Book #68: This one was just okay to me. I don‘t think I really connected with it. I didn‘t love the main love interest. I found him to be kind of a mooch and not that nice. Overall, it was a low key Christmas romance read that made me want to bake treats and drink mulled wine. I loved the 12 dates business idea and the date ideas were cool and Christmassy, but whoever ran that event did an absolutely terrible job vetting out the participants 😂

Book #67: 🎧 Audiobook. Relationships, especially with your family, are never black and white. That Ashley is able to maintain these relationships with her parents after all she went through is a testament to her strength and empathy. One takeaway I had was that college truly does have the ability to change a person‘s life path and pull them out of bad home situations - if only it was more affordable and didn‘t leave the lasting burden of debt.

Book #66: Such a fun holiday read! I devoured this in one December weekend. Now I‘m inspired to read holiday romances all the way up until Christmas. I‘ve seen others say this as well - I wish there‘d been just a little more of the Groundhog‘s Day element to it. Like maybe repeat 2-3 more times. But I did think they did a good job of not making it feel super repetitive.

Book #65: This felt like two books in one. An epic and sad love story lasting decades with interesting jumping timelines. I watched the Netflix film after I finished the book. Definitely preferred the book because they had to take a lot of the depth out for the movie and the casting wasn‘t exactly my favorite.

Book #64: 🎧 Aubiobook. Aside from the really long essay on Scrabble (lol), I found this an interesting, educational and mostly entertaining audiobook. It kept me company on a few long car rides and long days at the office. My favorite essay was on the Hunger Games.

Book #63: The problem with me reading thrillers is that I must binge read them to find out what happens as quickly as possible. I partially predicted the twist but I was not expecting the reasons and details behind it. I saw this was being adapted for film… hope it comes out some time soon!

Book #62: 🎧 Audiobook. I started listening this when I was starting a new creative project at work. I was reminded not to be afraid to show my work, and also not to be so attached to my work that I can‘t take feedback or change it. It was really helpful and I‘d recommend it to anyone in a creative field.

Book #61: Colleen Hoover writes the most bingeable, twisted romances. Her books always leave me thinking about them long after I‘ve finished reading. At first, I thought the ending was going to be predictable but then 🤯. Also, there is a song based on this book called November 9 by Griffin Peterson.

Book #60: I loved getting back into the world of Caraval! This series is so perfectly YA, easy to read, and an interesting world. Can‘t wait to continue this series!

Book #59: I delayed my entire November TBR to read this book before the show came out. It took me nearly the whole month to read it because I didn‘t have a ton of time to read this month and it dragged. Upon watching the show, I‘ve come to find out it‘s not much like the book at all!! I don‘t mind slight differences but jeez…. I‘m planning to pause on reading this series and maybe come back to it later on.

Book #58: After a super busy weekend, I was so happy to spend Halloween Sunday reading this book. This book was so cute! There was so much to love about it - witches, romance, small town college setting in the Georgia mountains, female family. It‘s an easy, fun, light read. It does wrap up rather quickly at the end but I didn‘t mind that too much. Never mix vodka and witchcraft.

Book #57: It felt like it ended right when it was getting good! Very much Greek mythology retelling but throw in a little vampirism and dragons (draken). There‘s a ton of characters in this (particularly gods), but the world building was easy enough to grasp. The repetitive internal dialogue I think is what made this book so long. I did like how it ended and I think it‘ll be an interesting series.

Book #56: 🎧Audiobook. Required feminist reading to help educate on intersectional feminism. Going in, I knew what intersectional feminism was on a base level, but I didn‘t understand the specific issues that it included. Kendall does a great job of going into each issue, providing personal anecdotes and examples in politics and pop culture. Always learning!

Book #55: For my dog Archie‘s 3rd birthday, I wanted to read a dog book. This one is completely from the POV of the dog, Enzo, which I loved that. It will have you thinking about your dog‘s mortality and soul, along with how they are always there for you through good times and bad as you are there for them. I thought Enzo‘s final scene was written beautifully, definitely had me tearing up. This made me want to read more dog books. Here‘s my dog 🐾

Book #54: 🎧 Audiobook. Glennon is very honest and open, her viewpoints are relatable. I thought this book opened very strongly. I loved hearing about Glennon and Abby‘s love story and how they‘ve made their family work. I liked the chapters that were told like short stories best. Also, since this was an audiobook read by the author, I have to say that she has such a cute voice.

Book #53: I really wanted to love this book because I love the concept - witching in 1893 x the suffrage movement x sisterhood - but it took me a while to get through. I still liked the book but there was something missing for me, maybe in the pacing or POV. Love this cover!

Book #52: This is like the Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, which is kind of perfect. It was a super quick read for me and I really enjoyed it, keeps you engaged and trying to piece it all together. And another new show to watch (on Peacock)!

Book #51: Audiobook 🎧 I always take self help books with a grain of salt - not everything is going to apply to or even work for me, but there are always valuable takeaways. Some of the areas that I found helpful were on relationships and positivity. I can be so negative about things that I once looked forward to or complain… like a lot. This book helped me to be more aware of this. I could see myself coming back to this book.

Book #50: I cannot wait to watch the show now!! I‘ve seen mixed reviews from fellow readers on the book so I recommend reading it and forming your own opinion. It‘s very character-centric, so if that‘s your thing - like it is mine - then you will definitely like this book. I need to read more of this author.

Book #49: I unintentionally read another book with writing lyrics being a central factor. The book has some underlying creepy tones and the main relationship is spicy but kind of messed up as well - especially the way they bully each other and the way he knows who she is the whole time. All that being said, I devoured this book. Another tiktok rec that lived up to the hype.

Book #48: This was so good!! I loved that it was told as an oral history. TJR has such a cool and real way of writing characters. They always feel so real, like I could google Daisy Jones and her whole history would come up. I cannot wait to see this as a TV show - we‘ll get to hear the songs! I‘m really wondering how they‘ll do it, if it‘ll be like a rock documentary format with flashbacks or what.

Book #47: I liked this one more than the first. There was much more fast paced action that kept me interested and we got to meet some characters that we had only heard briefly about previously. I still didn‘t care for the politics aspect. I‘ll be interested to read Kerris & Zarrah‘s story.

Book #46: This was a little too much about inter nation politics for me. I actually already started the second book in the series and I‘m liking it so much more so I didn‘t want to write a totally negative review for the first one. It‘s really just a personal preference. Definitely sets up the series at least.

Book #45: This was my first kindle unlimited and Colleen Hoover read. I mostly read this in one sitting on Labor Day. It‘s the kind of book you don‘t want to put down. The ending will stay with you and leave you thinking about it long after you finish reading… I‘m still processing. Loved the names Lowen and Verity.

Book #44: This one had a kind of twist that I was not expecting, but as always, we end in a tidy way that I can appreciate. I like this series but I‘m going to take a break from it / we know so little about Tuck that I‘m not as intrigued right now to read the next one.

Book #43: This was cute with a little bit of spice. It did lag at some parts and the Hannah obsession at the beginning was kind of weird, but overall I liked Logan and Grace‘s story. I like that these books typically wrap up on a nice, happy ending.

Book #42: I did not expect to love this, but booktok is a pretty trustworthy book rec source. I got this for free on kindle. I devoured this in a day. Easy read, fast paced, spicy scenes. Everything wraps up in a satisfying way. Now, I‘m going to have to read this whole series!!

Book #41: I actually enjoyed this more than I expected to. This was a series that I really wanted to love but just couldn‘t fully get into. That being said I did think this was a good final book. I had to start off by listening to a recap of the series because I didn‘t want to reread the previous books, so I was a bit lost on the characters and storylines at first. I do love the found family aspect of the book.

Book #40: 🎧 Audiobook. As a lifelong soccer player and USWNT fan, this felt like essential reading. Rapinoe has certainly cemented herself as one of the USWNT greats and a vocal activist for human rights. I‘m impressed with the way that she has used her platform to speak about LGBTQ rights and BLM. She is also one half of my favorite women‘s sports power couple. Thanks to YouTube I was able to relive some of the epic game highlights mentioned.

Book #39: A light rom com read that would make a cute movie (I think it is being optioned). I‘ve been dying to go to an all inclusive resort somewhere exotic so I lived vicariously through the characters. As a fellow over thinker, Olive was a little too relatable.

Book #38: Ah, I think rereading this series is going to become an annual thing. One of the best parts of this reread was being on ACOTAR tiktok. I got to see so much stuff that I had to skip over last year in order to avoid spoilers. I had a much greater appreciation for the Nessian moments from reading ACOSF and their ACOMAF deleted scene. Always sad to leave this world.

Book #37: 🎧 Audiobook. So cool to learn more about Busy‘s experiences and perspectives. I‘ve known her mainly from Dawson‘s Creek and Freaks & Geeks. I wish she had talked more about HER (not Katie Holmes lol) experience on Dawson‘s Creek only because I love that show. I had no idea about her involvement in Blades of Glory. Her birth story was absolutely terrifying. I‘ve now added Cougar Town and Girls5eva to my watch list.

Book #36: I get sucked into this book like no other. It feels like I briefly live inside of it. Feyre and Rhys are my favorite book couple of all time. Knowing the ending this time saved me from being absolutely destroyed by it like my first reading. But oh Tamlin.... he is the absolute worst in this.

Book #35: In honor of my last month living alone, I wanted to reread one of my favorite series. As this is my 35th read of 2021, I‘ve now tied last year‘s total with much time to reach my goal of 50 books this year. I‘m already loving this reread. Oh how I‘ve missed my #1 book boyfriend, Rhysand.

Book #34: It took me a while to get into it, but man was it cute when I did. Both heartwarming and heartbreaking. You‘ll fall in love with all of the characters and Marsyas Island. Upon finishing the book, I looked into why there was some controversy around the author and became aware of the inspiration for the book - would rather not have known that bit but the more you know.

Book #33: I loved the concept of this book. It‘s an interesting way to look at life‘s regrets and how every choice we make sets us on a different path. To some degree, everyone thinks about what might‘ve happened if they‘d chosen a different college, moved to another city, or kept up with that sport. The book ends with such a great message: that our future is unwritten and as long as we are alive, the possibilities of what we do next are infinite.

Book #32: I loved that it was fast paced and kept you interested to see what would happen next. I had to take a step back and remember this is not a real old Hollywood star because the book feels so realistic. Such a cool way to frame the story of a life as well. It made me think if Taylor Swift did a tell all late in life - we would devour that.

Book #31: The language/writing in this book was so wonderful and felt so relatable. It gave me an indescribable, hopeful feeling while reading. Romantic. I did this as a beach read but I would have preferred it as a winter read. Made me want to get a tattoo of a sword.

Book #30: 🎧 Audiobook. I finished listening to this on the beach at OBX. This self-help book interprets and explains Adlerian psychology. The audiobook is done as a conversation between a young man and an older man. I did find it helpful and have already begun practicing what I learned. It is challenging, but hopefully will bring more peace to my life.

Book #29: That ending though!! I turned the page and was like WHAT, THATS IT! I like this series but these books really need an editor. There are so many grammar errors/typos throughout and it takes me out of the story.

Book #28: Seven weeks later and I can‘t believe I‘m done with this series. It took me a while to get through this last one because I didn‘t feel as much of a sense of urgency to finish it. Not sure if it‘s because I didn‘t want it to end or it felt like this book was dragging things out a bit. I just have mixed emotions about this final book. Still not over the Thirteen.

Book #27: It wasn‘t as bad to read as I was expecting. There were lulls for me, but the ending made it all worth it. I‘m not really sure how people skip this book because we do learn new info. I liked Yrene and the development of her relationship with Chaol. I really wanted to care about Nesryn‘s story but I feel like her character just isn‘t developed in a meaningful way. I feel like we only know her surface level even now. On to the final novel!

Book #26: I love when distant characters‘ stories finally merge!! The big reveal felt like something we should‘ve known all along, very much Harry Potter vibes in that way. The ending is gut wrenching, but I think I‘m most mad that I have to read a book that takes place in parallel with characters I don‘t care as much about before I can get to the final book in the series. This one finally delivered on some spice as well.

Book #25: My favorite one of the series so far! It was so hard to put down... so I didn‘t until I gave myself a massive reading headache. I actually am glad that I read Assassin‘s Blade right before this one because the whole book was filled with references to it. The witch plot line certainly improved. I am hooked on this series!!

Book #24: Wow, I didn‘t expect to love a prequel this much. I loved getting more of Celaena‘s backstory, getting a clearer image of Arobynn and finally meeting Sam (RIP 💔). I also really liked the formatting of how each section built off the one before. I did a lot of research on when to read the prequel and decided on reading it after Heir of Fire. Now, I would personally recommend reading this after Crown of Midnight.

Book #23: This book was very much about Celaena dealing with years of grief and coming into her power. Initial reactions to Rowan, I‘m not a huge fan. I wonder how much that will change with the coming books. I also didn‘t like the new witch/wyvern plot line very much. Overall, I am still really enjoying this series.

Book #22: Audiobook. I read this book about 4 years ago. As we return to somewhat normal life, I wanted to refresh on the ideas of the book by listening to the audio version. It was as funny and, at times, abrasive as I remembered. While I don‘t agree with every idea presented, I still have many good takeaways for how to orient myself towards caring about the right things.

Book #21: We are really moving through some love interests and it‘s only the second book! But our girl Cel is young. I really like where this book leaves us at the end. I was getting a little bored of the same castle settings. And I definitely saw the end reveal coming like 30 pages into the book.

Book #20: Finally got started on this series. I got the full box set for Christmas. I‘ve been putting off starting this 8 book series, but I‘m so glad I finally did. It‘s an easy and addictive read. So far, it feels more YA than ACOTAR, but I‘m still liking it a lot. Also, peep my awesome Throne of Glass bookmark I got off Etsy.

Book #19: My first audiobook through Libby!! I decided that I wanted to start listening to some of my non-fiction reads as audiobooks because I feel like it‘s similar to listening to a podcast. This book was a great one to start with. It was interesting and horrifying hearing of Tara‘s experiences growing up in a survivalist Mormon setting. Tara was able to overcome injuries, abuse and misogyny in her life and become a successful, educated person.