December + January Wrap Up 🍃 || aka me actually reading books this time

We’re one month into 2022 already, isn’t that insane? I never really set any goals for the new year per se , but this time I’ve decided to set a goal for myself to read 100 books, and I’m actually on track woo!! December was a pretty hectic month for me, I went to India after about 2 years and it was so much fun. A lot of travelling and running around but it was a blast nevertheless!

January was a great start to the new year, I read about 8 books and school has been going well (suRpriSe suRprIse) and I GOT A NEW BOOKSHELF. I’ve acquired a LOT of books recently and I’ve had no space to store them! (can you see how the books are squished into every nook and cranny in the bookshelf? Honestly I’m proud of my storage skills 😌 ) But from an overflowing mess, I now have a new rainbow ( YES RAINBOW) bookshelf!!

old bookshelf which accurately describes the mess of my life

the new slightly improved rainbow bookshelf

The picture on the left is my old bookshelf and DO YOU SEE THE BOOKS PILING UP IN THE CORNER? It is one of the major causes of my anxiety. The picture on the right is my brand new *ahem* superior *ahem* bookshelf! IT IS RAINBOW AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL. the old bookshelf still exists but it’s ugly so um not including that haha.

Anyways without further ado let us move onto the stats (YES HAHA I DID THAT) for the past two months.

December-

I read a grand total of 3 books this month 😀 . All three of these were 4-5 star reads so I won’t be too mad at myself for once.

1. Clockwork Prince – THIS. This is the best book from the series, do not argue with me on that. TESSA JEM AND WILL WERE PURE PERFECTION. I was so glad we got more Jem content in this one, and as much as I love Will, I think my favourite might be Jem. BUT I’M STILL VERY TORN APART ON MY DECISION OKAY.

final rating ~

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

2.Clockwork Princess ~ yep I GASPED, SCREAMED AND THREW MY BOOK ACROSS THE ROOM WHEN I READ THE ENDING. THIS WAS HEARTBREAKING AND SHATTERING AND HAS OFFICIAL EARNED THE TITLE OF BEING THE BEST “BAWLING MY HEART OUT” BOOK. thanks a lot for making me read it hmph 😤.

final rating~

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

3.Vengeance Road ~ western. kickbutt heroine. PRETTY COVER . these were the reasons why I picked up this book AND I DO NOT REGRET IT ONE BIT. the language was a bit hard to catch up with at first, but eventually I got used to it. The pacing was a bit rocky around some parts but the amazing main character will make up for it. Definitely not something of my usual taste, but it’s not one I regret picking up!

final rating~

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

January–

8 BOOKS. YES I AM JUST AS SHOCKED AS YOU ARE AND NO I HAVE NO CLUE HOW I DID THIS EITHER.

1.Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda- THIS WAS EXACTLY THE BOOK I NEEDED. Hilarious, and slightly emotionally unstable characters ? I’m all in for it! Simon is an actually cinnamon roll, and I’m glad he got the ending he deserved, otherwise we would be in a lot of trouble here. Also this was my first read of the year and it was a five star read too :,) .

final rating~

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

2. Leah on the offbeat- I didn’t like this one as much as I liked the first book. I guess I just didn’t like Leah? A lot of her actions felt unjustified and she gave poor Abby such a hard time . Giving this a 3.5 though, because I still had loads of fun reading it.

final rating~

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

3. The Raven Boys ~ I LOVE ALL THESE CHARACTERS AND POOR NOAH HE DID NOT DESERVE THAT, BUT ANYWAYS I THINK HE IS MY FAVOURITE NOW :> Was very confused until the midway point, but luckily it got wayyy better from there.

final rating~

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

4.The Library of Fates – I picked this one because it was an INDIAN INSPIRED FANTASY. As an Indian myself I don’t exactly read a lot of books written by Indian authors( I should really change that) so I was glad to find one that seemed too spark my interest. AND LET ME TELL YOU I WAS HOOKED. I really enjoyed in the beginning but the middle went downhill quick. The ending kinda made up for it though. I’m not really sure whether this a 3.5 or a 4, but I’ll just give it 4 for now.

final rating~

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

5. The Cruel Prince series – THIS IS MY LATEST OBSESSION. I’VE BEEN PASSIONATELY SCREAMING ABOUT IT ON ALMOST EVERY PLATFORM AND HAVE CONVINCED ALMOST ALL MY FRIENDS TO READ IT. JUDE AND CARDAN? *fangirls, screams and dies*. The wicked king is my favourite from the series, because tHE BAnTER!1!!1! I cannot properly process my thoughts AHH

final rating~

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

6. How the King of Elfhame learned to hate stories – I didn’t really enjoy this one sadly. It’s a must read for ultimate Cardan fans but otherwise it was just “meh” .

final rating ~

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

1. Encanto ~ yes, like every other person out there I watched Encanto, and needless to say I immensely enjoyed it! It’s been a while since I’ve actually been so obsessed with a disney movie, but wow this was so good. the songS, oh tHE SONGS! arguably the best part of this movie, I mean everyone is literally singing ‘we don’t talk about bruno’ nowadays !! My favourite characters are DOLORES ( SHE’S SO COOL THOUGHH) and of course the one and only BRUNO ( I FEEL SO BAD FOR HIM, OMG POOR GUY)
2. Spiderman No Way Home- The most hyped up movie of the last year and for all the right reasons of course- cameos from the previous actors? Who would not be excited for it? I loved this entire thing, except for the ending. I was so SHOCKED like what? NO YOU CANNOT DO THAT. SO MANY MOVIES FOR WHAT? THIS? NO I SHALL NOT ACCEPT IT. but the rest of the movie was spectacular as expected, and visuals were *stUnnIng*
3. WandaVision ~ I’m only 4-5 episodes into this but it is MESSING WITH MY MIND. SOMEONE SEND HELP PLEASE. I DO NOT GET A THING BUT I AM ABSOLUTELY DEVOURING IT.
4. La La Land ~ as a strong advocate for ‘ jazz is not boring ‘, THIS WAS ALL I NEEDED IN LIFE! the songs, the cinematography, the plot – ALL SUPERB, STELLAR, STUNNING, ETC, ETC. I CANNOT PROCESS HOW GOOD THIS MOVIE WAS JSJSJSJS.

This was the main playlist I’ve been listening to for the past two months. I’m especially proud of this playlist haha, and I’m mainly very proud of how my music taste has expanded :))

Top tracks – blonde by Issac Dunbar, In the middle by Dodie, Another day of sun by the La La Land cast, American money by Børns .

Here are some FANTASTIC posts I read and loved in the past two months!

• Naemi shares some AMAZING tips and tricks to design the next bestselling book cover, and all you aspiring authors have to check this out ;))
• Anoushka shares why books ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS THINGS EVER, and why we should 100% percent not read them. She also shares some painstakingly addictive books which we should totally NOT read!
• Rachel recommends books based on your favourite disney movie AND ALL THE BOOKS SEEM SO SO GOOD AHHH.
• Sophie shares some of her favourite non-bookish media of 2021, and so many of our favourites overlap IT IS INSANE!!
• Rabhya does the Reading Habits Tag and her answers are so FUN to read!
• Dhriti shares the poem she wrote for the “December Vibes Poetry Contest” and I LOVED it so so much!
• Lotus reviews We are not free and The awakening storm AND THEY ARE NOW BOTH ADDED TO MY TBR THANK YOU.

I have an EXTREMELY ambitious February Tbr as I apparently think because I read 8 books in month I can do it again ( PLEASESEE I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT) I’ve never particularly set a monthly tbr for myself, so I’ll limit this for 6 for now and I’ll probably just pick up two other books sometime later in the month. But my current February TBR consists of ~

• We are not free – My current read and oh my gosh, I am OBSESSED ALREADYYY. the Characters! The plot! The writing! I’m already sensing a heartbreaking ending for this one..
• The Crown’s Fate – I don’t know why I want to read this.. maybe because one of the main character’s names is Nikolai? *cough yes it is the only reason I picked it up*
• The Dream Thieves – I think I’m about quarter way through this right now, but I’ve just put off reading it because I want to savor every. single. moment.
• Truthwitch – THIS SEEMS SO COOL WOW, I’m not completely sure how to explain this but nevertheless looking forward to reading it.
• Jade Fire Gold – Representation? YES YES AND YES
• Master of One- “Sinister sorcery. Gallows humor. A queer romance.” ….. well how could I not want to read this now???

How was your January like?? And any goals set for the new year?? HAVE YOU READ THE CRUEL PRINCE BECAUSE I’VE READ THE CRUEL PRINCE AND WE CAN SCREAM ABOUT IT TOGETHER. How’s your February TBR looking like?? Any books you’re particularly excited to read??

Well hope you enjoyed this messy post, and thank you so much for reading!

byEEeEeeE