge University went to a country house and played a drunken game of hide-and-seek. Two were found in the woodshed the next day, murdered with an ax.

The case was assumed to be a burglary gone wrong, but one of the remaining seven saw something she can’t explain. This was no break-in. Someone’s lying about what happened in the woodshed.

Seven suspects. Two murders. One killer still playing a deadly game.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Are you getting any new books this week?

Happy Reading!

Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection | TTT | 12/27/22

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. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!

This week’s topic is:

Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection

(What books did you get as presents this holiday season? Or what did you buy with gift cards?)

Okay I bought these myself for my kindle app – so these were gifts to myself. Plus they were on sale, I couldn’t pass it up!

As for books I got under the tree – I got nada lol – but that was expected. My mother-in-law who buys me books just moved, she’s elderly and just getting everywhere it a bit difficult for her so she sent me and the kids a check to spend. So I think this is what I will buy for myself:

Other than that I just wait for the books I want to hit my library. I have to save some money this year so we can go visit my husband in Okinawa – so books will have to take a back seat this year!

Let me know what books you got under the tree this year!

What’s on your TTT?

Goodreads Monday: Friday I’m in Love

Happy Monday!

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme where you chose a random book from your Goodreads TBR and show it off. This meme is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog.