5 books I want to read this 2022

Another year has past, and yet my TBR is barely dented. I am blaming this on the sheer inexcusable booktok purchases I made last 2021. The amount of books I accumulated since starting booktok has contributed to the mountain-sized TBR. I now lack space on my shelf and the only solution I now see is to (No, not sell the books) buy a new shelf.

Anyways, another year brings forth another list of books from TBR that I want to get to.

1. She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

A 2021 anticipated read that I never got to last year. This new fantasy adventure is on the top of my list.

2. The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty

Books 2 and 3 of the Daevabad Trilogy. I always wonder why I did not marathon this series. I read City of Brass last year, enjoyed it and sadly I did not pick up the last two books. For what reason you might asked. That’s one question I cannot answer.

3. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

As a part-time booktoker, this was one of the booktok recommendations I am excited to read and the only book I have a solid reason on why I never got into reading it: I was waiting for my copy to arrive. And it did, so now I don’t have a reason not to.

4. Furyborn by Claire Legrand

This book has been on my TBR for the last 4 years. 4 YEARS! And I still haven’t picked it up.

5. Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

Yet another booktok recommendations. You know now that I have time to think, it may be best that I would not be tempted with booktok recommendations in order to not increase my TBR pile.

What are your top 5 books you want to read this 2022? Share your thought in the comment section.

Book Review | Rocking and Rolling with Daisy Jones & The Six

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Format: Paperback

Pages: 400 pages

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Summary:

A gripping novel about the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous break up.

Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the real reason why they split at the absolute height of their popularity…until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go-Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Another band getting noticed is The Six, led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

Daisy Jones and the Six exceeded my expectations! I read it in one day (its that good, yall) I wanna rock and roll with the band likewise wring everyone’s neck, especially Billy Dunne’s since he is a type-A asshole at the start of the book. (I keep imagining Billy Dunne as Billy from the Stranger Things and it makes me hate the character more. )

The hype around the book and of course the author made me very reluctant to read the book since The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was my 2020 favorite books of the year. I was afraid that it will only be a rewrite and it wont be anything new. However I was very very wrong. Oh boy, I wished I read it earlier.

The beauty of Ms. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing is that she write characters realistically. And it makes root or hate (or both at the same time) them more. Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne become characters you dislike initially to rooting for them to change to being afraid that they might relapse to being sorry for them. Their story arcs reflects the era’s drug-infested, orgy parties, alcohol ridden lifestyle.

Reading the book reminds me very much of the Queen’s biopic movie, the The Bohemian Rhapsody and technically makes me wanna rewatch the movie.

“I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else’s muse.

I am not a muse.

I am the somebody.

End of fucking story. ”

– Daisy Jones

Daisy Jones is a character you’ll love and feel pity at the same time. She has no one except her best friend. Her parents don’t even care for her. Regardless of how famous her parents were, she made a name all by herself.

I really would be interested to read Daisy’s life after she left the band. It would be interesting to see how she dealt and manage to fix her drug-dependant lifestyle and how she became an icon.

Anyways, as far I am an concern I will not have any peace until the T.V. show drops. Until then I will be rereading and reliving my anger for Billy Dunne and how he put his wife through so much.

Top 5| Adult Fantasy Series I want to read

Recently, I have been getting my self into adult fiction novels, specifically the adult fantasy genre. I bought and started the Night Angel Trilogy Omnibus by Brent Weeks and so far I am loving it. And last month I purchased (due to the beautiful cover) and devoured Circe by Madeline Miller. So I guess I’m starting to love the genre.

Aside from the aforementioned adult fantasy books, I have a few (I have narrowed it down to 5) I want to read! 

1.The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Goodreads | Book Depository

Everyone is reading and raving about this series during the quarantine period and it is making me what to read it even more.  I saw an obscene amount of book talk regarding this book and I must – I MUST START IT AS SOON AS I CAN GET MY HANDS ON A COPY.

2. The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith

Goodreads | Book Depository

This is a fun book base on the premise. Although, some of the reviews are polarizing but still I want to read this. This book is about a library in hell (Yes, you read it right!) about books unfinished books.

3. The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty

 

Goodreads | Book Depository

This has been hyped up by most of my favorite booktubers and I trust their opinions so consider this added to my top fantasy books I wanna get into.

P.S. Already ordered my copies of the first two books. Can’t wait!

4. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Goodreads | Book Depository

This a story about a fantastical orphanage. And I have been into fantasy realism this year since finishing The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, I am excited to read about anything fantasy and cutesy stories about orphans.

5. The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Goodreads | Book Depository

This has been in my to-be-read pile since 2015. I have a first edition copy in a hardbound format I bought for a very very low price. How lucky am I? Even with the interest in reading this and a copy on hand I still haven’t picked it up. Tell me what’s wrong with me?

Do you have any adult fantasy recommendations? Comment it down!

Friday Finds #2 | A quarantine book haul

Surprise, surprise! Quarantine won’t stop me from purchasing more books to add to my TBR pile. If you are wondering, “Amphy, it’s July and quarantine is already over.” Sorry to say my dear friends, but here in my country, we have the longest quarantine period ever. We refuse to acknowledge that quarantine comes from the Latin word quarantina meaning forty days. For all I know, maybe we will still be in one by December (I’m taking that back. Please don’t make it last till December.)

Anyhoo, without further ado here’s my quarantine haul!

 

Its a mix match of Young Adult and Adult Fantasy. I have been easing myself into Adult Fantasy for a change since some of the YA fantasies have been redundant in my opinion. I have also purchased hardback copies of Catching Fire and Mockingjay to replace my old paperback editions, and I have started collecting old editions Bloomsbury UK covers of Harry Potter.

I recently discovered an online store that caters to Bookoutlet orders (since I live in a country that is outside the serviceable area of Bookoutlet) and placed a few orders there too. (And by few I meant 10 books. Lol. Sorry, mom) For my Filipino readers, I do recommend checking out Bookscpades for book orders from USA bookstores and book sites (they do 50/50 payment methods!). 

This just shows everyone that regardless of COVID, non-existent graduation, a board exam review, and being stuck at home for almost 5 months can never stop me from having a book haul.

What are your recent COVID book purchases? Comment below and let’s talk!

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag

We are half-way through 2020 and I am still the following:

• Still in quarantine (yes, Philippines gets the gold medal for the longest quarantine)
• Getting my Goodreads reading challenge-ass kicked (I have only read 11 books, but I am catching up!)
• Still the lazy ass blogger that I was back in 2015.

Anyho! I saw this tag going around the Booktube community and thought to myself, “Why not do this in my blog since I have no idea what to post next!“. So here is my Mid year Book Freak out.

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2020.

Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Full review!

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2020.

This goes to The Wicked King and The Queen of Nothing. I am so glad that I decided to continue on with this series. If you want to know my thoughts about this book go check out my review!

3. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to.

This is not a new release but I recently purchased it (Ha, ha- who says I can’t bend a prompt?) . I am excited on reading Foundryside by Robert Jackson Benett and City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.

Who is excited for this too?

5. Biggest disappointment.

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

This book is definitely not for me. It was something I did not expect with how the plot went. I wished there was more politics, drama and like anything besides the cringey love story between the two main characters.

6. Biggest surprise.

The Wicked King by Holly Black

Definetely was not excepting this one. I was kinda letdown with the pacing of The Cruel Prince, but this one was different. This was way better, and the characters? I did care more for them in the second book than the first.

7. Favourite new author. (Debut or new to you)

Madeline Miller.

I love how Madeline Miller writes her prose. And that is saying something since I have only read one publsihed work from her. I know I am not the only one who love her writing.

8. Newest fictional crush.

9. Newest favourite character.

None. Ghad, this is what reading 11 books in the first half of the year gives you. No favorite character to root for.

10. Book that made you cry.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

I watched the movie before and I cried. I read the book this year and I cried.

11. Book that made you happy.

Pretty covers make me happy. And books with pretty covers make me happy.

12. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

Circe by Madeline Miller

Look how pretty this edition is! I just cant with how this is beautiful. This is the best purchase I ever made so far this year.

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

Coming from someone who has to spend the rest of the year reviewing for her board exam, I do have a lot of guts listing a lot of books to read.  That Brent Weeks’ complete trilogy will haunt me until 2030 so don’t hold me up on it, I know I won’t be finishing it this year.

14. Favourite Book Community Member

I love you all and you are al my favorite!

Are having a book freakout too this year? I am curious on how you’re doing in your 2020 Goodreads challenge.

Top 5| Series I need to catch up

Seeing how little I have read the past year, I sure missed a lot of books I have been anticipating for 2019. My Goodreads to-be read aint moving either. What a sad reader life.

In my defense, it was the final year of university and I have been busy and I was suffering the scariest reader affliction — Reading slump!

 

Here’s a very shameful list of series I haven’t caught up and is planning to catch up:

1. An Ember in the Ashes Series by Sabaa Tahir

I have fallen in love with the series last 2016 and devoured the first two books, however for unknown reasons (my laziness and book slump)  I have not read the third book and now the fourth is coming out!!?! ? I need to get my life back on track.

2. Strange the Dreamer Duology by Laini Taylor

Laini Taylor is one of my favorite authors of all time. I loooooved the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy and now I also feel the same with this duology. Thankfully, I have decided to finally finish this duology and am currently reading the second book!

3. Shattered Realms Series by Cinda Williams Chima

I — I have no other reason but laziness on why I haven’t caught up with this series. I bought the third book on a sale last year and up until now I still haven’t.STARTED.THE.BOOK! Yes, I am a shame to all Cinda Williams Chima stans. I apologize.

4. Red Rising Saga by Piere Brown

This will be the only series in this post which I have a very very very (!) legitimate reason for not catching up on it. I have finished the third and final book of what has been a trilogy (but no! the saga still continues) last year and Lord Jesus Christ and all the sci-fi author gods, finishing the first 3 books turned me to a husk of emotional human potato. I need to recover! I need time to mourn my favorite character. 

 

5. Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab 

I listened and enjoyed the first book last 2016 as an audiobook. I don’t know why I still did not read the other books.

There is no excuse for my incapacity as a reader. I just suck last 2019.

How about you? Any series you like to catch up this 2020? Share your dirty reader laundry down at the comments!

The Folk of Air Trilogy| How I discovered my love for fairies

As always — spoilers ahead.

THE FOLK OF AIR TRILOGY by Holly Black

Publisher: Little Brown Books

Source: Purchased

SHELVE IT TO GOODREADS

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

The hype around The Cruel Prince was what made me spend an obscene amount of money for a hardback last 2018. Everyone was just loving the hate to tolerating each other relationship between Jude and Cardan. And here I was, trying to make myself love it. I have to admit, the pacing of the first book was the reason I was so hesitant about finishing it or even picking up the other 2 books. I find the exposition and secrets revealed in the first book to be lackluster and I just don’t care about it. I made myself finished it because I was going on a signing featuring Cassandra Clare and Holly Black.

Artwork by Monica Borg

However, my love for Jude Duarte was all but boring. Never have I ever related to a character, albeit, I am not a human in the fey world. (I wish).  She is one of my favorite characters of 2019.

Going into The Wicked King was a chore. I already bought the book when I attended the signing so I might as well read it after finishing Cruel Prince. But no! I have to let it sit and stew in my bookshelves for a year before even think of reading it. Boy, oh boy, my flat ass sure was surprised when I finished it. The Wicked King is the best book in this trilogy and I WOULD FUCKING DIE FOR IT! The political drama and intrigue that this book contains were interesting. The characters are well fleshed out. And Jude Duarte can kick my ass thank you very much.

The Queen of Nothing was a hella delicious ending to a great trilogy. It is also my favorite book cover of 2020. I  was never a huge fan of fairy focus books, but this changes the whole game! The characters are well developed. The political intrigue and family drama is dang entertaining. And Cardan? Cardan is that precious little flower with the jawline that can melt me. My dear boy.

Artwork by Marianne Martin

Holly Black, you are now my favorite fey book author. Take my money, just take it all! 

 

Have you read The Folk of Air Trilogy? What are your thoughts about it? Share it down the comments!

How I was magically and emotionally manipulated by The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

(This is probably the first time I wrote a non-spoiler review)

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Pages: 301

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publishing date: March 2014

Source: Purchased

SHELVED IT TO GOODREADS

Magical realism, lyrical prose, and the pain and passion of human love haunt this hypnotic generational saga.

Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most recent progeny, Ava Lavender. Ava—in all other ways a normal girl—is born with the wings of a bird.

In a quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to fit in with her peers, sixteen-year old Ava ventures into the wider world, ill-prepared for what she might discover and naïve to the twisted motives of others. Others like the pious Nathaniel Sorrows, who mistakes Ava for an angel and whose obsession with her grows until the night of the Summer Solstice celebration.

That night, the skies open up, rain and feathers fill the air, and Ava’s quest and her family’s saga build to a devastating crescendo.

I read this book back when I hilariously attempted (a self-acknowledged fact that I cannot maintain this challenge for a week) of reading a book a day for a week. And to be honest, I did not push through with the challenge. Yeah, yeah me being me. Again.

This may be one of the few books I read that I have fallen in love with the writing style of the author. With 301 pages, the plot and the characters I think are all fleshed out. The palpable emotions of the narrator, Ava Lavender, as she narrates the sorrowful and strange life the women in her life went through.

I LOVE THE BEAUTIFUL PROSE LESLY WALTON WROTE. 

I really do miss that feeling when you finish a really go book in one sitting. When you just sat there, closing it and realizing that it’s already dark and you need food. Cause that was me three weeks ago, a heap of mess after the ending devastated me. And I wish you will feel the same after you read this.

 

 

 

A Quarantine Comeback

Yes, the presence of CoViD has brought me back to blogging. We are currently two months in quarantine, living off delivered meals and overspending on online shopping. Its been two years – yes, I know! – since I gave a shit about my book blog. In my defense, I have been pretty busy with university and my internships.

Here’s a short recap for the last two years:

• Did three internships ( animal hospital, SEAFDEC, and a farm)
• Joined a team and played in an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament

• I am now on my final year of vet school – yes, I am graduating this June!
• I did a very lousy on my 2018 and 2019 Goodreads ChallengesI may have “successfully” completed my challenge, but it sure is crappy to only have read 46 books in the last 24 months.

 

With quarantine, I have been able to catch up with my to-be-read pile. I have finished 7 books so far and currently reading my 8th.

Let’s all stay at home and help stop the spread of the infection and start reading our TBRs whilst shopping more books online.

 

What I am currently reading and Yes, I am back

Hello blog-o-sphere! Yes, yes I know I have left you once again for a year. I have been too busy with university and trying to pass veterinary school. 2017 was truly a bitch and I wasn’t even prepared to be slapped back and forth by it. But anyways I am back and is currently reading 2 books at once (so unlike me, I know).

I have been very into audiobooks right now after I have started, devoured and finished Illuminae by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff. So I decided to try out other audiobooks.

Right now, as I am typing, I am currently listening to A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. I have heard a lot of  great things about it and the series too. I have been wanting to read anything by V.E. Schwab, so I decided to pick it up. I am halfway through it, and (I know I will be persecuted for this) but so far it is very underwhelming TO ME. (Please don’t call the Shame nun on me).

 

 

But for reals, I know you all love this book (so much for some), but should I just read this physically? But I am still hoping and praying that before I hit the 9th hour of this audiobook, I will, as you all hope, love this.

Secondly, I picked up the third book of The Falling Kingdom Series, Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes. So this year, I finally decided to pick up the series and so far I am loving it. Although I am enjoying it so far, it’s not the best fantasy book out there.

It's good to be back and blogging. How about you guys what are you currently reading?