Welcome to the Book Side... January and February 2023 Reading Wrap Up
Wednesday, March 8, 2023Its been almost 3 years to the day *face palms* since my last post...
Yes, I know coming back on here and writing this post feels a little strange but here we are, lol.
This is gonna be a post unlike all the others I've done on here, but hopeful of more like this to be incorporated. I feel like a lot of people may look at the title of this post and think "just another girl hopping on the "trend" of reading books..." But I can assure you that is not the case at all. Now, do I think there are tons of people out there that 100% think that reading is "trendy"? I absolutely do! Posting pics of their kindle and/or book in every picture just so everyone knows "yeah that's right, I'm a reader... I read books... I'm a cool girlie..." (Gagging just writing that). And also I probably just had a ton of people click off for the clear and obvious insult, lol. Not here though. I've had a love of reading since I was young. Every day after school, you'd know where to find me... the closest library.I love getting on Goodreads and YouTube and searching up the books that everyone is reading, if we are reading the same books and just inspiration for books to add to my own TBR. Hopefully you all can find that inspiration here too. So without further ado, as we make our way deeper into the month of March, here are the books I've read this year so far, my January and February reading wrap up (no spoilers, no synopsis, just a rating and I may give and brief opinion):
It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover - 3/5 Stars
Okay, okay. We all fall for trends sometimes and I'm guilty of it too. But you know what they say, "you fall for the trends, you fall for the traps." Idk who says that but whatever, lol. This book was both a trend and a trap, and I fell for the trap of reading this book. Mostly because I read It Ends With Us and felt a need to reluctantly read the conclusion of the story of Lily and Atlas. I really didn't love this book. This is going to probably be my most lengthy opinion review in this entire post because I feel the need to air out some unasked for grievances toward this book and dare I say, the author too. (CoHo stans, come at me all you want.) Colleen Hoover books are... overrated. Yeah I said it. I got around 1/3 into this book and realized it was nowhere near a 5 star read to me. The entire book read as an extended epilogue to It Ends With Us. The story dragged and the subplot just provided filler to the book. Some may call the subplot a "twist", but I didn't think it was as I figured it out before it even happened. I don't know if it's just me, but this book was extremely repetitive. I felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again just written slightly different. Overall this book was pretty predictable. Simply put, just a story and a happy ending which we already knew was coming.
The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori - 4/5 Stars
This book was my first mafia romance and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm trying to read more series this year and at the time of this post, I'm currently reading the 2nd book in the Made series and its completely devouring me.
Do Not Disturb by Fried McFadden - 4/5 Stars
Frieda McFadden quickly became one of my favorite thriller authors and for good reason. Her books hook me in right from the very beginning. Her twists are so good! I did not see the twist coming at the end!
Mr. Fixer Upper by Lucy Score - 3/5 Stars
Can I just say how much I'm not a fan of books with real people on the cover? And this book is a big reason why. The cover tells a story which this book is frankly not about. The story was cute, about a construction tv show star and how his relationship develops with the field producer of the show. If you know Lucy's books, you know they could be a bit of a slow burn but overall a cute story.
A Not So Meet Cute by Meghan Quinn (Cane Brothers #1) - 4.75 Stars
I know I just said how much I don't like real people on the cover of books, but the Cane Brothers series is an exception. I can say for a fact that no book until me reading this one has made me laugh out loud and frequently. Meghan Quinn's writing is so whitty and humorous and she writes so well from the view point of both sexes.
When She Returned by Lucinda Berry - 3.75/5 Stars
This book involves a woman who gets kidnapped into a cult so consider this a trigger warning for those that care. It definitely kept me entertained but I wish there was more uncovered about the cult that the main character got involved in.
So Not Meant To Be by Meghan Quinn (Cane Brothers #2) - 4.75 Stars
Dare I say the Cane Brothers are my favorite book characters? Yes, definitely way up there. My number one reason for this not being a 5 star book is that I was constantly annoyed by the main girl character Kelsey and her attitude toward the main guy JP. Give the guy a chance Kelsey!
The Housemaid's Secret (The Housemaid #2) by Frieda McFadden - 3.75/5 Stars
After reading The Housemaid and ABSOLUTELY loving it, this book unfortunately wasn't as good as I hoped it would have been and I didn't enjoy it like I thought I would. I went in with such high hopes and got a little let down. I found the boyfriend soooo annoying throughout the entire book he was actually making me mad at some points.
Things We Hide From The Light (Knockemout #2) by Lucy Score - 4/5 Stars
This was another good read. Again a lengthy Lucy book coming in at almost 600 pages. This is the follow up book to Things We Never Got Over which tells the story of Nash (the brother of the main character Knox from TWNGO). Not gonna lie Lucy spice kinda borders on cringe to me and I felt that a lot while reading this one. I prefer the story of Knox and Naomi from the first book a little more the Nash and Lina.
