Friday, January 28, 2022

My Year 2021 In Books and the 2022 GoodReads Challenge

In 2021 I truly enjoyed my reading! I successfully completed my GoodReads Reading Challenge and that too with books completely new and different than my usual reads so far. I started the year with a book I had mixed feelings about at first. The story kept me going even though I started developing a dislike for the writing style and the characters within the first few pages. It wasn't a complete waste of time but it was a waste nevertheless. I thought I'd jinxed my entire year's reading by starting with something I didn't like. Thankfully, though, that wasn't true. The next four books that I read were all good ones, with my last read for 2021 being my favorite of the year!

The 'bad' book I speak of was 'When Life Happened' by Jewel E. Ann. I felt so strongly about it that I actually found myself writing a detailed review of it right here on my blog. It was supposed to be my kind of book but I found the author's style of writing completely out of sync with how I like my books. I have already reviewed this one before (with a lot of expressed disappointment!) so I'll stay short and sweet. "I wanted to let 'When Life Happened' break my heart and make me cry but the language made me cringe instead." Read more of where that came from if you want to read a full review by clicking here!

'My Crazy Sick Love' by Drica Pinotti was a sweet read. I enjoyed this one, especially reading it while living through an actual on going pandemic. The book is about a hypochondriac Amanda's love life. I found it funny and sweet to read. However, I would have liked it even more if the book focused more on her relationship than it did on her condition. There was very little of her actual 'crazy sick love' compared to what the title promised. Nevertheless, it was a good read!

'Uncharted' by Lisa Cabrelli was another good read. The reason I liked this one was because I could relate to the Desi culture the characters belonged to. I found it to be one of those books you can easily read, you know? A good story, very good writing style, likeable characters, relatable bits all around, and a fun overall vibe that keeps you wanting to read more until you've read it all and you're left thinking about the characters for several days after.

'The Girl Who Lived' by Christopher Greyson made it to my top two for 2021! It was the second best book I read. I wanted to read something different - something non cheesy and romantic. So I decided to go with this one. Oh and what a great decision it was because the book was great. The author has written it so well you can imagine it all playing in your head like you're watching a very good thriller movie. I could actually feel fear when reading the book the way you'd feel watching a movie. It was brilliantly written and so very exciting till the very last page! I simply have to find more from this author to see if his other works are just as good. Loved it!

That brings me to my most favorite read of 2021! A book I devoured the fastest, I think. Then kept thinking about it for a long long looooong time. 'If the Shoe Fits' by Julie Murphy was that girly, happy-ending, cute, romantic, totally cheesy book that's EXACTLY my kind. I found myself wanting to shout and say things to Cindy, the main character, to tell her what my thoughts were throughout the book. I wanted Henry, the hot guy, to be real. It was the perfect modern day plus size retelling of Cinderella. Julie Murphy has captured that usual Disney magic in her words and written the perfect book for cheesy-story lovers like me. Now can someone PLEASE make a movie out of this book and cast a super cute guy as Henry? Please? Best book I read in 2021! I'm definitely going to go look for more from this author.

Here's a summary of my year 2021 in books straight from my GoodReads!


2021 is all done now and I'm ready to read more goodness this year! Once again I'm setting a goal of reading five books. I'm starting 2022 with a much needed re-read of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - always a favorite! I'm not sure if I'll be re-reading the entire Potter series after the first book though. Maybe? Maybe not? I'm not sure at all! I'm just looking forward to whatever I get to read this year! Hopefully it will be a good year of good reads!


Lets see what 2022 brings my way!
Good luck to me for the GoodReads 2022 Reading Challenge!

Oh oh oh wait, before you leave! Are you on GoodReads too? Come and find me and follow me so we can stay connected! You can find my GoodReads profile here!

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