Read with me! I read a lot of books, but mainly young adult books that I pre-read before I let my third grader read it. I decided in mid-December 2021 that I wanted to start reading more for me. I set a goal for myself to go back and read a lot of the classics that I either never read at all or never read correctly (hello cliffs notes!). I have a goal in 2022 to read 100 books! I also got two scratch off posters as Christmas presents for me to start tracking some of the “must read” books. (This one from Uncommon Goods and this one from Pop Chart.)
You can also follow me on Goodreads to see what I am currently reading and my reviews on the books that I have read!
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DECEMBER 2021
The Lost Apothecary – I loved this book! I love the back and forth between the characters and time periods. I loved how everything intertwined. And I really liked how it ended (there were a lot of people that did not though). Would definitely recommend!
The Paper Palace – I would have given this 4 or even 5 stars until the last few pages of the book. I really did not like how it ended. If you are okay with an “open to interpretation” ending, then you may really enjoy it. Otherwise, maybe skip this one.
War and Peace – This is the first book I chose from the scratch off lists. It is really good and I am really enjoying it but it is a heavy read. The book is broken up into 4 sections, so after each section I am taking a break and reading a “fun” book before going back to War and Peace.
And here are the books I want to read first this year … let’s see how far I get!
JANUARY 2022
War and Peace – I started this book in December and finally finished it this month. It is a long book, so I am glad I broke it up. A lot of war talk that I didn’t love but didn’t hate either. But the love stories kept me interested and ultimately loved the book.
A Thousand Splendid Suns – This story… wow! I would recommend this book to anyone. This book got me in to historical fiction as my new favorite genre.
The Nightingale – Another historical fiction that I couldn’t put down. You don’t learn about the roles of women during war in school and I loved reading about World War II from their perspective.
The Interestings – The Interesting was really anything but interesting. A boring story of a bunch of kids that met in camp and their life for many years after that through adulthood.
Reminders of Him – Had heard good things about Colleen Hoover so threw this book in from Kindle Unlimited. It was good, ending was a little rushed, but overall a great read.
It Ends with Us – Decided to throw in a fun romance and it didn’t disappoint. I kinda hope there is a part two!
Lord of the Flies – I disliked this book now just as much as I disliked it back in high school when I read it. But I was able to scratch off another book.
Animal Farm – This is one from the scratch off that I did not read when I was younger. I thoroughly enjoyed it though and I know I was able to see it differently as an adult than I would have if I was in high school.
FEBRUARY 2022
The Underground Railroad – Since historical fictions have become my new favorite, I decided to read this book off one of my scratch off charts. I loved Cora and her story. I enjoyed learning more about the underground railroad. When I read these historical fiction novels, I am constantly googling events to learn more. And I cried at the end. A great book that I highly recommend.
November 9 – A lot of people had been talking about Colleen Hoover so I decided to give her a try last month. I enjoyed her last month so grabbed a few more to try. This one became one of my favorites.
Things We Never Got Over – A runner up this month for my favorite. I would recommend picking this one up if you want a love story. Also free with Kindle Unlimited!
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – A choice from the scratch off list that I really didn’t enjoy reading. It’s just too “out there” for me.
Regretting You – Not my favorite Colleen Hoover book but it is free on Kindle Unlimited for you to give it a try.
Losing It – A cute, easy read. Free on Kindle Unlimited (and I just realized it is a series so will have to put that on my TBR list!)
Greenwich Park – I wasn’t sure about this one when I first started but I got in to it right away!
Kite Runner – I just love how Khaled Hosseini writes. I enjoyed Thousand Splendid Suns more (from January) but this is right up there.
American Dirt – Free on Kindle Unlimited! The Spanglish in this book was quite annoying but if I ignored it, then I really enjoyed this story about Mexican immigrants.
Siddhartha – One of my scratch off’s but I really liked this story. It gave you something to think about for your own life.
Unicorn Rescue Society’s Sasquatch and the Muckleshoot – Number three in a great series for elementary kids! Our read aloud for the month. I really like this series, very cute.
march 2022
The Wish – Cue the tears! Nicholas Sparks does it again with a story of love, friendship and forgiveness.
Winter Garden – What an amazing story of a woman and her family during WWII. Kristin Hannah is an amazing write and I cannot wait to keep reading more of her books. And free on Kindle Unlimited!
Night Road – Not the same type of historical fiction like her other books but still a great read. Also free on Kindle Unlimited.
The Wedding Date – I enjoy books that switch perspectives each chapter but the story just became a little repetitive after a bit. A cute, easy reader but don’t expect too much.
Confess – Continuing with the Colleen Hoover novels, but this one just wasn’t one of my favorites. The characters are a little underwhelming but the story was different so it kept me entertained.
Don’t Lie to Me – My free trial for Kindle Unlimited was soon to expire so I wanted to try this series before it was too late. I am glad I did. Although I didn’t love the first book in the series, the next two, What You Did and Never Ever, were better and I ended up extending my Kindle Unlimited so I can finish the series.
Unicorn Rescue Society’s The Chupacabras of the Rio Grande – Number four in a great series for elementary kids! We love reading these together.
Lincoln in the Bardo – It was REALLY hard for me to finish this book and I probably would not have if it wasn’t on my scratch off books to read chart.
Two more Colleen Hoover books for the month – Maybe Someday and Ugly Love. Really loved both of these.
The Kiss Quotient – I loved Stella, the main character, and rooted for her throughout the book. This book was enjoyable and the first of a series, though I have no plans to read any of the rest.
april 2022
If you have Kindle Unlimited, I definitely recommend the Willow Rose Eva Rae series. It is free, there are 11 books, and they are easy reads! Perfect for vacation, plane ride, road trip, etc. I ended up reading three more this month (almost a 4th) on a quick weekend trip: Say You Love Me, Let Me Go, and It’s Not Over. I plan to finish off the series in May.
Black Cake – I loved this story so much. It is a book that takes you through all the emotions.
The Love Hypothesis – A super cute, nerdy love story!
The Paris Apartment – This book started off as a solid 3 stars for me until the last 30-50 pages. So it is one that you may struggle with in the beginning but I encourage you to finish!
Beach Read – A solid, easy reader. I enjoyed both of the characters journeys throughout the book.
Anatomy of a Scandal – I grabbed this one when I saw the Netflix show was coming. The book was good with some nice twists that I didn’t expect. I haven’t seen the show yet but plan to after this read!
MAY 2022
Continuing the reading from April, I finished the Eva Rae series with the 10 books currently available (the 11th is coming soon!). So this month was numbers 7 through 10 with Not Dead Yet, To Die For, Such a Good Girl, and Little Did She Know.
I also went back to one of my favorite authors with Colleen Hoover’s Verity. OMG I definitely recommend this one!
I was not thrilled with The Book of Cold Cases. The synopsis that I had read prior to choosing the book never mentioned any paranormal activity. But that was the main theme of the book and I just wasn’t in to it.
I knew The Alice Network was historical fiction but it had more truth than I thought it did. I loved that little surprise in the epilogue. An excellent book that I definitely recommend.
And finally, Cheat Sheet was a book I won on a giveaway with Goodreads. I didn’t have high hopes for it – it was a free book that I hadn’t heard about before. But I LOVED it!
JUNE 2022
When June started, I knew I had about 2 weeks left of my free Kindle Unlimited trial and I was not planning to renew it. I may pay for a month down the road if there are enough books that I want to read but there just aren’t right now. So to finish off that trial, I read Hopeless (which I loved!), Finding Cinderella, Sophie’s World (from one of my scratch off lists) and A Not So Meet Cute (a very cute, then sexy must read).
I did not enjoy Sophie’s World and would only recommend it if you are pondering the meaning of life for a class or need to scratch it off a must read list like I did.
I always enjoy Colleen Hoover so Hopeless, Losing Hope, and Finding Cinderella were great reads.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was another from the scratch off but I really liked it! I only ever saw the first movie so I look forward to the remainder of the books in this series.
Another from Colleen Hoover, Too Late, was a good read but caution for content. It is much darker than most Hoover books.
People We Meet on Vacation was a book I saw being recommended a lot so I couldn’t wait to read it. It didn’t disappoint so I would recommend it as well!
I borrowed Malibu Rising from the library. At first, I wasn’t that in to it, but as the book continued and things came full circle, I loved it. Loved the ending and that’s why I chose to give it 5 stars.
The Maid was another book that I saw recommended over and over; however, I just didn’t like it. I thought the main character read as someone on the autism spectrum yet she was only ever described as quirky (almost making me think the author thought it would be bad to label her autistic). I thought the story was good and there were plot twists I wasn’t expecting.
And finally, An Eye for an Eye. This book took a bit for me to get in to but it did have a great ending once pieces started to fit together. This is part of a series but I don’t plan to continue it.
JULY 2022
This month was so different than the rest! I let me kids alternate picking books so it became a very random month, but I loved it!
AUGUST 2022
I found my vote for the Book of the Year this month! And it definitely wasn’t one that I was expecting. I really had not heard much, if at all, about the book Don’t Cry for Me by Daniel Black. But OMG definitely a must read!
And now that we are back to school, time for our read alouds again! This month was book 4 of my favorite series, Pages & Co. The Book Smugglers.
SEPTEMBER 2022
