2022 Reading Wrap Up

 Hi Readers, Welcome to 2023! 

I hope you had a lovely holiday season. 

In 2022, I kept track of a lot of book/reading stats in a reading journal and I wanted to share some of them with you... hopefully you will find them interesting. 

In 2022, I read 109 books. 

My Goodreads goal was 100.

So YAY!

In those first 100 books, I kept track of format.

I read  42 Physical books

I listened to 8 books on Audible.

and

I read 50 books on an e-reader/ my Kindle.

I read ~26,756 pages in 2022. Which equates to about 245 pages/book

And nothing is complete without favories right?! So here they are:

1. January: Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
2. February:  The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
3. March: Gallant by V.E. Schwab
4. April: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
5. May: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
6. June: Her Villains by Jade Presley
7. July: This is a Birthday Cake by Andrew Cangelose
8. August: Hello, Goodbye by Kate Stollenwerck
9. September: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
10. October: A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair
11. November: I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
12. December: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Then I made a bracket...for my favorite book of the year...

 

Favorite of the year: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue!

Recent Reads: The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling 
Series: The Ex Hex #2
Publisher: Avon Books
Publication Date: September 20, 2022 

 

Format: Paperback
Source: Bought/Own

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Welcome to Spooky Season!! The follow-up to Erin Sterling’s New York Times bestselling hit The Ex Hex features fan favorite Gwyn and the spine-tinglingly handsome Wells Penhallow as they battle a new band of witches and their own magical chemistry.

Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she’s running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she’s started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there’s only one problem—Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow.

Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family’s connection to the town they founded as well as to make a new life for himself after years of being the dutiful son in Wales. When he opens up a shop of his own, Penhallow’s, just across the street from Something Wicked, he quickly learns he’s gotten more than he bargained for in going up against Gwyn.

When their professional competition leads to a very personal—and very hot—kiss, both Wells and Gwyn are determined to stay away from each other, convinced the kiss was just a magical fluke. But when a mysterious new coven of witches come to town and Gwyn’s powers begin fading, she and Wells must work together to figure out just what these new witches want and how to restore Gwyn’s magic before it’s too late.

Review: 

Book 2 in the Ex Hex series following the Jones family and their interesting luck with the men of the Penhallow family. Gwyn is living in Graves Glen happily running her tourist- aimed witch shop with trinkets and nothing magical being sold when Wells Penhallow comes back to town. He decides he is also going to run a withcy shop right across the road from Gwyn's and make it slightly more upscale. While they are feuding Gywn starts to notice that her magic is on the fritz and that is an issue since the Jones' family magic is helping run the town magic now. 

Wells and Gwyn bicker a lot and their banter is so cute, sometime obnoxious and childish, but also swoony. There isn't too much depth in their conversations but the plot of the book moves quickly and the romantic elements are nice. The plot itself is kind of meh, whereas the romance takes the forefront. The conflict (aside from the bickering) is both developed and resolved very quickly, and the ending was a bit strange. 

I liked Gwyn and Wells well enough, but LOVED the 'baby witches' that Gwyn is mentoring. They were such a fun comic relief throughout the book. Gwyn is determined and will not be taken advantage of and that comes through with her stubborness. Wells is just as stubborn and sometimes too trusting, which becomes a problem for him. There are also a few instances of miscommunciation/ no communication that are so frustrating but lend to the plot. 

I have seen this series and installment described as spooky meets Gilmore girls, and the small town/ Halloween/ witchy vibe certainly does give that. I found the overall book pretty good, it has a lot of romance and spicyness as well. There is also one Penhallow brother left... hoping we see his love story in book three.

Monthly Re-Cap (Dec 22)

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

Happy 2023... here is my December Re-cap.

Here is the progress from December. I also read a few others but make ok progress.

~~Books I Read in December 2022~~  

   

 

  
  

~~Links to Some Reviews~~

Others will come later.

1. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (adult) - 5 stars
2. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake (adult) - 5 stars
3. The Altas Paradox by Olivie Blake (adult) - 4 stars
4. The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling (adult) - 4 stars
5. Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood (adult) - 4 stars
6. A Touch of Ruin by Scarlett St. Clair (adult) - 4 stars

How was your December reading? 

Feel free to share it in the comments below! I would love to know what you are reading!

Happy New Year!

WE MADE IT! 

Happy 2023!

🎉✨🎉Happy New Year Everyone.🎉✨ 🎉

  
Wishing everyone health, wellness, love, and SO many great reads in the New Year!

Recent Reads: The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake

The Atlas Paradox By Olivie Blake
Series: The Atlas #2
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date:  October 25, 2022

 

Format: Hardback
Source: Bought/Own

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

“DESTINY IS A CHOICE”

The Atlas Paradox is the long-awaited sequel to dark academic sensation The Atlas Six—guaranteed to have even more yearning, backstabbing, betrayal, and chaos.

Six magicians. Two rivalries. One researcher. And a man who can walk through dreams. All must pick a side: do they wish to preserve the world—or destroy it? In this electric sequel to the viral sensation, The Atlas Six, the society of Alexandrians is revealed for what it is: a secret society with raw, world-changing power, headed by a man whose plans to change life as we know it are already under way. But the cost of knowledge is steep, and as the price of power demands each character choose a side, which alliances will hold and which will see their enmity deepen?”

Read review for Book 1: The Atlas Six HERE

Review: 

I love trilogies, but I always forget about thos cliffhanger endings. Luckily after finishing book 1 of this series I was able to grab book 2... but now again I have to WAIT :( 

Book 2 of the Atlas trilogy continues to follow the initiates and their tenure at the Alexandrian Society. Lots of secrets are revealed and alliances are formed.  I won't go into too much detail, since this is book 2 and I don't want to spoil but it was a great installment to this series.

Again, this book is mulitple POV, with a few new POV's added in to the mix including rival Forum members and former Initiates. The characters drive the book and plot forward again making discoveries and learning new secrets about the Society and their caretaker Altas. 

This installment was harder to get into than the first. I ran though the first few chapters as I tried to learn more about the cliffhanger from book 1 but it was clear that it wasn't coming soon and so the book stalled a bit.  It was also difficult to feel out where the book was headed. The writing seemed more rushed and jumbled. For exmaple, the initiates go through their initiation ritual which showed them a projection of another person that was there... so I though alliences would form and new information would come of it, or that we would at least learn the reason behind it but NO, it hurt some of the pairing and did nothing for others. It could have been a really interesting dynamic played through the book, but it was left to trickle out as they went seperate ways to conduct research. 

While this one did not hit the mark as well, I think it was still a very fun dark academia. The characters are still very love/hate all the time and there is still this deep mental health element that I think the author should play up and into more. I also like this found-family aspect as they live together longer and make plays to assist one another when the time is right. 

I am excited for book 3, however depending on how long it takes to come out... we will see if this is enough motivation to pick it up.

Recent Reads: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Series: The Atlas #1
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date:  January 31, 2020

 

Format: Paperback
Source: Bought

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

The Alexandrian Society is a secret society of magical academicians, the best in the world. Their members are caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity. And those who earn a place among their number will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams. Each decade, the world’s six most uniquely talented magicians are selected for initiation – and here are the chosen few...

- Libby Rhodes and Nicolás Ferrer de Varona: inseparable enemies, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds.

- Reina Mori: a naturalist who can speak the language of life itself.

- Parisa Kamali: a mind reader whose powers of seduction are unmatched.

- Tristan Caine: the son of a crime kingpin who can see the secrets of the universe.

- Callum Nova: an insanely rich pretty boy who could bring about the end of the world. He need only ask.

When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they must spend one year together to qualify for initiation. During this time, they will be permitted access to the Society’s archives and judged on their contributions to arcane areas of knowledge. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. If they can prove themselves to be the best, they will survive. Most of them.

Review: 

What the heck was that?! I feel like I have whiplash ending this book... so I immediately grabbed book 2 which was NOT in the reading plan for the month, but oh well.

This is a dark academia following six very talented magicians. They are tapped by the Alexandrian Society to be this year’s initiate class. For the first year they will be learning about the Society and protecting it and then in year two they will be able to use it to conduct their own research. The Alexandrian Society is the mythical library of Alexandria housing all knowledge, ancient 'lost' texts and originals and only a select few are able to access it. 

The six this year are Libby and Nico, who are physical magicians, A naturalist named Reina, a mind-reader named Parisa, an empath - Callum, and Tristan is a very special illusionist of sorts that can see through illusions and do much greater things than he realizes. What they don't realize is that in order to get into year 2 only 5 out of the 6 progress and one must die for the rest to proceed... secret society secrets must stay hidden...

This book was dense. There was a lot of inner turmoil from the characters and it kinda of focuses on mental health in a lot of ways which was interesting. The plot was VERY character driven so if you don't like these characters, you probably won't stick with it. That being said, I think there is a love/hate relationship that develops with all the characters as you read. They do some really cool things and progress nicely and then they take steps back that make you want to scream. (thus, some of the whiplash feeling). 

I full expected to learn more about the Society and Atlas Blakely but since it was so character driven, you are so far into their thought, feelings, and actions that there isn't much time for that world build, and I would have liked more of it... but I still enjoyed it. 

I wanted to know what would happen to the characters, I was invested and so the 2nd book was needed... and now the 3rd too but that review will be coming soon.

Overall, if you like a multiple POV book, with very damaged but interesting magicians, this book is for you. If you are not a fan of character-driven plots... then maybe not so much.

Merry Christmas from Cover2CoverBlog

🎄🎄🎄🎄Merry Christmas 🎄🎄🎄🎄

From Steph (and family) at Cover2CoverBlog 

 

Hope that your holiday is filled with love, wellness and happiness!

Building the Book Pile #418

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

Hi there, I realized this week while writing up my TBR that I had no December review books pending. I am late on a few Netgalley ones but I have a stack of books that I have bought that I wanted to read. So this month is all about getting to those books and I am super excited. December so far has been a grat reading month. 

How is your December going?

This week we leave to go to FL to visit family before the holidays... so I hope to read a lot but posting will be limited if at all. Sorry.

I hope you have a great week!!

If you are interested in supporting my ability to stay awake and read please consider dontating - Coffee  is appreciated ... Ko-fi

 

Coming up on the Blog

??

Not sure, sorry. Might take the week off.

Books Received Recently...   

  

 

Robin and Her Misfits by Kelly Ann Jacobson - from Librarything Early Reviewer program.

Have you missed anything lately?

Monthly Re-cap (Nov 22) and TBR (Dec 22) 

Happy Holidays Post

Recent Reads: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldres (Adult) - 5 stars

Comment or leave me a link and I will see you online again soon.

Happy Reading!

Recent Reads: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree 
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date:  February 22, 2022

 

Format: Paperback
Source: Bought

Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis: 

High Fantasy with a double-shot of self-reinvention

Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.

However, her dreams of a fresh start pulling shots instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners and a different kind of resolve.

A hot cup of fantasy slice-of-life with a dollop of romantic froth.

Review: 

I am so glad I found this book on BookTok. It is such a cozy fantasy. This book was so warm and fuzzy to read and it really brought me so much joy. Everything was so wholesome and even the beginning when Viv is still collecting bounties and slaying monsters, it was well done and not overly graphic. 

The book follows Viv, a retired adventurer who built most of her life fighting and with violence, and now she would like to open a cafe. No one knows what coffee even is, but Viv has a passion for it since discovering it in a Gnomish village on her travels. She would like to bring this delightful warm cup to everyone and has a vision. To do so she brings together a lovely group of outcasts to build up her enterprise and it is beautiful.  This was such a good found-family story. The plot has some mystery and suspense here and there but really it was about building relationships around Viv. The characters are all great - Viv while strong, is also sensitive and determined and really going out on a limb to try something so different. Tandri is trying to break perceptions and freeing herself from a past life as well. Thimble! Oh my gosh, the best! A mouse baker... who is quiet but loves baking, SO CUTE! and Cal, our builder who once they get going will do anything to support Viv and her dream because she took a chance on him. 

I can't say enought how light and lovely this book was. It was a quick read but so delightful the entire time. I didn't to put it down. I loved the themes, I loved the cafe, I was hungry the whole time becuase of Thimble's baking descriptions.  A great start to my December reading. 

If you are looking for something cozy and cute, and love coffee - you will adore this one.

Happy Holidays from Cover2CoverBlog

Happy December and Happy Holidays! 

I hope your 2022 has been better than the last few years, I know they have been rough. 

However you will be celebrating this month, I would like to say Happy Holidays!!!

I hope you have a love-filled holiday season that is happy and healthy. 

Stay well my friends.

xoxo- Steph