A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

  • Twitter summary: A human girl kills a wolf, who turns out to be a faerie. A faerie high lord brings her to his land as payment. They fall in love and he sends her away to protect her. Yet, she comes back to save him…
  • The good: I wanted to re-read the series in preparation for A Court of Silver Flames that is being published in February 2021. Since I have yet to listen to the audiobooks and I’m still in a reading slump, I figured, “why not?” When listening to an audiobook, I am listening much slower than I read (I tend to skim read) and am grateful for the opportunity to just listen and be with the story. It was as good as I remembered when I first read this book years ago. I still have all the same feelings of wonder, of what is going to happen next. I still fell in love with Feyre and Tamlin — it’s easy to fall in love with who Tamlin is and how he is portrayed in this book. Also, maybe because I know ACOSF is being released soon, I have a new found appreciation for Nesta — this girl is a badass. I definitely picked up on so many Easter eggs… I definitely should read slowly.
  • The bad: The book did seem a bit juvenile now that I’m in my 30s however, still enjoyable and I was swept away with the story line.
  • Recommendation: I will always recommend a SJM book and thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace while listening to the audiobook. Jennifer Ikeda did a great job and I finally got the character name pronunciations correct!
  • Overall rating: 5/5 fire nights
  • Goodreads link

The Roommate by Rosie Danan

  • Twitter summary: Girl moves across country for Boy 1, Boy 1 leaves on a band tour and rents out room to Boy 2. Girl and Boy 2 are now roommates. Hence, the title.
  • The good: Some good banter between Clara and Josh and the overall plot lines but…
  • The bad: Ultimately, I was bored. Nothing truly made me care for the characters or the outcome. The only saving grace was Clara finally getting over her puppy love, Everett.
  • Recommendation: Meh, I’d skip it.
  • Overall rating: 2/5 Corvettes
  • Goodreads link

A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  • Twitter summary: A whole lot happens but ultimately, Casteel has my soul while Kieran has my heart.
  • The good: I cannot even begin to describe my appreciation for Jennifer L. Armentrout and this series. Poppy is brilliant and brave. I felt her emotions throughout the book as she tried to unravel her feelings for Casteel. Oh, Casteel — you have my soul as he fearlessly continues to trust in their relationship. Most importantly, Kieran has stolen my heart and I don’t even want it back. The plot is thick with blood and to quote Poppy, “I have so many questions.” This book has it all and waiting impatiently for Book 3.
  • The bad: Can I say the ending because now I have to wait until NEXT YEAR to find out how the series ends? It is going to be an extremely long wait…
  • Recommendation: You should have started reading already!
  • Overall rating: 5/5 Willa journals (which Casteel keeps referencing, oh my. I love it!)
  • Goodreads link

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  • Twitter summary: I can’t begin to summarize this book so all I will say is move over, Twilight, there is a new vampire series in town.
  • The good: My mind is blown — I finished this book last night and I am still processing what happened while also fighting the urge to start Book 2 (it is a losing battle and I will start Book 2 as soon as I finish writing this review). There were so many great twists, turns and reveals that I sped read the last 50% of the book. Who did Poppy kill? Hawke is a what? Poppy is a what? Why are they going to do that? I need to know now. Did I truly know this was a vampire series? I’ll be honest and say no, all those details flew over my head. Did I love Poppy and Hawke’s chemistry? Of course but now I don’t know if I trust Hawke. Armentrout has set the stage for a spectacular trilogy that may very well become one of my all-time favourites. High praise, indeed.
  • The bad: The first third of the book was quite slow and so it took a bit of time for me to get into the book. I also expected more world building in the first book as I found the rich and vibrant details few and far between.
  • Recommendation: Yes yes yes
  • Overall rating: 5/5 Willa journals
  • Goodreads link

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

  • Twitter summary: Bea, a well-known plus sized fashion blogger, is asked to be on the Main Squeeze (think: The Bachelorette).
  • The good: I loved how Stayman-London crafted the characters and told their stories. Although I was not cheering all of them on, I appreciated how they each had clearly defined purposes. Reading this book truly felt like I was watching the Main Squeeze in real life.
  • The bad: It is possible that I’ve watched too many seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette so I was bored with the middle 50% of the book. There was nothing unique about the plot that captured my attention. The ending was fairly predictable but it did tug at my heartstrings.
  • Recommendation: Read if you love reality romance shows otherwise I’d skip.
  • Overall rating: 2/5 kiss-off ceremonies
  • Goodreads link

Painting the Lines by Ashley R. King

  • Twitter summary: Amalie needed inspiration for her new book and Julian needed a push to go after his dream of playing in the US Open. Good thing they have each other.
  • The good: I enjoyed how both Amalie and Julian encouraged each other and were each other’s biggest cheerleaders. I love each of the supporting characters as it is rare that none of them annoyed me. King writes a wonderful rom-com that I felt is grounded and not completely unrealistic (although someone needs to point me in the right direction of a former athlete who is still in their prime to win a major sports tournament). I needed that touch of realism and the possibility that this can happen to anyone.
  • The bad: I was reading along when I realized I was halfway through the book and felt lukewarm about Amalie and Julian’s chemistry. I didn’t even realize when they started to develop feelings for each other except for a quick moment on Valentine’s Day and then -bam- all of a sudden the heat turns up in New York City. I was waiting for the sparks.
  • Recommendation: Yes for a light-hearted, breezy read
  • Overall rating: 3/5 sticks of Juicy Fruit
  • Goodreads link

Deep Work by Cal Newport

  • Twitter summary: “I’ll live the focused life, because it’s the best kind there is.” — Winifred Gallagher
  • The good: I have always prided myself on being able to focus and work productively when at work. However, working from home has eliminated some of my efficacy and so I decided to pick up this book. Newport divulges practical tips and a variety of examples to support applying the concept of deep work. I can’t wait to start working!
  • The bad: As with Newport’s other book that I read, some of the detailed examples flew over my head and I got bored. I see the irony in this, since Newport preaches avoiding boredom, yet I caught my mind wandering a few times and that’s when I knew I needed to take breaks from focus.
  • Recommendation: For anyone looking to stop wasting time with shallow tasks and wishing to start working deeply.
  • Overall rating: 4/5 deep work hours
  • Goodreads link

Becoming by Michelle Obama

  • Twitter summary: Becoming me. Becoming us. Becoming more.
  • The good: I loved listening to Michelle while she told her story and will always recommend listening to the audiobook of a memoir if narrated by the author. The audiobook was over 18 hours long but the overall listening experience did not feel overly long or drawn out. I appreciate Michelle’s honesty, candor and humbleness.
  • The bad: Although I loved her narration, this wasn’t a 5/5 for me because I felt as though the overall purpose of the memoir was not clear.
  • Recommendation: I definitely recommend listening to the audiobook as it is narrated by Michelle. Next on my list is to watch the Becoming documentary on Netflix.
  • Overall rating: 4/5 piano recitals
  • Goodreads link

Ember Queen by Laura Sebastian

  • Twitter summary: The final battle between Theo and Cress.
  • The good: Satisfying conclusion to the Ash Princess trilogy with a good balance of surprising (Heron and Art) and predictable (Blaise) character events. Sebastian includes a short epilogue, which made me extremely proud of Theo and how far she has come.
  • The bad: Not a big fan of how things ended for Cress — I was expecting more drama and flair. It seemed as though Cress lost all her fire power (pun intended) and just gave up, with Theo as the bystander.
  • Recommendation: Yes, solid YA series. I am rating the series a 3/5 overall as although I did enjoy it, I won’t be reading it again.
  • Overall rating: 3/5 fire gems
  • Goodreads link

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

  • Twitter summary: Summers have also been about Belly and her boys: her brother Steven and the two Beck brothers (sons of her mom’s best friend), Conrad and Jeremiah.
  • The good: I was curious enough to find out what is the raison d’etre so I stuck with it and felt glimmers of hope for Belly and her character’s growth.
  • The bad: I think I have outgrown the majority of YA novels and this saddens me deeply [Note: Midnight Sun is on my TBR and as a pre-teen girl who loved reading the Twilight series, I am excited for Midnight Sun but also terrified that my disillusioned memory of it will be broken]. With that being said, I will not continue reading this series as I could not appreciate each character’s immaturity — why is it always about Conrad and/or *insert name of best friend’s older brother here* with their cool-guy demeanor and carefree outward personality yet it is up to the girl to fix him? I’m over it.
  • Recommendation: No
  • Overall rating: 1/5 summer tans
  • Goodreads link