Monthly Wrap-Up: December 2022

Ah! I can't believe it's the end of the year already! This year really flew by!

Top 10 Favorite Books of 2022!

Today we are finally talking about my favorite books of the year! It was hard to narrow things down, but I did it! When you see my picks you will not be surprised because I'm that predictable 😆 I also didn't include re-reads, even though I read a ton of books in the Elemental Assassin series, which you know I love. Lol.

Top 5 Most Interesting/Unique Books of 2022

This Top 10 post is new for me. I decided I wanted to talk about some of the more, idk, unique books I read this year, I guess. A couple of these weren't my favorites of the year, but I wanted to talk about them anyway because I still did enjoy them and thought their premise was interesting.

Top 10 Favorite Characters of 2022

Today I am sharing some of my favorite characters of the year!

Top 5 Disappointing Books of 2022

Today we're talking about the books I didn't like. Yay! 🙃 Lol. This year though, I feel like I didn't read that many disappointing books because I couldn't even come up with 10! And most of these I didn't dislike—they're all 3-star reads (except for one).

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #296: In a Murder-y Mood (For Books, Obviously Lol)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #330: Merry Christmas!

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

Top 10 Most Anticipated Books of 2023

Today I'm talking about the books I'm most looking forward to next year! You'll notice that a lot of these books are from series or authors I've read before 😅 I don't know what to say... I like what I like 😆

Review: Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices #3) by Cassandra Clare

Title: Queen of Air and Darkness

Series: The Dark Artifices #3

Previous books in this series: Lady Midnight (#1) | Lord of Shadows (#2)

Other series in the Shadowhunter Chronicles: The Infernal Devices | The Mortal Instruments

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: December 2018

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | B&N | Thrift Books

Synopsis: What if damnation is the price of true love?

Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the disease that is destroying the race of warlocks.

Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined.

Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.

My rating: ★★★★★

This book was a rollercoaster ride. If I had to pick one gif to describe my experience reading this book, it would definitely be this one:

Top 10 Books I Wish I'd Read in 2022

It's the end of the year which means it's time for all the end of the year posts! These are always so much fun to do! First up are some books I wish I would've gotten to this year but didn't because my mood changes faster than my brain can keep up with 😆 Most of these are 2022 releases. There are two 2021 releases that I didn't get to this year or last. Why am I like this? 🤦‍♀️ Lol.

The 3 Books I DNFd in 2022

I always feel bad when I DNF a book, but I'm trying to get better at dropping books I'm not enjoying because if I don't, I've found that I always put myself in a reading slump, and no one wants that. When I do drop a book, I decide whether I want to pick it back up or not, and unfortunately, these three books are ones I don't think I'll be picking up again.

2022 End of Year Survey

I borrowed some of the images below from The Perpetual Page Turner, the creator of this fun survey 😊 I love doing this survey because not only does it include questions relating to books, but also blogging!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #295: So Many Murders

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #329: Belated Birthday Gifts

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

2023 Reading Challenges

I love reading challenges! I literally started looking for them in November this year 😆

Review: Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2) by Cassandra Clare

Title: Lord of Shadows

Series: The Dark Artifices #2

Previous books in this series: Lady Midnight (#1)

Other series in the Shadowhunter Chronicles: The Infernal Devices | The Mortal Instruments

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: May 2017

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry

Source: Purchased hardcover

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | B&N | Thrift Books

Synopsis: Would you trade your soul mate for your soul?

A Shadowhunter’s life is bound by duty. Constrained by honor. The word of a Shadowhunter is a solemn pledge, and no vow is more sacred than the vow that binds parabatai, warrior partners—sworn to fight together, die together, but never to fall in love.

Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn’t just forbidden—it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides?

Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina; and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and “unsuitable” Nephilim. They’ll do anything in their power to expose Julian’s secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own.

When Downworlders turn against the Clave, a new threat rises in the form of the Lord of Shadows—the Unseelie King, who sends his greatest warriors to slaughter those with Blackthorn blood and seize the Black Volume. As dangers close in, Julian devises a risky scheme that depends on the cooperation of an unpredictable enemy. But success may come with a price he and Emma cannot even imagine, one that will bring with it a reckoning of blood that could have repercussions for everyone and everything they hold dear.

My rating: ★★★★★

Let me just say that the fact that this book started off with a Jace cameo made me extremely happy 🥰

2023 Author Catch-Up Reading Challenge: Rachel Vincent

I love reading challenges, and this unofficial reading challenge came about when I got a newsletter from Rachel Vincent earlier this month. In this newsletter, not only did she mention that she has a book coming out next week, but that she has planned another book in the Shifters series to be released next year! What?! That is very exciting! Unfortunately for me, I am behind on said series 🙈 In fact, I am behind on Rachel Vincent's work in general! And that makes me sad because I loved her books!

Review: An Unexpected Boyfriend for Christmas (Boyfriend For Christmas #3) by Janette Rallison

Title: An Unexpected Boyfriend for Christmas

Series: Boyfriend For Christmas #3 (Can be read as a standalone)

Previous Books in this series: An Improvised Boyfriend for Christmas (#1) | [Book 2 release date TBD]

Author: Janette Rallison

Genre: Adult, contemporary romance

Publication date: October 2021

Published by: Janette Rallison

Source: Purchased ebook

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon

Synopsis: One little lie can spin so wildly out of control... and yet turn out so well.

Scarlet’s grandmother wants her to bring her boyfriend home for what may be her grandmother’s last Christmas. Which wouldn’t be a problem…if Scarlet actually had a boyfriend. Scarlet’s sister came up with a bit of fiction to make Grandma happy in that regard.

We all have boyfriends, Grams. Really, we're not going to waste our lives and die alone in a trailer full of cats.

Scarlet would totally skip the fake boyfriend performance, but her cousin Jane is bringing her boyfriend to Grandma's too—and he’s Scarlet’s ex.

Yeah. Her rich, arrogant, all too sure of his own charms, ex-boyfriend. That guy. There’s no way she’s showing up solo to face him. Scarlet is stuck, last-minute, with Liam, a man she’s never met and knows nothing about.

Maybe it’s Liam’s extreme hotness that muddles Scarlet’s mind, but she has a hard time keeping certain facts straight—like his profession, and the fact that he’s not really her boyfriend…so she’s not supposed to kiss him.

She needs to stay on her toes because not keeping her story straight will land her and Liam in all sorts of trouble.

If you love a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy with all the warm fuzzy feelings of Christmas trees, gingerbread, and hot guys, snatch up this page-turner today!

My rating: ★★★★☆

This book was so much fun! Which is only a little surprising coming from me. Lol. I mean, I don't really read a lot of contemporary romances—they just aren't really for me—but in recent years I've started to read them more and more. And you know who was the author that got me into them? Janette Rallison. My first contemporary was one of her books! And I've read a couple more since then and really enjoyed them! And An Unexpected Boyfriend for Christmas was also quite enjoyable!

Holiday Books on my TBR

The Holidays are just around the corner, so I thought I'd share some Holiday reads that are on my TBR. Fair warning, these are probably not the Holiday books you're expecting (i.e. contemporaries 😅).

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #294: Cute Robots and ALL The Time Loops

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #328: Happy Birthday To Me!

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

2022 End of the Year Freak Out Tag

I'm a big fan of the Mid-Year Book Freak-Out Tag, and I was so happy when I found this tag last year!  I only used books that I read from July until now. This tag was modified by Books, Bones & Buffy.

Review: Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1) by Cassandra Clare

Title: Lady Midnight

Series: The Dark Artifices #1)

Other series in the Shadowhunter Chronicles: The Infernal Devices | The Mortal Instruments

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: March 2016

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry

Source: Purchased hardcover

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | B&N | Thrift Books

Synopsis: The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

My rating: ★★★★★

Lady Midnight takes place 5 years after the end of The Mortal Instruments, and about 3 years after the end of Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. In this series we follow the new characters we met in those last two books of TMI, the Blackthorn kids and Emma Carstairs, who is a distant relative of Jem! There are some sketchy murders going on in LA. that Emma thinks might be connected to the murder of her parents, who were killed all those years ago during Sebastian's attack on the institutes.

Holiday Book Recommendations

I don't read a lot of Holiday/Christmas-y books, but I thought I'd share the handful of books I have read that I really liked!

5 Books I want to Read Before the End of 2022

The end of the year is upon us, but there is still so much I want to read! Now, don't be expecting any lighthearted, fun holiday reads, cause that's not what this list is 😆 But I've got a little bit of everything else 😂

3 Bookish Things I Learned About Myself in 2022

So, today is my birthday and I thought it would be very appropriate to talk about some things I learned about myself this year. Bookish things, of course 😉 It was very interesting because as the year went on I kept coming upon all these little things that made me go, "Oh! I think I like this?" I thought it was kinda funny because these things I found I liked, were really specific, super niche genres 😆

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #293: Why Do I Do This???

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date and Unleashing Reads.

Sunday Post #327: Snow Day

Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!

2022 End of the Year Book Tag

It that time of year for all the End of the Year posts, which are some of favorite to do every year! Up first is the End the Year Book Tag! The original tag can be found here.

Review: The Do-Over by Lynn Painter

Title: The Do-Over

Author: Lynn Painter

Genre: YA, contemporary romance

Publication date: November 15th 2022

Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Source: eARC from publishers via Netgalley

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | B&N

Synopsis: After living through a dumpster fire of a Valentine’s Day, Emilie Hornby escapes to her grandmother’s house for some comfort and a consolation pint of Ben & Jerry’s. She passes out on the couch, but when she wakes up, she’s back home in her own bed—and it’s Valentine’s Day all over again. And the next day? Another nightmare V-Day.

Emilie is stuck in some sort of time loop nightmare that she can’t wake up from as she re-watches her boyfriend, Josh, cheat on her day after day. In addition to Josh’s recurring infidelity, Emilie can’t get away from the enigmatic Nick, who she keeps running into—sometimes literally—in unfortunate ways.

How many days can one girl passively watch her life go up in flames? And when something good starts to come out of these terrible days, what happens when the universe stops doling out do-overs?

My rating: ★★★★★

Oh my god, not me requesting an ARC of a contemporary romance, being excited after being approved, and then absolutely loving the book after reading it! Sometimes I don't even recognize myself 😆 But honestly, I'm enjoying diving into and exploring this genre that just years ago I would not touch. And this book is probably one of my favorite contemporary books I have ever read! (To be fair, I haven't read that many, but still 😆)

Decluttering My TBR... Again!

Another declutter! I went through my TBR at the beginning of the year, and then back in 2019, but idk. I think I kinda want to make this into a yearly thing because it's very satisfying and I just want to go into the new year with a TBR that I really want to read.