reading

March Reading Wrap Up

2023, books

Hello!

This month has been a very mixed reading month – as of today (March 25th) I’ve finished five books and I’ve had easy five stars and reluctant three stars, a book that took me over two weeks to finish and books that I finished in less than 48 hours.

The first book I finished was the audiobook of The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang and just like every other book in The Kiss Quotient series, I absolutely adored it. I feel like I’ve said ‘autism representation’ about three million times but it’s just so good – each of the three books in the series shows autism in a different way and shows love interests that have different experiences with ASD. The Heart Principle felt even more perfect for me because the heroine doesn’t realise she’s autistic until she’s in her mid-to-late twenties, not realising the reason she finds everything so difficult is because her brain isn’t like everyone else in her family. Watching her figure out how to make adaptations for herself as well as realising that there was a reason she found everything so hard hit so close to home. I really want to pick up a physical copy of the whole trilogy but particularly this book – it’s definitely made it onto my list of all time favourite books

And I wish I could say the second book I finished this month had the same reaction, but The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake was a 3 star read that seriously lingered on the border of 2 stars. The characters I thought were wonderful, I really liked not only how they were shown as individuals but how their relationships with each other developed, even though six characters made it a little difficult to follow (especially when they’re sometimes referred to by surname and I really couldn’t commit them all to memory). This book took me eleven days to read because I was waiting for a plot to appear – for my first book over 500 pages to read this year, it was a real slog and even now, I don’t think there really was a plot line until the last two or three chapters. Everything was only explained on a surface level from what they were being taught in classes, what they were learning from the archives and even their magic abilities felt like they were being glossed over. Then the ending wasn’t even an ending – I was genuinely shocked the it ended so abruptly and that literally no conclusions were drawn; I wouldn’t even call it a cliffhanger, because a cliffhanger implies a rounded off plot with a little detail that lures you into the next book, but The Atlas Six didn’t have this and I had to reread the last chapter just to try and understand how they could call that an ending and why so many people have been singing this book’s praises.

Reluctantly (and only because I already owned it), I went straight on to The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake, which took me even longer (and over a fortnight) to finish. My unexplained affection for the characters did carry over to this sequel – I thought Tristan actually saw some really interesting character development and the portrayal of Callum was surprisingly sweet. Having established a major plot point at the end of the first book, there was a great opening for the characters to band together to work solidly with one aim. But, again, it was glossed over and the one thing they all ‘swore to do’ in the first one, they didn’t even achieve in the second one! With more context to the peripheral characters, Paradox was loosely held together with a plot but only just. I found with this sequel, I couldn’t read more than 30 or 40 pages without falling asleep – on the day I finished it, I was determined to finish the last 50 pages I had to read so I could read something more enjoyable, but it sent me to sleep twice (and I really didn’t need two naps). But because I am somewhat attached to the characters and similarly to Six, Paradox just stops rather than having an ending, I will probably be reading the last of the trilogy whenever it comes out, but I will be gritting my teeth while I do it.

Following this, I wanted something easy to read that I knew I would enjoy, so I picked hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick from our wedding library (the set of books our wedding guests gave us that are a collection of our favourite people’s favourite books). I remember reading this book when I was a teenager but I remembered nothing about it and I know I donated my copy, so I was intrigued to try and find out why. It’s probably because it’s a novel that’s written like below average fanfiction, but for that reason I kind of loved it? It was ridiculous and the protagonists were insane and the whole thing was mental, but it was easy to read and so far fetched that it was almost laughable. I gave it 3 stars because it’s not a well written book in any way, shape or form, but it makes me feel like I’m back in my Twilight era and I’m here for that kind of nostalgia. I’ve picked up the next three books on my kindle and I’m glad I have them as an easy read that I can dip in and out of in the midst of working on my physical tbr. Which leads me to…

The next book was the next title to come out of my tbr jar (wonderfully chosen by my husband in this tiktok) – The Innocent’s Story by Nicky Singer was the book that I always named as my favourite when I was a teenager – I remember writing a review to enter a competition for the Costa Book Awards when I was maybe still in primary school? This book has been on my all-time favourites list for a long time and I had it in my tbr jar so I could reread it and still see if that was the case! I was pleasantly surprised that I think I enjoyed it even more reading it as an adult than I did as a kid – it’s a YA fantasy (maybe?) about a 13 year old girl who is caught up in a suicide bomb explosion that kills her and her sister. She ends up floating around as a ball of mist – a para-spirit – who can sit in people’s brains and listen in on what they’re thinking and doing without having any impact. She ends up in the head of the young man who pulled the trigger and is the reason she’s dead. Despite being told from a teenager’s perspective, the narrative is so mature (perhaps because it was written in 2005) and makes you think about religion, the concept of a higher power, the basics of good vs bad, morality; so many interesting topics. I wish more people knew about this book – at 217 pages it’s a really quick, easy read and genuinely really interesting. Rereading it firmly cemented it’s place on my favourites list!

With a few days of the month to go, I envision that I will probably finish This Is How You Lose The Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohta (it’s only 208 pages) and make a start on The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes (which I’m mildly apprehensive of as it’s my second attempt at reading it).

Despite spending so long reading the Atlas series, it’s been a really good reading month, I think because I threw myself into new books head first after finishing The Atlas Paradox just to read something that didn’t send me to sleep!

According to Storygraph, having finished 16 books this year means I’m 6 books ahead of my reading goal and with a few weekends away planned (my husband travels for work and I’m essentially hitchhiking!), I imagine April will be much the same! With our honey moon (a two week trip to Kos, Greece) booked for May, it’s looking like I might be hitting my reading goal early! At this rate I’ll have met my goal of 42 books by August I reckon but the important thing for me is not to put any pressure on myself – any reading is a good amount of reading!

Thank you for listening to me ramble about books again!

Sophie xx

February Reading Wrap Up!

2023, books

Hello!

Another month has passed and it’s time to wrap up everything I’ve read this month! It’s been a month of chunkier reads, getting back into audiobooks and making a lot more time for reading (let’s not talk about how much less sleep I’m getting).

I’ve also spent a month consistently making book related videos on TikTok! I’ve been making weekly reading wrap ups, talking about some of my reading habits and just chatting about books! I’ve done a couple of hauls, I’ve made a vlog and I’m really enjoying making creative videos and talking about something I love!

In February I’ve read three paperback books and an audiobook and they were all longer ones for me – the physical books were all over 350 pages and the audiobook was 10 hours exactly so it wasn’t the seven books I read in January but there were some interesting ones and there wasn’t any middle grade so they weren’t as easy as finishing the Alex Rider series as I did at the beginning of the year.

So here’s a brief review of everything I read this month!

One Last Stop – Casey McQuiston

This was a pick from my TBR jar and regardless of the book, it’s always satisfying making progress on my jar! One Last Stop was a bit intimidating – it’s literally a very large book, it’s tall and it’s chunky and it was physically hard to hold, which made me a little resentful of reading it if I’m honest. I didn’t really vibe with many of the characters and even towards the end I was having to remind myself which name corresponded with which character.

But when it came to rating it, I couldn’t help but rate it 4 stars – something about the way my chest ached and the adrenalin I felt at the end of the book just made it a 4 star read. I feel like I need to read it again when I’m in a better headspace to see if I connect to the characters more but even now I feel like I found August really annoying so still a bit confused about One Last Stop, despite the 4 star rating.

The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient #2) – Helen Hoang

My first audiobook of the year and I’m so glad I’ve come back to The Kiss Quotient series by Helen Hoang. Although each book can be read as a standalone, going through the series and getting the extra references and feeling I know the characters better was such an added bonus. Reading another story with fantastic autism representation that wasn’t a carbon copy of the autism representation in the first book was really insightful.

Kai and Esme were super sweet, I loved the insight into being a Vietnamese woman in the US and everything she achieves over the summer, the progress Kai makes in learning about himself and the epilogue was so cute. I loved every second; the communication was there, the spicy scenes were red hot and the audio narrators were incredible. A full 5 stars with no hesitation.

Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

This one was my husband’s choice from the books we were gifted for our wedding and I was enthralled from the off – the concept was so original, the characters were so unique and diverse, and the plot was high paced and engaging from the first page to the last. Considering my favourite genre is contemporary romance, dystopian sci-fi was a bit daunting but it was clever without being elitist and alienating. Definitely added to a mental list of all time favourite books!

Ready Player Two – Ernest Cline

Going straight on to the sequel I was a bit apprehensive – the first book ended so fantastically, it definitely didn’t need a sequel but I was intrigued as to what the sequel could possibly be about.

The first half was honestly dull – protagonist Wade was so pathetic and self-pitying, it took over 50% of the book for a plot to really emerge but even then, I just couldn’t bring myself to root for Wade. There was an interesting new character that didn’t get explored enough and then the epilogue felt so awkward and rushed and big things were reduced to one sentence.

Don’t get me wrong, I still gave it 4 stars because the universe is so well created, the quest for the Seven Shards was just as clever as the original Easter Egg quest, the research and detail that went into finding each shard was amazing and the supporting characters were wonderful, it just wasn’t the 5 star material, especially in comparison to the original.

Currently Reading

As I write this, there’s still four days left of the month so I may be able to squeeze in another finished book but knowing how much I have left in each of the books I’m reading I don’t think I’ll manage that by the end of the month on Tuesday!

I’ve just started reading The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake from my physical tbr and it’s the longest book I’ve read this year at over 550 pages so I don’t think I’ll be able to finish that in four days! I’m still very much in the early stages, not even 10% through and just meeting the initial characters so I’ve not read enough to give an opinion yet but I’m enjoying what I have read!

And I’m nearly 60% through The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang, the third instalment in the Kiss Quotient series with about 4 hours to go. I might be able to squeeze it in, especially with how much I’m enjoying it but I’m not putting the pressure on myself to finish it by the end of the month. It’s another fantastic look at another person with autism who is completely different from the other two autistic characters in the series to far. It’s given such an incredible and emotional insight into a family who don’t ‘believe’ in autism and feel like they know someone better than they know themselves. My heart is breaking for Anna but I love how Quan is so thoughtful and considerate of her and I’m so excited to listen to the rest of this one. Maybe I will finish it by Tuesday!

Between my book instagram and my tiktok I’ve been thinking about books a lot. I’ve read something every single day this year and I’m still really enjoying it, maybe I’ve finally found a niche after eight years of blogging and making content!!

Thank you for reading,

Sophie xx

how I track my reading

2023, books

Hello!

As someone who loves planning, tracking and statistics, it will come as no surprise that I have plenty of ways of keeping track of what I’m reading, how many books I’m reading and the amount of books I have.

It’s definitely not a necessity – when I was at school I went from one book to the next with no concept of how many books I read in a year or what I ratings I gave them (other than library lessons in English where I didn’t read quickly enough to get the same merits as my friends, not that I’m bitter). But Goodreads didn’t exist back then and I had no idea about communities like bookstagram (booktok was but a distant dream!).

It’s not a key part of my reading and absolutely nothing to do with why I love reading so much, but like when you’ve watched a cool TV show or seen an amazing film, having a community and a place to share a hobby you love just enhances the experience. The journalling aspect of my book tracking isn’t shared with anyone and isn’t online in any way, but like a literary scrapbook it’s nice to look back on the books I’ve read in years gone by.

So, my go-to method of book tracking is…

Storygraph – an app and website alternative to goodreads that isn’t owned by Amazon and provides much more in depth statistics and data around your reading habits. Including many of the same features – setting a reading goal, adding books to a ‘want to read’ shelf and writing reviews – but Storygraph also gives additional options such as adding half and quarter ratings to books, fantastic pie charts and graphs about what genres you read, the pages you’ve read, the pace, the format, the authors you keep coming back to and your average ratings! Seeing my annual statistics is one of my favourite parts of the New Year period.

I also love that you can track how far you are through a book – it’s how I know that I’m currently 92% through ‘The Bride Test’ by Helen Hoang and I’m listening to that one as an audio book, so I can track the minutes I’ve listened to as well as the pages of physical books!

I also find Storygraph is the best place to make note of books I want to read that I don’t own yet – whether I’ve seen it on BookTube, Bookstagram, BookTok or just from a browse in Waterstones, I can add these books to my ‘want to read’ section and as and when I get to a point where I can buy myself a new book (or I have a new audible credit), I have a list of titles I already know I’m interested in.

When I finish a book, Storygraph is the first part of my routine in documenting it so I can see my annual total increase and write my little review.

Alongside Storygraph, I have a book Journal – for my birthday my sibling gave me the Book Tok journal which I started using in January (I have a review on my tiktok, and there’s a follow up video!) – this is the main place I can write down everything I’m reading, my reviews and how I rated the book. I also have a segment in my bullet journal where I am also tracking how much I’m reading, what I’m reading, the genres, an alphabet challenge (trying to read a book for every letter of the alphabet!), a reading log, a book of the year flow chart and a page celebrating my 5 star reads.

Most of it is a repetition of the data I put in on Storygraph, but I like documenting it with paper and coloured pen in a different visual format too.

It’s all absolutely unnecessary, but I enjoy it and honestly, I don’t do enough things just because I enjoy them!

The other thing I’ve started just in 2023, is using a spreadsheet tracker – I had a look at the few trackers I could find online, but a lot of them were for creators who make a living from making content about books and integrated a content planner and places to track ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies), which I don’t need, so instead I designed this.

Why do I need to repeat all this data again? I don’t know! But I like the idea of being able to make my own graphs at the end of the year and more accurately tracking my pages (Storygraph doesn’t always have them exactly right) and knowing how many books I’m reading from my backlist and tbr jar. Which leads to…

My book spreadsheet. This makes my heart happy just looking at it.

Here I have a list of all the unread books on my shelf (TBR Reads), the books we received as wedding gifts that I haven’t read (Wedding Library) and the new books I’ve bought. Once I’ve read a book, I move it over to the ‘READ IN 2023’ section and update the numbers on the right which details the total number of unread books I had as of January 1st, how many new books I’ve bought, how many backlist I’ve read and the consequent remaining number of books I have that I haven’t read (please don’t judge me).

Having all of this information in one spreadsheet that’s completely customisable and in pretty colours brings me joy.

I also have a bookstagram account where I have my reading goal tally and my current reads listed in my bio and an app called Bookshelf where I can see every physical book I own. This has been particularly useful as my memory has got worse to remind myself whether I’ve already bought the pretty book I saw in a shop.

I lose track of whether it’s familiar because I saw someone talking about it online or because I already have it and I don’t know whether I should be concerned about that considering I am only 26.

Writing it all out like this has really shown me that the ways I track my reading are very repetitive and not very streamlined at all, but in my head they all serve slightly different purposes. Though even if they didn’t, sitting with my journal of an evening is a lovely way to spend five minutes documenting what I’ve read, being part of an online community is an amazing way to share what I love and my spreadsheet brings me joy – what other reason do I need!

Thank you for reading,

Sophie xx

3 fantastic romances that deserve more recognition

2023, books

Hello!

Contemporary romance is one of my favourite genres – I love a conversational, easy to read writing style, I love the huge variety of nuanced characters and I love stories about love! Sweet gestures, heartfelt confessions and the occasional saucy moment.

I think it’s one of the most popular genres on bookstagram and booktok – most of the books I see being massively hyped online and on the featured tables in book shops are contemporary romance books and I’m absolutely with them. They’re definitely some of my fastest reads and they’re the ones I get most enthusiastic about – I was listening to an audiobook on my way back from the gym (yes, that was a minor flex that I did actually go to the gym) and the lovers in the book I’m currently listening to overcame a huge hurdle and I literally exclaimed out loud how excited I was.

But there are lots of amazing romance books that I don’t see people talking about so I wanted to shout about three books that I adored and rated five stars. These books cover some varied topics – being a mixed raced girl in the 21st century, turning fairy tales into modern stories of a bunch of nerds going to a fan convention and an incredible insight to selective mutism and being deaf.

The Mismatch – Sara Jafari

I picked this up on a whim and I cannot explain how much I want everyone else in the world to read it – it’s a dual perspective family story told from the point of view of a mother and a daughter, but each when they were teenagers. Seeing the mothers perspective growing up in an Asian Muslim culture and the decisions she makes about her identity, her education and her relationship, in comparison to her daughters perspective as a fresh graduate, figuring out her religion’s place in her British upbringing and whether she can tell her parents she might be getting to know a white English boy.

The Mismatch is not only a great romance story, but such a wonderful insight into growing up in one culture and figuring out how to blend it with a new one as well as growing up in a culture that’s nothing like the one your parents want you to honour. Just writing about it here has made me want to reread it! Honestly a truly heartwarming and hugely insightful story.

Geekerella / Once Upon A Con – Ashley Poston

Honestly, it’s the third book in the Once Upon A Con series ‘Bookish and the Beast’ which is my favourite but the whole series is fantastic and I gave ‘Geekerella’ five stars as well.

The whole series centres around a Star Trek/Star Wars-esque TV show with spin-off novels and a rebooted movie franchise and a nerdy con to bring all the fans together and celebrate it. Each novel focuses on a different set of characters in relation to the actors in the movies and whilst they can be read individually, the references and nuances are so much better when they’re read in order (hence why I read them 3, 1, 2, then 3 again to truly appreciate it).

I love stories about nerds and with protagonists who care about this franchise so much and their fangirl-y adoration translates so well to the page (and the audiobooks – the narrators are all perfect). They make my little fangirling, fanfiction writing teenage self feel seen and the nostalgia is real.

A Quiet Kind of Thunder – Sara Barnard

I saw this book recommended in one random YouTube video maybe five years ago and immediately added it to my tbr – the only thing I really knew about it is that it was about a deaf character and was really insightful about being someone who can’t hear in an audio world.

What I didn’t anticipate was that the lead protagonist has selective mutism (another condition I didn’t know much about) and anxiety and she’s inadvertently paired up with a hard of hearing boy because she knows a little bit of sign language and their story of trying to figure each other out whilst figuring out each others languages and being teenagers is a recipe for a very sweet YA romance novel.

All three of these novels were easy five star reads from me and writing about them has made me want to reread them all!

Let me know if you decide to read any of them or if you have already read them I would love to hear your thoughts!!

Thank you for reading,

Sophie xx

January Reading Wrap Up!

2023, books

Hello!

Somehow, January feels like it’s gone incredibly quickly and incredibly slow simultaneously – three weeks in, I couldn’t believe it had only been three weeks and now we’re approaching February and I’m not sure how we’re already one month down.

It’s been a very challenging month with my partner getting into a road accident on an electric scooter (yes, he’s been called stupid on a variety of occasions by the people who love him most) and after spending six hours in A&E, getting 7 stitches for a laceration in his eyebrow, getting a sling for a fractured elbow and being given a tuna mayo sandwich at 2am to help with the nausea of missing dinner and not eating for 12 hours, we were home and I had the responsibility of looking after my one armed husband who could only just manage to get dressed on his own and was stubborn enough to try everything without asking for help.

So this month has been a lot of watching TV (we’ve been binging Taskmaster on All4), doing a surprisingly complex Harry Potter puzzle (I’ve included a picture both for reference and because I’m unjustifiably proud), making things with my Cricut and cuddling the sad boy while he watched YouTube and I read!

Having finished 2022 by reading 7 books in December, I was hyped and motivated to bring that energy into 2023, as well as being desperate to finish the Alex Rider series because whilst I knew if I didn’t read it all in one hit I would forget certain details and characters, I was also so ready to read something else.

So far I’ve finished five books this month and I’m hoping to finish my current read by the 31st on Tuesday, so I’m really proud of the start I’ve made! Here are the books I managed to finish in January.

Russian Roulette (Alex Rider #10) – Anthony Horowitz

The first Alex Rider book that isn’t about Alex Rider – following the upbringing of Yassen Gregorovich, the assassin who worked with John Rider (Alex’s Dad) and is employed to kill Alex on a variety of occasions. It was actually a really lovely story of an anti-hero who never really wanted to be an assassin but life never really gave him a chance. Even as an assassin in the previous books, he’d been somewhat endearing and principled so finding out about his life as a teenager in Russia was lovely – a solid 4 star read to start the year.

Enna Burning – Shannon Hale

For context – at our wedding, for gifts we asked our guests to bring a copy of their favourite book so we could have a little snapshot library of all our favourite people from this specific moment in time. This included my cousins kids (aged 9 months and 2 years), my godmothers kids (6, 10 and 11) and all of our family and friend. I’ve decided that I want to read one book from the wedding library each month this year and Enna Burning was my first choice! A gift from my oldest friend.

I was a bit disappointed to only give it 3 stars, but I think this is entirely down to the fact that it’s the second book in the Books of Bayern series and unlike the Alex Rider books (which granted are aimed at middle grade readers, so perhaps are assumed to not remember things as well?), the narrative assumes you’ve read the first book and understand the magic system and the key words and the pre-existing relationships. With not having that context, I didn’t feel the connection between the main character and the love interest at all and it took me a long time to understand the friendship between Enna and the first book’s protagonist, Isi. However, the climax and resolution at the end of the book was actually very powerful and poignant. I’ve added the original book, The Goose Girl, to my tbr and will definitely re-read Enna Burning when I have the full context and anticipate it’ll get a higher rating then!

Never Say Die (Alex Rider #11) – Anthony Horowitz

And with the wedding library read done for the month, I was determined to finish the last three Alex Rider books before February!

This book is the one that was never really meant to exist – originally the series was going to end with book six, then another trilogy came out, then the interim story in Russian Roulette was meant to be the end. I’m not sure if it’s a mix of me getting fatigued with this character or knowing that this series has been on going for over two decades, but I can’t figure out if this was a genuine love project where Horowitz had more of Alex’s story to tell, or is it a money grab from a successful series that will inevitably continue to profit.

Either way, I’d committed so I wasn’t stopping now.

Never Say Die was the first book in this series since the first book to only get three stars – it felt very slow paced and really dragged in places and I kept getting bored and having to take a break. The mission itself was very ambitious and the fact that MI6 didn’t really believe what Alex was investigating and he had to do it himself with no gadgets, no back-up and limited resources was impressive, but it took so long to get to the end game. And the title is really cliche.

Secret Weapon (Alex Rider #12 – Short Story Collection) – Anthony Horowitz

If it weren’t for these seven short stories, I’d have really struggled with finishing the series – I planned to read one at a time, but ended up reading the whole thing in three days (this is fast for me). It was nice to revisit some of the earlier missions and fill in some of the gaps between previous novels. I was particularly a fan of ‘Tea with Smithers’. The perfect break between the full length stories – another four stars.

Nightshade (Alex Rider #13) – Anthony Horowitz

I finally made it to the last novel (so far, but I’ll get to that)! Nightshade had been set up to be the most deadly enemy that Alex has ever faced and everything that was missing in ‘Never Say Die’ was back for Nightshade – the pacing was fantastic, the stakes were constantly high and although some of it was a bit predictable (which I’ll allow, because the target audience is 8-12 year olds according to the shelf labels in Waterstones), it actually introduced yet more incredibly interesting and nuanced characters that I really hope continue to feature in future novels.

Which there will almost certainly be, because in the last line of this book it’s practically confirmed that there will be another sequel – Nightshade was released in 2020 and I’m reliably informed that the next book is due for release this year, but there’s no confirmed information yet. Will I buy it and read it? Absolutely – Nightshade was my first five star review of the year and I’m a completionist, so I’ve got to make sure I’ve read everything. Currently, I feel like it’s all being dragged out a bit but that might be because I’ve just read thirteen books in the series and I need a bit of space from it.

And I’m currently 58% through Good Omens – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimon – I finally got to pick another title from my tbr jar (which I set up in Summer ’22, then picked Alex Rider and have only just finished it!). This was on my list of 23 books I want to read in 2023 which rounds off a very good start to my reading year; finishing a long series, starting the wedding library and ticking off one of the books from my 23 list!

I’m still really excited about reading this year and at this rate I’ll hit my goal by the summer, but maintaining this reading speed feels incredibly optimistic so I’ll just play it by ear!

Thank you so much for reading,

Sophie xx

23 books for 2023

2023, books

Hello!

Books and reading appear to be my current hyper-fixation – I loved all the statistics that were being shared at the end of 2022 and managing to read seven books in December has really spurred me on for the beginning of this year.

I’ve already finished three books this year and I’m finally coming to the end of the Alex Rider series – I have just two more books to finish and then I can read something else! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the series but after 13 books I will be very happy to read something else.

Although I am using the system of a tbr jar (all the unread books I own are on strips of paper in a jar – the jar choses what I read next!) there are lots of books that I would love to get round to reading this year. Will I get round to the them if I’m relying on the mystery of titles in a jar to determine my next read? Maybe not! But I thought I’d collate the list anyway!

One – The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

A contemporary romance I’ve heard loads about on TikTok and, in my experience, I’ve adored every contemporary romance I’ve read because of TikTok so I think this will be a good one for if I end up in a reading slump and I need something that’s easy to read that I can devour.

Two – Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom + Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Already picking more than one book and counting it as one! I’ve heard so many good things about the GrishaVerse and I think it’s one that I will thoroughly enjoy… when I get round to reading it. A lot of the cosplayers I follow on TikTok have done characters from these stories and I’m looking forward to understanding the references, honestly.

Three – The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

TikTok hype and Fantasy? Yeah, I think I’m going to like this one a lot. I’ve also convinced my partner to read this one too and we’ve already bought a very beautiful copy of the sequel The Atlas Paradox. I’m a sucker for pretty books with lots of hype, it seems.

Four – With This Kiss by Carrie Hope Fletcher

I preordered this book in 2021 and I never got round to reading it in 2022 so I really want to read it this year. I am a big fan of Carrie Hope Fletcher in her many endeavours but her books are hit and miss for me. I do like the fantastical realism in her first book On The Other Side so I’m hoping for something like that!

Five – My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth

An MCR joke in a contemporary romance sounds like a recipe for a book I’ll like very much. I also read somewhere that this author is the same as the writer of The Atlas Six and I kind of love that there are two such different books written by the same person both on my tbr.

Six – Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

I wanted this book entirely because of the elements of the periodic table feature on the sprayed edges of the Waterstones edition and my husband bought it for me as a Christmas present and I don’t really know if I’m going to like the story but I’m excited to find out! Hopefully this year!

Seven – An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Another YouTuber turned author that I’ve been following for a very long time and now I want to read the book. I’ve heard fantastic things about the mental health representation and although I am starting to grow out of YA a bit, I love a contemporary story and I’m hoping it’ll be a nice easy one that I can get through quickly.

Eight – Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood

I went to buy this on release day because I’m a slut for Ali Hazelwood – The Love Hypothesis and Love On The Brain were two of my favourite reads in 2022 and I’m really excited to read this collection of short stories. I’ve heard mixed things about them but that’s from a YouTuber who tends to be very critical of what she reads so I’m going in open minded.

Nine – Book Lovers by Emily Henry

I loved Beach Read by Emily Henry with the kind of ferocity of someone who is angry with how cute a puppy is. I adored it. I’ve seen lots of positive reviews of further Emily Henry books and with my love for Beach Read in mind, I’m very much looking forward to this one.

Ten – Babel by R. F. Kuang

Everyone on BookTok and bookstagram likes it and it’s pretty. Chunkier than most of the books I tend to read but maybe it’ll make me feel cultured.

Eleven – A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J. Mass

I’ve seen so many opinions on ACOTAR, definitely one that divides people but I do tend to like the books that are really popular. The thing with this is that if I like this then I have to commit to the whole series, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Twelve – Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi

Another series? What do you mean I’m asking too much of myself? Another one I’ve seen on BookTok that I’m hoping I’ll devour as quickly as I devoured The Selection. A nice cheesy romance with some fantasy (I think?)

Thirteen – The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary

I know, I’m three million years behind on this one, but I wasn’t that bothered by the concept and then it was super popular and now there’s a TV show so I now I feel like I need to read it. I read The Switch and enjoyed that as a harmless easy read, so hoping for the same from The Flat Share.

Fourteen – Alice Oseman novels

Solitaire, Loveless, I Was Born For This and Radio Silence. I believe they’re all set in the Heartstopper universe but Alice’s website says I can read them in whatever order I fancy so they’re all about different unconnected characters. I don’t think I’ve taken more than two days to read any Alice Oseman book so far but that’s been four graphic novels and two novellas so much shorter, but I can’t imagine I’ll take much longer to read the novels because I will get obsessed.

Fifteen – Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver

I’ve had the sequel to this book, Spirit Walker, for maybe a decade? Probably even longer. But I got hold of the first in the series in… 2021 and now maybe I’ll actually read them!

Sixteen – God’s Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips

I bought this for my husband’s birthday last year because we both love Greek God stories and then he recommended I read it, which I then added to my list and now we’re here. It’s on the list.

Seventeen – Good Omens by Terry Pratchet and Neil Gaiman

I want to watch the TV show. But I need to read the book first. I don’t think I need to say anything else.

Eighteen – His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman

For our wedding, we had a reading from The Amber Spyglass as part of our ceremony. On our mini-moon, we realised that we should probably have a copy of the book considering the closest thing to a theme we had for our wedding was books. Next step: actually reading it.

Nineteen – Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve

My sibling gifted me this book ages ago and, again, I want to watch the film so I need to read the book first. Apparently the book is better so it’s probably best if I start with that.

Twenty – Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I’ve never read a TJR book and this is an author that has summoned a lot of hype so I should definitely read at least one, right? Daisy Jones and the Six is the one I’ve heard the most good things about and it’s about a band so I’m excited.

Twenty-One – Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score

It’s got a pretty cover and I bought it recently. It hits all the dopamine spots – new and pretty.

Twenty-Two – Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Honestly, I don’t really know what this is about either but I’ve seen lots of hype and it’s got a pretty cover. I’m a basic bitch and I will judge a book by it’s cover.

Twenty-Three – Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I’ve ordered the rest of this list alphabetically by author’s surname but I wanted to drop this in at the bottom because Fangirl is my go to answer when someone asks what my favourite book is, so I’d like to reread it this year to see if it stands the test of time. We’ve just booked our honeymoon for two weeks in May so I might take it there with me and read it then.

I’m already having a minor complex about how many books I take on holiday, but worst comes to worst, I will sacrifice clothes. Books are more important than swimwear.

Realistically, I only read 39 books last year so if I make it through the 23(+) on this list based on the random titles I pull from my tbr jar with over 200 books in it, it will be a literal miracle. But if I don’t read them all, that’s also fine – they’re not going anywhere (because I will not throw away books).

Thank you for reading!

Sophie xx

every book I read in 2022

2022, 2023, books

Hello!

Although I didn’t read as much as I did in 2021, I still hit my 2022 reading goal and I’m proud of everything I did read – I started my tbr jar (‘to be read’ – a list of every book I own that’s never been read…) and promptly chose a series that I owned six books of but had 13 total… I’m yet to pull another title out of my tbr jar… but soon!

In December, I managed to read 7 books and I’m hoping to take that momentum into January. My goal for this year is 42 books – I started with 12 in 2020 so it would be one a month, then 25 in 2021 (because 24 felt weird) to be roughly two a month, then 2022 was 36 books. I read 39 total, so jumping to the next multiple of 12 to 48 felt like too much of a leap, so halfway between at 42 felt like a good balance and breaks down to three and a half books a month, which I think I can manage.

I’m nearly finished my first read of 2023 (Russian Roulette by Anthony Horowitz – the 10th book in the Alex Rider series) so I thought I’d do a summary of all the books I read in 2022, what I rated them and a quick summary of my thoughts – enjoy!

One – Get a Life, Chloe Brown – Talia Hibbert (audiobook, 4 stars)
This audiobook is a fantastic example of how the voice of the narrator can completely change your relationship with the story – I found the voice of Chloe so incessantly annoying that I really thought I wasn’t enjoying myself, but actually it was heartwarming, a fantastic representation of invisible chronic illness and an honest insight into how hard it can be to break away from what’s easy. I’d like to reread in paperback and maybe try the sequels as well.

Two – Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – Benjamin Alire Saenz (audiobook, 5 stars)
I was in two minds about reading this one as it sounded a little bit pretentious, but when I had an audible credit and the narrator is Lin Manuel Miranda, I had to give it a go. Although it was a bit poetic and metaphorical in places, at it’s heart it was a story of two boys just trying to figure the world out. In my book journal I wrote: ‘It was wholesome and emotional and funny in the perfect balance. It was raw and real and unapologetic in a way you don’t often see in YA.’ It was a lovely listen and I hope to pick up the sequel at some point.

Three – Talk Bookish To Me – Kate Bromley (paperback, 4 stars)
I categorise this book as ‘one of those one’s that’s in the deals section of The Works that I’ve never seen anyone talking about but is actually fantastic’ and this is why I keep going back to The Works (I got 8 books for £24 last time I was there). Another sub-genre that I appear to love is books about people who love books, who are writers or work in publishing. This was a nice easy romance read that was very relatable as someone who also likes books and writing and Instagram. A lovely read!

Four – Albion: The Legend of Arthur – Robert Valentine (audiobook, 1 star)
I was so excited about this audible find – a full cast story about the Legend of Arthur, one of my favourite legends and one I love to see retold? It was one of the most painfully long audiobooks I’ve ever listen to and this was when I realised a full cast without a narrator is incredibly difficult to follow when the entire cast is posh British men who don’t sound that different, and I’m meant to somehow differentiate between? As well as having basically no plot and killing off the main character at the end, it was a huge waste of time. Glad it was on Audible Plus and I didn’t have to use a credit!

Five – Billy and Me – Giovanna Fletcher (paperback, 3 stars)
I only really know about Giovanna Fletcher as an author because of her husband and sister-in-law and it’s the only reason I own her books, but I was quite disappointed in the writing of this one. The characters felt fake and stagey and it made it hard to connect to them, but it was an easy enough read and engaging enough to make me actually pick it up and read it every night. An average 3 stars!

Six – Grand Theft Astro – Scott Meyers (audiobook, 1 star)
I don’t know if I just haven’t read enough sci-fi, or if this one in particular was just really bland. Having an emotionally devoid protagonist narrated by someone who sounded like they were bored out of their mind was so difficult to listen to. Most of the story was really in depth description of the main characters actions – she did this, then she did this, then in a really detailed long-winded way of explaining it, she did this. It was so dull and considering it was about a space thief doing a series of massive heists, it should have been so cool!

Seven – Always With Love – Giovanna Fletcher – (paperback, 3 stars)
I have this terrible habit with reading that I have to give everything a chance to get better – hence why I will finish a series I’m not enjoying and I only stopped reading (DNF – did not finish) one audiobook this year. It was the same, slightly-below average women’s fiction. In my journal I wrote: ‘Standard contemporary romance; easy to read, predictable proposal conclusion.’ The subplot with the protagonists’ mum’s wedding, how she was running the little cafe and her life in her little town was way better than the romance plot. In my journal I added: ‘Would have been a brilliant curveball if she’d met someone more settled and she and Billy parted ways amicably wanting the best for each other’ (and I think it would have made way more sense).

Eight – Ace of Shades – Amanda Foody (audiobook, 5 stars)
I adored this series. I knew there was a popular TikTok book called ‘Ace of Spades’ and I downloaded this in confusion but I have zero regrets. An epic YA fantasy that built the most brilliantly immersive universe with seamlessly integrated fantasy elements that it felt so real. The characters were sweet and flawed and self-aware and I adored this series so much – need to get myself copies of the paperbacks! Maybe even hardbacks if they’re pretty.

Nine – Cinderella is Dead – Kalynn Bayron (paperback, 2 stars)
Normally when I see books that are getting loads of hype online, I love them – I tend to have the same opinions as the majority but in this one I was so wrong. The concept was truly unbelievable, the laws and traditions make literally no sense and the ending was incredibly anticlimactic. The two main characters were so bland and I didn’t understand how anyone could feel any chemistry between them and it felt like shoving in some LGBT representation for the sake of it. I don’t understand. Donated this one immediately.

Ten – The Love Hypothesis – Ali Hazelwood (audiobook, 5 stars)
On the flipside, a TikTok book that I absolutely adored leading to me finding a new favourite author. What I wrote in my journal was: ‘Nerdy science shit? Enemies to lovers / fake dating / it was always you romance? YES PLEASE’ and there’s no other way to describe it. The characters were perfect, Adam the hero made my heart ache with love and wow, the spicy scenes were spicy. Considering I listened to most of my audiobooks while commuting to work, this felt borderline inappropriate and I kind of loved it. 100% adore Ali Hazelwood.

Eleven – The Kiss Quotient – Helen Hoang (audiobook, 5 stars)
Another fantastic book I saw getting lots of hype online but I was sold on it when I read the blurb on a random Waterstones trip and decided to use an Audible credit on it – an autistic main character! Whilst I’m on a waiting list to be diagnosed! The representation was beautiful and wow I love a dual narrative. Also incredibly spicy sex scenes again… oops?

Twelve – Where There’s A Will – Beth Corby (paperback, 4 stars)
I don’t know how or why I convinced myself this was a story about a guy called Will, but I really did. However, it was about an absolutely ridiculous challenge set by long lost Great-Uncle Donald in his will upon his death (no people called Will in sight) which leads protagonist Hannah to find out more about her family than she ever thought she could know, getting to know his assistant very well in the process. A lovely reminder to live in the present, take no shit and love wholly.

Thirteen – Heartstopper Volume 1 – Alice Oseman (paperback, 3 stars)
A surprise rating, but my first ever graphic novel and I think getting used to the format impacted my understanding of the story. Although I devoured it in one sitting and I found Nick and Charlie very cute, I found this format being so much faster pace meant I didn’t quite get to know them properly before it was all over. But I knew I needed to read Volume 2 before I watched the Netflix show…

But I also finished an audiobook in between so here’s that:

Fourteen – The Bridge Kingdom – Danielle L Jenson (audiobook, 4 stars)
I really thought this would be a smutty historical fantasy, but Audible Plus gave me so much more. Enemies to lovers, accidentally falling in love, manipulative political rivalry between Kingdom’s where a Princess has been trained as an intelligent killer. But by the time she realises everything she’s been told is a lie, it’s too late to save the Kingdom and it’s people she’s come to love. It was actually brilliant, though I don’t think it’s fantasy because there wasn’t any magic but it’s a bit historical and kind of mythical? The categories confuse me!

Fifteen – Heartstopper Volume 2 – Alice Oseman (paperback, 5 stars)
This is when I fell in love with Nick and Charlie. They’re the perfect representation of how wholeheartedly teenagers can fall in love, how difficult and complicated it can be to figure out emotions and sexuality and who your friends really are amongst the absolutely shambles that being a teenager is. And I’m going to take a moment to say Charlie’s casting in the Netflix show? Joe Locke was born to play Charlie – considering it’s a graphic novel and there’s less flexibility with what the characters can look like, it’s actually incredible how perfect he is to play Charlie.

Sixteen – The Traitor Queen – Danielle L Jenson (audiobook, 4 stars)
A fantastic second part to The Bridge Kingdom shows fantastic character development from Lara, the power of love despite betrayal and a fantastic demonstration of forced proximity and surviving in treacherous conditions to try and save the day. A lovely duology which I would happily revisit.

Seventeen – Love, Lucas – Chantele Sedgwick (audiobook, 2 stars)
I picked it because my now-husbands name is Lucas, but turns out the Lucas in this book is dead and his sister is trying to process her grief by reading a series of letters he left for her in his dying days. Angsty teenage romance that ended with the most ridiculous fight where she was definitely in the wrong and then the pivotal plot point was a shark attack? At the time of reading, I wrote in my journal: ‘An adult badly writing teenagers with no creative plot at all.’

Eighteen – Take The Shot – Susan White (audiobook, 3 stars)
Again, I keep making things up about books I download that aren’t true – assumed this was a sports romance, turns out it was a 14 year old with Marfan syndrome who loves basketball and is told he’s not allowed to play anymore. It was actually a harmless YA story of friendship, truth and lies that was easy to read and captivating. My first Australian audiobook too!

Nineteen – The Queen of Volts – Amanda Foody (audiobook, 4 stars)
Owing to an innate sexism I need to address, I made the incorrect assumption that ‘Queen’ came before ‘King’ in the sequels to Ace of Shades, so I actually listened to book three before book two which was only mildly confusing and still surprisingly easy to follow, which just further adds to Amanda Foody’s fantastic writing style and wonderful world building. I just wish I’d double checked the order before I listened to it.

Twenty – King of Fools – Amanda Foody (audiobook, 4 stars)
Though, there was an added suspense to reading them out of order that meant I knew of some major plot points that impacted book three and it was a waiting game as to when they would happen. The only reason I rated it four stars was because I actually found the supporting characters far more interesting than En and Levi – Tock deserves her own books, Jack and Sophia are really sweet and the introduction of Poppy Prescott was so fun. Definitely need to make time to re-read/listen to this (amongst my disgustingly long tbr…)

Twenty-One – The Mismatch – Sara Jafari (paperback, 5 stars)
I loved this book so much – I learnt so much about Iranian muslim culture and how it particularly impacts young people who’s parents grew up ingrained in the culture and figuring out where the line is for forcing that culture on their children now living in the UK. A wonderful intergenerational family drama/romance about the parallels and differences between a mother and her daughter’s romantic stories from the same age in different decades and countries. The romance was arguably the least interesting part of the story but absolutely wonderful nonetheless.

Twenty-Two – Doctor Who: The Ruby’s Curse – Alex Kingston (paperback, 2 stars)
The book that put me in a reading slump – a beautiful cover and one of my most anticipated books that I’d waited a really long time to get my hands on… and it was awful. The concept of the actress who plays the character writing a story about her was so interesting, but it just felt like a caricature of who River Song is and making a bunch of sassy, girl-boss jokes that didn’t land. Turns out, just because you play the character doesn’t mean you can write her.

Twenty-Three – Five Feet Apart – Rachel Lippencott (paperback, 5 stars)
Oh my heart. I’ve wanted to read this ever since I saw the advert for the film because I think Cole Sprouse looks adorable, but the story itself was just beautiful. I learnt a lot about cystic fibrosis and what it’s like to be a kid who lives with such a chronic condition, but on top of all that the characters were immediately so raw and authentic and real. My journal says: ‘It’s like John Green without the pretentious poetry and ‘I’m not like other girls’ attitude’ and that sums it up really.

Twenty-Four – Heartstopper Volume 3 – Alice Oseman (paperback, 5 stars)
By this point I am fully obsessed with Heartstopper and Nick and Charlie’s story – I love their characterisation, I love how inclusive the characters are and I’m starting to get used to the graphic novel style. Nick’s observation of Charlie’s mental health is the sweetest and most beautiful way to address such a heavy topic and, importantly, emphasise that it was not his job to ‘fix’ him. 10/10.

Twenty-Five – Heartstopper Volume 4 – Alice Oseman (paperback, 5 stars)
Perfection. I don’t cry at books generally, but this one had me on the edge of tears the whole time. How Alice Oseman has created such a compelling story with such loveable characters with so few words and some pictures is mind boggling. How I am full on obsessed with them makes me feel like I’m a fangirl on tumblr again.

Twenty-Six – Stormbreaker (Alex Rider #1) – Anthony Horowitz (paperback, 3 stars)
The first pick from my tbr jar! What I wrote in my journal was: ‘Nice, relatively short, generic YA read – nicely paced, not super obsessively in love with the characters but don’t hate them either – perfect middle ground’ and having just finished book 9 in the series, it’s funny seeing how I wrote about the first book. What I really learnt from Stormbreaker is how fantastic the 2006 film with Alex Pettyfer was made – a spot on adaptation.

I did accidentally have a reading slump for two months after I finished it as well as a mental health crisis, which might also reflect why I only gave it 3 stars.

Twenty-Seven – Love on the Brain – Ali Hazelwood (paperback, 5 stars)
My love, Ali Hazelwood. The one that brought me back from my reading slump and I started by reading this one by the beach in Brighton in October – cold, but lovely. Wonderful characters, really cool to have another science based protagonist and very, very spicy sex scenes. I could read Ali Hazelwood’s books on loop forever, I adore them so much.

Twenty-Eight – Nick and Charlie – Alice Oseman (borrowed, 5 stars)
I borrowed this novella from my sibling so had a time limit to read and return it, but I would have devoured it anyway. I didn’t think it was possible to love Nick and Charlie more but at seventeen and eighteen, going to parties with alcohol and not ashamed of talking about sex? Somehow Alice made them even better. I did prefer the novella format, though the intermittent drawings were lovely. I wasn’t sure what to write in my journal about this book that I hadn’t already written about the Heartstopper series, so I just wrote a list of things I love about Nick, Charlie and the Heartstopper universe and the point that just sprung out at me as I was looking back is ‘they’re big ol’ gay goofballs’ and honestly, that’s it.

Twenty-Nine – Point Blanc (Alex Rider #2) – Anthony Horowitz (paperback, 4 stars)
This was the point where I realised that just because it’s middle grade, doesn’t mean it can’t be dark and gripping – Alex as a protagonist may only be 14, but he’s been repeatedly put into life threatening scenarios and manipulated by MI6 and he’s aware of it. His awareness is a lot of the reason that makes the series feel so dark in a way. I believe the newer Amazon Alex Rider series starts with Point Blanc and I’m very intrigued to watch it.

Thirty – Skeleton Key (Alex Rider #3) – Anthony Horowitz (paperback, 4 stars)
With every novel in this series I’m more and more surprised that it’s recommended for 8-12 year olds and I have had a conversation with my god-mother’s 10 year old daughter about this series – Alex is put through so much and faces such evil that it really made me think about how there might actually be people like them out there in the world and it’s astonishing. In my journal I wrote: ‘It really does keep me guessing! Though that may be a poor reflection of my intellectual capabilities’. For now, we’re going to pretend it’s Anthony Horowitz’s genius, though.

Thirty-One – Eagle Strike (Alex Rider #4) – Anthony Horowitz (paperback, 4 stars)
Around this point I realised I wouldn’t be able to stop with the first six books in the series and I would need to acquire the remaining seven to have the full set of thirteen, though I would really like to use my tbr jar again. Another fantastic Alex Rider novel, which was actually the last novel I finished before I got married!

Thirty-Two – Scorpia (Alex Rider #5) – Anthony Horowitz (paperback, 4 stars)
The introduction of Scorpia and everything Alex learned about his dad in this one was honestly so enthralling I would consider bumping this one up to 5 stars in hindsight. Alex starts to scope out his own trouble without MI6 and I definitely don’t think this is suitable for children anymore, considering I found it heavy to burden a fourteen year old child with everything he’s been through, I definitely wouldn’t have coped with it when I was in primary school! Honestly, a fantastic addition to the series.

The rest of November was predominantly filled with writing for NaNoWriMo, so reading came back in December with the festive books I’ve been saving!

Thirty-Three – The Holiday Swap – Maggie Knox (paperback, 2 stars)
Although starting as a quirky, Hallmark-movie esque Christmas book, it became quite clear quite quickly that everything in this story would have been easier if the characters just talked to each other. How two women in a contemporary romance can be so detached from their phones (‘I lost it under the sofa and it ran out of charge for three days’… how!) would have been the least unbelievable bit, if it weren’t for the absolutely ridiculous epilogue.

Thirty-Four – The Christmas Murder Game – Alexandra Benedict (hardback, 5 stars)
I’m so glad I chose to read my Christmas books in this order because holy smokes The Christmas Murder Game was exquisite – I’m not much of a crime/mystery girl, or at least I didn’t think I was! The entire story was intriguing as I soon realised that not only was there lots that the protagonist didn’t know, but there was some things that the protagonist wasn’t sharing too. But the last 80 pages. I don’t want to say ‘everything’ happens in the last 80 pages but the story moved from nought to a hundred in a heartbeat and I am obsessed. Fantastically written, I’m definitely putting Alexandra Benedict’s ‘Murder on the Christmas Express’ on my list for next December!

Thirty-Five – This Winter – Alice Oseman (paperback, 4 stars)
Another story about Nick and Charlie, this time set during the Christmas of Volume 4 (I think?) told in three parts from the perspective of each of the Spring kids – starting with Tori, it was a heartwarming narrative of an outwardly heartless girl just wishing she could protect her brother from insensitive family comments during a difficult season for those with eating disorders. Then there was some lovely mushy stuff with Nick from Charlie’s perspective, all rounded off with a very sweet section from younger sibling Oliver’s perspective, showing how much little one’s really take in.

Thirty-Six – Ark Angel (Alex Rider #6) – Anthony Horowitz (paperback, 4 stars)
And with all my Christmas books read, it’s back on the Alex Rider train for the book that I met my reading goal with! I was seriously concerned I wouldn’t reach 36 books so I was really proud of myself for getting there. Ark Angel was a truly fantastic ‘end’ to Alex’s story (as it was meant to be, but of course an author that had worked so intently on such an engaging series couldn’t put it down!). The last few pages are an absolute rollercoaster that had me genuinely telling my husband about it in bed. Just astonishing.

Thirty-Seven – Snakehead (Alex Rider #7) – Anthony Horowitz (hardback, 4 stars)
The prettiest of the Alex Rider books that I have, probably a first edition from my husband’s collection when it was originally released. With more references to the organisation Scorpia, the promise of more information about his parents and working with yet another international intelligence organisation, Snakehead is as fast paced and exhilarating at the rest of the series, ending just days ahead of Alex’s 15th birthday.

Thirty-Eight – Crocodile Tears (Alex Rider #8) – Anthony Horowitz (paperback, 4 stars)
With more brilliantly written enemies, incredibly clever plot and an extreme attempt on Alex’s life at the end, I was as hooked on Crocodile Tears as I have been with every other book in the series. Though, at this point I think it’s pretty 50:50 that I’m trying to read these books quickly because 1) they’re very good and I’m enjoying them and 2) I’d really like to read about someone other than Alex Rider now!

Thirty-Nine – Scorpia Rising (Alex Rider #9) – Anthony Horowitz (paperback, 4 stars)
Scorpia is such a wonderful villain organisation and the reformed members plotting their revenge on Alex Rider by playing MI6 like a game was truly brilliant – the whole series continues to be clever, action-packed with just a touch of wit from a 15 year old who is bored of taking things too seriously. I was so determined to finish this on New Year’s Eve so I could go into 2023 with a brand new book, so I read over 50% of this book in a day (which is a lot for me) whilst sat in a broadcast truck at the Wolverhampton vs Man U football game (my husband took me to work).

This one is supposedly the last in the books about Alex Rider, with book 10 looking into the origin story of Yassen Gregorovich (which I’ve nearly finished and has been fantastic!) so I’m not sure what books 11, 12 and 13 are about but if you want to find out with me my reading Instagram would be the place to look! I post a review of every single book I read there plus I’ve just ‘announced’ (if you can even call it that) a new book club and the book I’ve chosen for January, if you’d like to read along.

If you’ve made it to the end of this post, congratulations! You just read 4000 words of rambling about books – I’ll have to come up with a shorter form of recap next year but in the meantime, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and are reading lots of amazing stories!

Thank you,

Sophie xx

how I got out of my reading slump (this time)

2022, books

Hello!

I feel like there is no reader on the planet who is 100% consistently reading all the time – this year alone, I’ve had a couple of months where I’ve read 5 or 6 books and months where I’ve read one… or less.

(yes, some readers get through 30+ books a month and honestly, I can’t fathom reading that quickly/having that much free time – we work to our own goals! Comparison is the thief of joy, etc etc)

Though I still can’t pinpoint the exact reason why I fell into this slump, I’m 90% sure it was conveniently parallel to a severe drop in my mental health that saw me lose interest in literally everything that ever brought me joy, so rather than beat myself up about not reading enough (I was beating myself up about literally every other aspect of my life anyway), I just rode the wave. I didn’t want to read before bed – I’d play silly phone games with my partner, I’d do some creative writing or I’d just watch YouTube and fall asleep.

To then go into the following month with an unexpectedly lonely birthday, a change in mental health medication, suddenly finding myself jobless and still experiencing the worst depression I’ve ever felt, I didn’t have the energy to read!

What it took, was picking up a contemporary romance (my favourite genre) that I’ve been desperate to read for weeks and taking it to read by the sea when I highjacked my partner’s work trip for free transport to Brighton – after a long day of walking miles and miles and giving myself disgusting blisters, I sat on a bench on the sea front outside our hotel, watched the sunset, and started the book I would then become obsessed with and finish only six days later (which, for context, is fast for me).

Then I tumbled into reading the Heartstopper novella ‘Nick and Charlie’ (because my sibling loaned it to me while I was visiting them in Bournemouth, so I had a limited time to read it!) and finished it in 24 hours, all of which reignited my love for reading and I got back on track with what I’m meant to be reading.

I’m currently working through the middle-grade/YA Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz and ‘Point Blanc’ was actually brilliant – I rated it 4 stars, I thought it was clever, fast paced and actually funny (not in a ‘funny if I was 14’ way). And I finished it in six days as well! Bringing my total for October so far to 3 books and I’m back on track for my yearly goal of 36 books!

So here are my three tips for getting out of a reading slump, that I will inevitably ignore myself next time I’m in a reading slump:

One – take the pressure off – forcing yourself to read isn’t going to be fun and reading should be a relaxing escape. If your reading time is in the evening and you’re not feeling it, do something else. If your reading time is audiobooks while you’re driving and you want to listen to music instead, you jam away my friend. If you feel like you should be reading more than you want to read, do what you can to separate the obligation from something that should be a nice hobby.

Two – choose something that makes you excited to read again – I’ve recently started a tbr jar and whilst I was excited about it at first, it does mean I don’t always want to read what I pull out. So choosing ‘Love on the Brain’ as a book I was so excited to get stuck into, in my favourite genre, in an engaging, easy to read writing style was perfect for me because it made me excited to read again!

Three – if you do want to ‘kick-start’ your reading habit again, try and make a thing out of it (stay with me) – I carried my book round Brighton all day because I wanted to read by the beach while the sunset. This was two fold in that I was setting up the loveliest reading environment to start a new book and if I didn’t read, it would have been a waste of carrying it round all day. Not sure if it’s the healthiest way to look at it, but it works on my brain so I’m rolling with it!

The crux of it all is that life happens and it has a really great habit of getting in the way of the things that make us happy sometimes, but there is always a way back.

Happy reading!

Sophie xx

What I Read In August

2022, books

Hello!

This blog post could be an incredibly short one because I only managed to read one book this month – I had a lovely weekend with my mum at the end of July where I finished Five Feet Apart, Heartstopper Volume 3 and Heartstopper Volume 4, then starting Stormbreaker – the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz – finishing that relatively quickly ready to move straight on to Point Blank…

Then I spent most of the month in severe burnout so my two prime reading times – audiobooks on my drive to and from work and in bed before I go to sleep – were lost. If I listened to my book while driving it made me dangerously tired, so I had to listen to music instead then in the evenings, I would fall asleep almost scarily quickly the second I got into bed – I wouldn’t have made it through a page.

So Point Blank hasn’t been started, I’ve not finished listening to Daughter of Burning City by Amanda Foody and the amazing start I made in the last weekend of July did not follow through to August.

And you know what… that’s fine.

I think the danger with places like BookTok and Bookstagram is that the popular creators are the kind that can read a 300 page book in just a couple of hours and listen to audiobooks on three times speed (I can’t even fathom being able to listen to it that fast) so their reading goals are, like, 200 books a year and that seems a million miles away from my goal of 36 (which according to Storygraph, I’m still two books ahead of my target!).

I don’t know why I thought blogging about my reading once a month or setting up a bookstagram would make me read faster, because it absolutely doesn’t do that – I love writing reviews, sharing what I’m reading and seeing other people’s posts, but I’m really glad I haven’t starting forcing myself to read faster in order to keep up with the pace that I see others reading.

There’s a fine line between reading for enjoyment and reading to play the numbers game or post about it online, but I’m glad I’ve been able to focus on enjoying reading more than anything else.

So the one book I did finish this month was Stormbreaker, by Anthony Horowitz. Although I’ve owned a box set of the first six books probably since the film came out in 2006 (when I was approximately 10 years old… I’m 26 next month) I’ve never read them and the only thing I had to go on was the film.

The writing style was definitely middle grade / YA, which makes sense with the protagonist being 14 years old, but it was a lovely narrative that well balanced the experience of being a teenage spy and a little bit of a sarcastic know-it-all, but set in the early 2000s so no iPhones or XBoxes! It was very easy to read whilst still being engaging and actually quite funny, which is an all round win from me.

Although I’m 16 years late to making the comparison, the film adaptation was actually very close to the book – it’s a very accurate page to screen transfer but as with every book-to-film, there was just more in the book that made it more exciting. There’s a whole scene where Alex has to swim blind in this underground cave thing to find out what’s going on in the lab with the Stormbreaker production and that would have been so tense on film, but perhaps a little much to watch a teenager nearly drown.

Considering how much I enjoyed reading Stormbreaker, I definitely had (and have) the enthusiasm to launch straight into Point Blank, the second of the six books I own and the now fourteen book series, but the amount of sleep I require to function disagrees.

I’m slowly getting my mojo back and I’m pretty sure I hit my breaking point earlier this week, so hopefully it’s all up from here and maybe I’ll actually get back to reading more consistently! Rather than reading 4-6 books in a month then only reading one, if that.

But that’s the thing about reading as a hobby – it’s not about how much you feel you ‘should’ be reading or the titles you think you ‘should’ be reading – it’s about reading what makes you happy, when you have time for it.

Thank you for reading,

Sophie xx

What I Read in July

2022, books

Hello!

I have absolutely adored reading this month – other than the disgusting record-breaking heatwave in the middle of the month, I have very much enjoyed taking some time outside with my book, whether it’s on my lunch break, after work or in the evening.

For the first time since I discovered Audible, I have finished more paperback books than audiobooks this month and I’ve really enjoyed being able to get properly stuck in to a book and getting so engrossed that you accidentally turn the page before you’ve actually finished reading it (or is that just me?).

I’ve read six books this month and they were:

King of Fools, Amanda Foody – 4 stars

This is the one I accidentally read out of order because I didn’t double check it, but actually having listened to the third instalment in the trilogy, it felt almost like listening to a prequel where you know how it ends but how they get to that point feels like a million miles away and I ended up with an hour left in the book with lots of major plot points still to come to fruition!

The whole Ace of Shades series was actually brilliant and when I’m off my book buying ban next year I might buy the physical editions because I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Mismatch, Sara Jafari – 5 stars

I honestly can’t explain how much I loved this book – I loved the insight of a British born Iranian girl and her inner conflict as a non-practicing Muslim and living in a culture that doesn’t understand how she was raised, trying to figure out how her feelings for a white rugby player align with her family’s values. Alongside the juxtaposition of her mother’s story from when she was the same age living in Iran, meeting her husband, getting married, moving to England and the similarities and differences between herself and her daughter.

One of the easiest 5 star ratings I’ve given.

Doctor Who: The Ruby’s Curse, Alex Kingston – 2 stars

I was so excited to read a story about a character written by the actress who played that character, but at the end of the day – it was a book written by an actress, not a writer. The whole thing was a bit too over the top, the story was really slow and dull for the first part with a dual narrative of River Song in prison writing her book and the book she’s writing about detective Melody Malone, but then River ends up in her own story and that bit is never really explained. It probably would have made an interesting one-off Doctor Who special but it was a slog to read. I was really disappointed.

Five Feet Apart, Rachel Lippincott – 5 stars

Did I initially buy this book because the cover was pretty and I saw the trailer for the film with Cole Sprouse? Absolutely. Do I have any regrets? Not one. I immediately felt connected to the major characters – Stella and Will – because they felt so authentic; teenagers with a terrible disease that have had to come to terms with their own mortality, living in a hospital and always being cautious that those around them could give them the infection that kills them. It was heartfelt and heartbreaking in equal measure and I cannot wait to watch the film now to see if it lives up to the beautiful writing of the book.

Heartstopper Volume 3, Alice Oseman – 5 stars

I. Am. Obsessed. With. This. Series. I still don’t know if I’m converted to graphic novels but I adore Nick and Charlie, I loved this story, I want to wrap myself up in this universe and protect these boys at all costs. Their trip to Paris was adorable, I love how wholesome they are and how open they are about how communication is hard – they’re both teenagers who have questions about everything, but are figuring out the balance between not making themselves feel stupid, not being a burden to anyone and wanting to be loved.

I wish there was more and I absolutely cannot wait till the next season is released on Netflix.

Heartstopper Volume 4, Alice Oseman – 5 stars

These chapters were definitely the heaviest of the story so far, with a lot of focus on mental health and the place of a partner within that difficult balance. Whilst it braced these more serious topics, it did it with these wonderful comedic moments, the same wholesome, adorable relationship and learning the communicate with each other without unnecessary arguments. Honestly I would rate this series with all the stars in the sky, there are no words to explain how happy my heart feels. I’m going to rewatch the Netflix show.

So overall, a very successful reading month!

I’m currently listening to Daughter of a Burning City, by Amanda Foody which definitely isn’t as engaging as the Ace of Shades series and is feeling very long and slow, and then I have a new method of picking my next paperback read…

I started a tbr jar! I had a lovely afternoon typing everything up, cutting all the titles out and folding them up into a jar but now I can just pick what I want next out of there! I’m not being super strict on whether I have to read what I choose because that’s just going to make reading feel like a chore, but what I’ve settled on for my next read is the Stormbreaker series by Anthony Horowitz – if I don’t like the first one I won’t read the rest, but because they’re middle-grade/YA I’ll probably get through them quite quickly which will be nice!

August is the month I’m also doing another writing challenge so my reading might suffer, but hopefully I’ll be able to manage the two!

Thank you so much for reading,

Sophie xx