Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Guest List — Lucy Foley

Genre: Mystery and Thriller
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses murder, abortion, involuntary porn, and alcoholism.

You’ve been cordially invited to the wedding of two rising micro celebrities. Told through different points of view, and occasionally alternating between timelines in the past and the future, “The Guest List” is as close to a murder mystery party as a book can get.

I was so excited about this book. Seeing as it won in its genre in the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards (and I just recently started reading mystery novels again), I thought I would’ve loved it. But I was not happy with the ending and how they got there. I feel like so many knots were left untied, and, honestly, I didn’t even sympathize with the characters at all.

It’s not that I wouldn’t recommend this book—it was really well written and the plot line (up until the very end) was well carried out and very interesting—I just didn’t love it. Give this book a read if you already like Mystery and Thriller novels. Don’t let this be your first exposure to the genre, because you might be discouraged from ever reading it again.

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ARC-ish — The Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything (Abridged): Adventures in Math and Science — Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry, narrated by the authors

“Science has got an awful lot wrong over the years. One could argue that it is, in fact, science’s job to get things wrong, as that is the place for which you can start to be less wrong and after a few rounds get things right.”

Genre: Nonfiction, Science
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

Explained mostly in a language that can be understood by the general public, “The Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything (Abridged): Adventures in Math and Science” does its best at trying to make science accessible for all. With anecdotes and examples spread around here and there, this book is anything but monotone—something that is hard to achieve when tackling scientific writing.

Touching on subjects ranging from the concept of time (solar, atomic, circadian—measured by clocks or corals or humans) to the relativity of colors (how certain are you that the green I see is the same green you see?), this book really does try to give you countless bits and pieces of information of important science-related topics.

I personally loved the audiobook. This book is written like a conversation, and having the authors of the book read it felt more like a fun podcast rather than a heavy university textbook. Being a scientist myself, there were few things in this book that I hadn’t heard before, but I am absolutely certain that this will not be the case for everyone. And even knowing these things, I found this book incredibly entertaining.

I would highly recommend this book if you’re a science enthusiast and enjoy fun science. This book reminds me of educational videos made by ASAPScience or Crash Course in its cleverness and humor. I feel like this would be an awesome gift for senior high school students who have an interest in STEM or even adults who are generally interested in science and would like to learn more.

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ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: January 25, 2022

“To us, the passing of time is not fixed. No matter how accurate a clock we can build, our experience of time is subjective and depends on our psychological state from moment to moment. (…) Experience is what colors our existence.”

Spoiler Alert — Olivia Dade — Spoiler Alert #1

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses fat-shaming.

“Spoiler Alert” follows April Whittier, a geologist and fanfic-writing stan of a popular tv show, and Marcus Caster-Rupp, one of the actors of said popular tv show and a fanfic-writer himself. April and Marcus have been chatting on online forums for years under aliases. When April finally posts a picture of her cosplays online—under another alias—it goes viral and trolls go off with their insults because of her plus-size take. Without knowing that April is his fandom bestie, Marcus invites her on a date to spite the trolls and because he found her cute. But what will he do when he finds out she is his closest friend from the fanfic forums? That’s for you to find out once you grab this book.

How have I never heard of Olivia Dade before? This book was perfect. Her writing was descriptive without being boring, and her characters were well defined and complex. The dialogue was witty and funny, and did not seem forced at all. Was it predictable at times? Yes, sure. But come on, everyone was rooting for the exact ending we got, what’s wrong with that?

I would recommend this book to anyone who’s ever read or written fan fiction—or anyone who loved the Disney movie Starstuck. Essentially, if famous person-normal person romances are something you’d enjoy, read this book ASAP. It was so good, I seriously couldn’t recommend this book enough.

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Regretting You — Colleen Hoover

“Right after something tragic happens, you feel like you’ve fallen off a cliff. But after the tragedy starts to sink in, you realize you didn’t fall off a cliff. You’re on an eternal roller coaster that just reached the bottom. Now it’s gonna be up and down and upside down for a long, long time. Maybe even forever.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses racism and discrimination.

This is the first Colleen Hoover book I’ve reviewed on this blog, but this is not the first Colleen Hoover book I’ve read, far from it actually. Oh gosh, I don’t even know how to describe this book after finishing it. I am shattered, but let’s move on… “Regretting You” is written from two perspectives: Morgan’s and her 16-year-old daughter Clara’s points of view are explored after a big life-altering event (in the form of a car accident) changes their family dynamics forever. Filled with love, friendship, family, and heartache, this book will absolutely tear you apart and pull you back together in about 350 pages.

And even when I didn’t think Colleen Hoover could wreck me even more than she’s done in the past, she goes and does it again. I broke for Morgan. I cried for Clara. I hurt for Jonah. I fell for Miller. It was all too much.

I don’t even know how to recommend this book. Just read it. Please. Do yourself a favor and read it. This book is a romance, but it’s also so much more, it explores familial love and sickness and friendship and adoration. READ IT READ IT READ IT. Add it to your TBR. If you don’t trust me, trust its 4.23 stars rating on Goodreads (from more than 120,000 readers).

p.s. It’s settled now. I will never have a favorite Colleen Hoover book. My favorite Colleen Hoover book will always be the last Colleen Hoover book I’ve read.

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We Met in December — Rosie Curtis

“But it’s really just hit me. I’m 30 and life is happening all around me, and I can’t spend any more of it doing what looks like the right thing just to keep some imaginary observer happy. I’ve only got one life, and I want to start living it now.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses racism and discrimination.

“We Met in December” follows Jess and Alex, a mismatched pair of flatmates that grow a friendship out of walks around London. Jess had an instant crush on Alex, but 1) There was a no dating policy between flatmates and 2) He was already dating someone else—she thinks. And Alex just made a huge life change, leaving his profession as a lawyer and going back to school to be a nurse, so he’s supposed to focus his energy on anything but dating. Taking place in a year, this book is magically written but also painfully slow.

The characters are lovely but not too memorable. I almost DNFed at 75% because I was not engaged in the story yet—but by 88% it had won me back. For this reason, I can’t rate it any higher than 3 stars. I loved the ending but hated the getting-there part. This seemed more like a plain fiction book, not a romance book.

I would recommend this book to fans of Woman’s Fiction. This is the slowest burn I’ve seen in a romance, if you can even call it that. The ending was worth the wait, but it’s up to you if you’re willing to stick it out. You’ll barely get a few pages of romance out of this.

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ARC — Must Love Books — Shauna Robinson

“There’s more to you than just your book.”

Genre: Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses racism, suicide, and suicidal ideation.

You know the feeling when all the things that could go wrong, actually go wrong? Well, that’s exactly how Nora Hughes is feeling after she finds herself stuck in a job that’s underpaying her and that’s in her dream field, but not even remotely close to her dream job—she’s an assistant editor at a publisher…..that only publishes business books written by middle-aged white men for middle-aged white men. She dreamed of editing the next big American novel, but that couldn’t be further from her reality. So when they cut her salary even further, making it so she can’t even afford rent anymore, she will have to resort to some slightly unethical practices to survive.

Don’t let the cover misguide you. The publisher does not classify this as a romance book, and they’re right at that. “Must Love Books” is not a romance per se, even though there are some romantic scenes and sexual tension here and there. It, in fact, does not bang (like, they do bang but we don’t get to see any of that).

On another note, I found it a bit off-putting how the narrator went about addressing race. I feel like she put so much focus on people being white, judging them instantly at times. And I get it, I’m latinx and I’ve been underestimated by the way I look, but in Nora’s case, it was mentioned too much, especially in the beginning of the book.

Putting those things aside, this was a great book. I mean, what reader doesn’t love a book about books? The characters were charming and the story engaging at all times.

I would recommend this book to readers who’ve enjoyed books by Sally Thorne and Emily Henry. I mean, to be honest, I will probably be recommending this book all year round. It’s that good.

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ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: January 18, 2022

Love at First Like — Hannah Orenstein

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

“Love at First Like” follows Eliza Roth as she fakes an engagement (and wedding—if she finds someone willing to be her fiancé) in order to safe the jewelry business she owns with her older sister.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. I really like Hannah Orenstein as an author. And it wasn’t that the writing was bad, really, it was more that the story was unbearable. I have seen few characters as manipulative as Eliza, the way she gaslighted everyone around her was impressive. She essentially conned herself into a wedding with a decent guy, and when that didn’t work out, she did it again with another nice guy.

I’m not sure who to recommend this book to. Maybe read it if you have the free time and someone already gifted you this book? Yeah, that’s it.

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ARC — Serendipity: Ten Romantic Tropes, Transformed — Edited by Marissa Meyer

Authors: Elise Bryant, Elizabeth Eulberg, Leah Johnson, Anna-Marie McLemore, Sandhya Menon, Marissa Meyer, Julie Murphy, Caleb Roehrig, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Abigail Hing Wen

Narrated by: Aida Reluzco, Alaska Jackson, Ewan Chung, Gary Tiedemann, James Fouhey, Jeanette Illidge, Natalie Naudus, and Reena Dutt

Genre: Young Adult
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

“Serendipity” addresses different romantic tropes, twisting them into extraordinary and more inclusive versions of the tales we’ve heard a hundred times before. Following prompts like unrequited love, fake relationships, and grand romantic gestures, the stories are sharp and entertaining.

This compilation of stories delivers what’s promised. This book is perfect if you’re looking to delve into different worlds and stories without the time commitment of reading a whole book. Think watching a movie versus watching a short Youtube video. If you’re in the mood for short videos, then this is the book for you.

I was lucky enough to be provided with the audiobook thanks to NetGalley. I found most narrators to be charming and their voices fit their characters perfectly. There was just one occasion in which I felt the voice didn’t match the character I imagined, but even then, listening to this audiobook was amazing.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for short, heartwarming stories. This compilation reminded me of Rainbow Rowell, Maureen Johnson, and John Green (think the Christmas-y compilation they were a part of in 2016, “Let It Snow”, this book kind of has those vibes), so I would recommend this book to anyone who’s liked their writing.

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ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: January 4, 2022 (TODAY!)

Shipped — Angie Hockman

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

This book follows Henley and Graeme, two coworkers who go off on a cruise to get an immersive experience of the company they work for, as they’re both competing for a promotion. Mostly set in the Galápagos Islands, this is a tropical, entertaining read.

I wouldn’t call this a romance book, not even as a joke. It’s fiction (Women’s fiction, if you will) and it might’ve even been a good fiction book at that, it’s just not a good romance book. The plot is engaging, especially for people who are intrigued by nature and wildlife. Nonetheless, the character development was horrible. Actually, it’s so bad that it didn’t make sense at times. The relationship between Henley and her sister fluctuated so much and without reason. Henley and Graeme fell in love through lustful eye contact, I guess? Because they barely talked in the beginning. I don’t know. The characters weren’t it for me, but the plot was different and so I enjoyed it and that’s the only reason why I rated it the way I did.

I would recommend this book to conservation and biodiversity enthusiasts and someone up for a nice, filler book. This will not satiate your need for romance, take my word on it.

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p.s.: It’s described as “The Unhoneymooners meets The Hating Game”? Really? This book reminded me of anything but those books. I guess they’re comparing it to them because the characters are competing for a promotion (The Hating Game) and because they’re forced to go on a vacation together (The Unhoneymooners)? But, like, in The Hating Game the dynamic between the characters was wildly different and in The Unhoneymooners they shared a room in their vacation and were legit pretending to be together. If Henley did not want to interact with Graeme while they were on the big-ass cruise, she could’ve done that. I don’t know, maybe it was just me.

My 2021 in Books

I must say 2021 has been one of the years where I’ve read the most. With it’s ups and downs, reading was a constant that brought me comfort. That’s why I ended up reading 77 books between June and December.

After reading more than 25,000 words this year, falling in love with countless characters, and going off on a ton of adventures, these are my top 10 picks for books I read in 2021:

10. November 9 — Colleen Hoover
9. In Five Years — Rebecca Serle
8. People We Meet on Vacation — Emily Henry
7. Ugly Love — Colleen Hoover
6. The Unhoneymooners — Christina Lauren
5. The Hating Game: A Novel — Sally Throne
4. It Ends With Us — Colleen Hoover
3. The Soulmate Equation — Christina Lauren
2. A Woman Is No Man — Etaf Rum
1. You Had Me at Hola — Alexis Daria