I read it in two days: laughed, cried, and cringed right along with the characters. And I need to discuss! Here are my spoiler free (!!!) thoughts.

Galaxy "Alex" Stern is a high school drop out and homicide survivor who can see ghosts, called "Grays". She is mysteriously offered a full ride to university following her trauma despite her background and lack of qualifications. But her new life is just as dark.

Nona is a peasant from the Gray; a territory on the outskirts of the Corridor where impoverished farmers reside, mostly forgotten in the merciless cold. Nona is rescued from the hangman’s noose when a mysterious nun interrupts her execution. She is then taken to a convent that trains gifted young women in the ways of the Ancestor. It is there that she becomes a warrior.

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map, the key to a legendary treasure trove, seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

Here are 3 books I’d like to read in January 2022! Wish me luck!

The Crown of Gilded Bones is the third installment in Jennifer Armentrout’s Blood and Ash series. This book picks up immediately where the second book ends and follows Penellaphe as she heads to Atlantia. She is freshly married to Casteel and must come to grips with her new reality. No longer is she the Maiden of Solis, but now the descendent of a god.

A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire is the second book in the Blood and Ash series and also the one I prefer least of all. Everything that I found enjoyable or interesting about the first book is no longer present in this one. I’m going to try to keep this brief because I don’t enjoy being negative, but sometimes you just gotta let it out. Ya know?

From Blood and Ash begins by introducing Penellaphe as the maiden and the reader quickly realizes that she isn’t treated great. Something I appreciated about Penellaphe, or Poppy as she is more commonly referred to, is her independence despite her chains. She is constantly fighting and I always appreciate a strong female character.

The Silent Patient is Michaelides’s debut novel with a heavy focus on the effects of childhood trauma as we age and how sometimes even ‘good’ people can do bad things as a result of unresolved issues.

These last couple of weeks I’ve been on a real Greek mythology kick which resulted in me reading not one, but two works by Madeline Miller. The first was The Song of Achilles and the second was Circe. Miller has a distinct writing style that utilizes eloquent metaphors and delicate language.

When I started reading Vicious by V.E. Schwab I had no idea just how much it would affect me. Even now, weeks later and I still think about quotes and themes discussed in the book. It is a fresh read that feels hopeful while being incredibly violent.

A Touch of Ruin by Scarlett St. Clair is the sequel to TikTok’s obsession, A Touch of Darkness. This modern spin on Persephone and Hades is marketed as a sexy wattpad-esque read rather than the original tragedy, which is honestly what made me immediately run out to grab the first book.

The month of August saw me depart from a relationship and a job, both of which left me a little burnt out and adrift. So August passed by without me picking up any new stories. However, I have been browsing apps and adding things to my wishlist. Here are four picks I’d like to finish in September, courtesy of #BookTok and Youtube, as well as a platform called Likewise. (I’m keeping the amount rather small since my reading speed is well...not fast. At all.)

Crescent City is Maas’s first foray into adult fiction; but has she taken the assignment a little too far?

Rohan is content to spend the rest of his days reading rather than learning his father’s ways. That is, until his father is brutally killed by a dragon and now Rohan must lead the kingdom and kill that very same dragon.

Piranesi is a magnetic read.