books – Story of My Life

Reintroducing Me

June 28, 2024KelliLeave a comment

My name is Kelli, but you can also just call me Kel. I have had this blog for years, but I have not really done anything with it. I talk about wanting to be consistent with posting about my life, but between my mental health, negative self-talk, and overall busyness, I have not been on top with it like I would prefer.

What’s changed? You may ask. Honestly, a random boost of motivation. I am reading this book called Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis, and a chapter talks about how the reason most people don’t achieve their dreams is because when they are told no, or discouraged, they listen.

With both my blogging and YouTube channel, I have been so unmotivated because of personal things in my life, and the fact that I don’t really get any interaction… Which makes sense considering I don’t post regularly. I enjoy doing both, but even though I enjoy it, for some reason I don’t do it. I want that to change.

With saying that, I want to start doing everything more regularly. I wanted to start that with my blogging channeling and “reintroducing myself.” At the beginning of the week, I have given myself the challenge to post on my blog and on YouTube by Friday.

So hi – my name is Kelli, or you can call me Kel. I work as a waitress, but I also farm helping my grandpa. We grow tomatoes,watermelons, cantaloupes, squash and cucumbers. We currently have tomatoes ready, but the watermelons and cantaloupes have just been planted. They have sprouted! We have not been able to plant the squash or cucumbers yet due to all the rain we have been getting. It’s just my grandpa and I most of the time so it can be a slower process. My boyfriend has helped sometimes, but he has never farmed before.

This era of my life involves a lot of saving! I have always been good with money. I always have something I want to save up for. I may try to post about how I budget sometime later! The big thing I am saving for right now is a whole PC gaming set up – including a camera and mic so I can stream on twitch. If I stream on there right now it is on my PS4.

My favorite hobbies as of late are reading, playing video games, watching people play video games, and doing something outdoorsy – lately it has been playing badmiton! My favorite games to play are Sims 4, Hogwarts Legacy and animal crossing.

One of my dreams is to one day publish a book. Ever since I was a kid, I have always tried writing something. I used to write “short stories” and sell them to my family for a quarter. I couldn’t even tell you now what they were about. I have an idea for a fantasy book, but I am so stuck on it. I hope to try some techniques that will help my creative brain flow.

I have three cats and one dog. They are my heart and soul. As mentioned before, I have a boyfriend. We have been together for over six months. This is my first relationship in a while, and it is also my longest relationship ever. Our relationship has definitely been not traditional. He moved in with my mom and I before we had even started dating due to a situation he was in. We started out as co-workers, and at first, I only wanted to be friends. We are way more than that now. He treats me better than anyone else has, and will actually try to change when I say something bothers me.

I hope on this blog I can share my life and personal beliefs. I will also share with you the things that I am trying to do to improve my life – that may or may not work with me. If you are here for me and this journey.. I thank you.

Spring 2024: Bucket List

April 25, 2024KelliLeave a comment

We are more than a month into Spring, but I am just now making a list of things I want to do this Spring! Spring ends on June 20 so I hope I have enough time to do everything I want to.

Go hiking
Go to a farmers market
Fly a kite
Plant garden
Go to a baseball game
Watch people fish while I read
Go to McKay’s
Have a friend’s day
Try firehouse subs
Visit my old college town
Go to Discovery Park of America
Go bowling
Try a new drink
Complete a challenge
Declutter
Make photo album

This may seem like a bunch of random things put together… because it is LOL. These are all the things I want to do this Spring though. I hope I have the time! What are some of the things you want to before Spring is over?

Books Read in January & February

March 16, 2024March 19, 2024KelliLeave a comment

Hi! I am behind on my monthly book blog, but I am here now! In January and February, I have read 5 books in total. So far this year every book I have finished, I have throughly enjoyed! I recommend all 5 of these books.

*The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue b*y V. E. Schwab ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is the first one I finished in 2024. I do have to say out of all of them this was my least favorite book, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I don’t really like how it would bounce between time periods, but at the same time, that’s part of what makes the book. It was a beautiful story.

*Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire* by J.K Rowling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a reread for me. I like to try and reread the Harry Potter series every so often. It has been a long time since I have done a full reread (I usually stop after book 4), but I hope to read through the rest of them this year. This one and the rest of the series always makes me cry so it’s hard to read them, but I love getting lost in the pages. The movies left out a lot of the story. Some of the most important parts in my opinion.

*I Will Find You* by Harlan Coben ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am so glad that this book was recommended to me! It was a very interesting read. Fast paced – which I love. It’s about a guy who was put into prison for murdering his son… except he didn’t. We end up going on a journey with him as he breaks out of prison. This is the first time I’ve ever read a book by this author, but I will definitely read another.

*We Used to Live Here* by Daniel Hurst ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some people bought this house, and they were finding strange things while remodeling… I did not expect the ending of this book at all. To me it was definitely a twist that almost made me mad. The ending made me want more to the story.

I listened to the audiobook of this one, and enjoyed it so much. It was a cute little read that’s like a hallmark movie cliche. It had the whole uptight person visiting a small town and falling in love.

Final note

I am very happy with what books I have read so far. For 2024, I have made the reading goal to read 50 books this year. According to my Goodreads, I am 3 books behind, but I think it will all workout in the end. Last year I started reading several books at once, and I usually finishing them all around the same time. In the next few weeks, I plan to post my 2024 tbr, which has 54 books on it. And yes, I know my goal is to read 50 books, but sometimes it’s hard to choose what books I want to read!

What book(s) are you reading right now? Have you read any of the ones I’ve read in January and February?

New Year Resolutions

January 11, 2024KelliLeave a comment

My 2024 has started out with me being sick. For the past three weeks, I have not felt like being productive at all. I am normally on top of making my new year resolutions and starting to implement them to my life already. I am eleven days behind, but I am ready to start the new year.

The main New Years Resolution that I have that I want to focus on this year is to be more creative, and to have fun with it. I enjoy blogging and YouTube, but I feel as though I somehow make it into a chore. My goal is to do those things and have fun doing them.

I want to post on YouTube at least twice a month, and post on my blog twice a month as well. I hope at some point I can do both once a week, but I know if I make that my goal right now I would fail. I also really want to work on a book that I have been trying to write. I do want to do that once a week, if not more.

Onto another goal I have, toward the end of 2023, I really slacked off on going to the gym. I was busy, and honestly, I didn’t want to make the drive to the gym. The whole thing takes up a bit of time. I am going to start getting back into the gym, and even start doing more cardio and yoga on top of my strength training. I will be working out three to four times a week. I know when I am working out consistently I feel so much better than the way that I am feeling right now.

Lastly, one of my main goals is my reading goal. In 2023, I made a reading goal of 30 books, and I exceeded that goal during the summer so I extended it to 50 books. I ended up hitting my 50 books goal on Christmas Eve. I want to challenge myself this year so I made my reading goal to be 50 books. I haven’t made as much time lately to read so I really want to make more time for it like I did the first six months of last year. I’ve already compiled a list of books I want to read this year that I may share on here later.

These are my main goals for 2024. Do you have any new year resolutions? What are they, and how are you going to reach them?

August reads: 2023

October 1, 2023KelliLeave a comment

Surprisingly, I finished 6 books in August.

4 stars. I am a sucker for these supernatural romances. I got a big bag full of these and I am going to slowly read through them. They can be cringe sometimes, but I am a sucker for them.

5 stars. I love Tom Felton. I loved reading about how his life was before, during and after Harry Potter. I was very shocked to read some of it. Especially with things that he went through after Harry Potter. Bless him.

5 stars. I have been enjoying the virgin river series so far. I have been listening to the audiobooks for these and I’m not sure who narrates them or if even the same person narrates them all, but for the first 2 I have really enjoyed who has narrated the books. I didn’t know how I would feel about listening to a different persons story every book, but in at least the first 2 books I’ve read, you still get the story of the other peoples as well. I really like that.

*I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy*

5 stars. This book was a tough read. If you get triggered by eating disorder stuff – DO NOT READ. It was rough to read about the things that went on in her life, and I bet it barely scratched the surface. I found myself mad the entire book, but I am so glad I read it and learned about her life.

3 stars. It was a quick read, but everything went too fast. Kinda cringe.

*The Girl With All the Gifts* by M.R. Carey

4 stars. I really enjoyed this book! The post-apocalyptic world was different that what I have read before. It made it interesting. That’s all I’m going to say about that because I don’t want to give any spoilers. The ending of the book was kind of shocking, but honestly, it made the book more real.

June Reads

July 8, 2023July 8, 2023KelliLeave a comment

In June, I had finished reading 8 books! That is the most that I have read in a month in a very long time. Four of those were books I had started in a pervious month but still. I wanted to start trying to do monthly book logs/reviews so here we go.

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas is the last book of a very good series. There are 7 books in the series – not counting some extra side books (I don’t remember what they’re called lol). I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. This series starts out about a woman who is an assassin, and she is totally badass. I don’t want to talk too much about the series because I don’t want to give anything away. My favorite thing about this series is that the little things in the books matter because in the end it will create a big picture.

I gave Recipe for Love 4 stars even though parts of it was a little bit cringe. However, it wasn’t so cringe I couldn’t finish it. It was a lovely fast read for me. I love the sunshine / grumpy trope so much.

I gave Ignite 4 stars. This was a really quick read for me. I am pretty sure I read this in one day. It was a good single dad romance. To be honest, the reason I had wanted to read it was just for the fact that he was a firefighter. There was some cringe parts in this, but it is mainly because I could not really relate to the girl main character all that much. Winnie falls in love very easily which is why a bet was made between her and her best friend that she couldn’t not fall in love for the rest of the year.

This is definitely not relatable to me because I have the opposite problem. It is hard for me to fall in love. Because of this, it blows my mind that there are actually people out there that do fall in love very easily.

Could not be me.

I gave Savage Hearts 3 stars. This book is part of a series, but one of those that is about different people each time just in the same setting (?). I read this in a day so it was a very fast read for me. The thing that put me off about it, and apparently the previous two books are also focused on, is that the girl(s) have MAJOR stockholm syndrome. Like – immediately. I’ve read some books where they got it, but those settings were normally where these girls were taken from a bad family and they warm up to the person that kidnapped them. This book was nothing like that. It was very fast paced. I thought they really needed to chill out. LOL

Spare got 5 stars from me. I love memoirs. Even of people I don’t keep up with. Going into reading Spare, I did not know much about the royal family AT ALL. Since I had started reading it, one of my friends had talked to me about the whole Princess Diana being murdered thing, and I watched a movie about them. Other than that, I was pretty much reading without knowing anything the whole way through.

I’ve read reviews that people said the reason they did not like this book is because he was just “whiny”. I think those people just said that because for whatever reason they just don’t like him. A memoir is about telling a lot parts about yourself. Good and bad. I think reading from his point of view really made me understand things about him and the royal thing as a whole.

One of the main things I learned was you cannot trust what any news or tabloids say because they can and will post straight of lies. It made me so mad as I was reading how the paps were treating Harry and the people he cares about. They probably treat them like that still. They have no boundaries or a conscious.

Another thing that made me mad was the palace. There was so much that could have been straightened out if only they had said something.

I’m glad Prince Harry and Meghan got out of it.

Outlander got a 3.5 stars out of me. Hear me out. My sister and I started this book at the end of last year, and the reason why it took me so long to read was because I was trying to read at the pace of my sister.

I did really enjoy reading this book most of the time, but it is one of those books I can’t have any distractions otherwise I would have to reread parts over and over.

I really liked some characters like Claire and Jamie, but then this book also made me really dislike some characters – which I think is a really good thing.

I think the main reason it was so hard to read is because I am an American woman so there were a lot of times I had to look up what something meant. Also I knew going into it that there was some scenes of sexual assault, and reading about that was really hard for me.

With that being said, I will probably read the rest of the series at some point. (I just have to wait in my sister to finish this one).

*How to Do the Work* by Dr. Nicole LePera

3 stars. I am on the journey of self-healing so this year I want to try to read more self- help books just to at least get some ideas on how to heal on my own. I believe this book helped me understand myself and my parents more. I will definitely take some of the “exercises” the book talked about and apply it to my life.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

This got 4 stars. I loved Red, White & Royal Blue so much. Forbidden romance between a prince and the first son of the United States? SIGN. ME. UP.

THOUGHTS

I was very happy with my reads for this month. My favorite book I read was Kingdom of Ash. My least favorite was Savage Hearts.

What books did you read in June? What books are you wanting to read in July?

Pottermore: Coffee Talk With Kelli

June 21, 2023KelliLeave a comment

Coffee talk is actually a YouTube thing I had started with my best friend years ago. We would make videos with us sitting in front of the camera while drinking coffee and give advice about certain topics or whatnot.

This time with coffee talk, I want to blog about whatever has caught my attention the week prior. In this case, it’s Pottermore and Hogwarts Legacy. Next week it could be a hike I went on or a drink I tried.

With this Coffee Talk series, I want to give time to talk about things that really interest me. It’s hard for me to have one niche. I guess my niche could be chaotic in a way where neither you nor I will know what I may post about — whether it be traveling, cooking, fitness, games, movies or tv shows.

This past week I decided I wanted to retake the Pottermore quiz because the first time I took it I was still a teenager.

The test results must have some kind of truth to them because I got very similar results all these years later. I honestly thought it would be different, but maybe I haven’t changed like I thought I have.

First off, both times I took the test I got Gryffindor — which wasn’t really surprising. This may be very common, but while I got sorted into Gryffindor, I could easily see myself in Slytherin as well. Not because I’m evil or anything, I actually think that not all Slytherins are like Malfoy, Crabbe or Goyle.

Being cunning, ambitious, resourceful or clever can be used for good just as much as it could be used for bad. I think the main reason the Slytherins we see in the books/movies are the way they are because of their parents. One of my friends said that the reason she thinks we only saw those kinds of Slytherins were for the plot of the overall story. I would have loved to see the softer side of Slytherins.

I know some people who would be in Slytherin that are good people and some who are not so good.

I feel like I just also need to mention Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw so they don’t feel left out. I have friends and family would would fit into both of those, but personally, I don’t think I belong into any of those houses at all. My personality wouldn’t fit into a Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.

What Hogwarts house are you in?

My patronus the first time I took the quiz was a basset hound, but the second time I took the quiz I got deerhound.

I’ve heard of others re-taking the quiz and getting something similar of what they had gotten before.

According to hogwartswelcomesyou on Tumblr, people who have a basset hound patronus are “usually very smart and well in their hobbies and academics. They thrive in a thought out work schedule. Basset hound people are notoriously stubborn. Which can be a good thing because they will stand behind their belief or friends no matter what.”

All of that is completely true for me.

My new patronus, the deerhound, sends the message that I find comfort in giving protection. I agree with the sentiment that I stand beside people in dangerous situations or even to just give people advice when they want it.

I’ve given a lot of advice to my friends and family — although I have learned there are times people just want to vent.

What’s your patronus and what does it say about you?

All of the following information came from Pottermore

The wand I got from Ollivanders is a 13′ inch laurel wood with dragon core and supple flexibility. According to Pottermore, laurel wood can be very powerful and sometimes lethal magic. These wands are typically loyal to the first person it chooses unless the person is lazy – otherwise the wand may even shoot out a random lightening strike if someone tries to steal the wand.

Dragon core in a wand is very powerful. Dragon core wands tend to turn more toward the dark arts, but only if the beholder wants it to. They also tend to learn more quickly than other types.

final thoughts

Overall, I am not shocked by my Pottermore quiz results. I am definitely a Gryffindor. I agree with the sentiment behind what having a Deerhound patronus means. Maybe there is some kind of logic behind the Pottermore quizzes.

What were your results?

Books I read in 2022

December 22, 2022January 1, 2023KelliLeave a comment

My goal was to read at least 22 books this year, and I actually went past that goal by reading 29 books. Here’s what I read this past year (in order). I’ll even add what I had rated it on GoodReads!

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Stacey Kennedy (3 stars)
Twilight (The Twilight Saga, #1) by Stephenie Meyer (4 stars)
Carved (The Road to Hell, #2) by Brenda K. Davies (5 stars)
Of Beast and Beauty (Daughters of Eville, #1) by Chanda Hahn (4 stars)
Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3) by Sarah J. Maas (4 stars)
4th of July (Women’s Murder Club, #4) by James Patterson (4 stars)
The Zombie Chronicles (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed, #1) by Chrissy Peebles (4 stars)
If You Ask Me by Betty White (4 stars)
Forever Words: The Unknown Poems by Johnny Cash (3 stars)
Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4) by Sarah J. Maas (5 stars)
The 5th Horseman (Women’s Murder Club, #5) by James Patterson (5 stars)
Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5) by Sarah J. Maas (5 stars)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2) by J.K. Rowling (5 stars)
Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass, #6) by Sarah J. Maas (4 stars)
Boot Camp by Todd Strasser (3 stars)
Wild Rebel (Dirty Wild, #1) by Laurelin Paige (4 stars)
Her Name Was Olivia: A Story of Post Civil War Tennessee by Carol Britt Eason (4 stars)
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune (5 stars)
The Boxcar Children (The Boxcar Children, #1) by Gertrude Chandler Warner (5 stars)
Race for the Cure (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed, #2) by Chrissy Peebles (3 stars)
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover (4 stars)
Surprise Island (The Boxcar Children, #2) Gertrude Chandler Warner (5 stars)
The Yellow House Mystery (The Boxcar Children, #3) by Gertrude Chandler Warner (5 stars)
Once Burned (Hammond Brothers, #3) by Suzie O’Connell (4 stars)
Make Me Burn (Turn Up the Heat, #1) by Marie Harte (4 stars)
The 6th Target (Women’s Murder Club, #6) by James Patterson (3 stars)
The Billionaire’s Email-Order Date (Email-Order Romance, #1) by Vivi Holt (4 stars)
A Firefighter’s Christmas Gift (Holidays in Heart Falls, #1) by Vivian Arend (3 stars)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (4 stars)

What was your favorite book that you read in 2022? what’s your reading goal for 2023? I have a goal to read 30 books! But I hope to read more.

Books Read in June 2022

June 30, 2022KelliLeave a comment

I really wanted to read 3 books this month, but I only got around to reading 2 books.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2) by J.K. Rowling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This whole series will be a reread for me. I decided that this year I wanted to reread all 7 books, as I haven’t read all of them in a really long time. To be honest, this is probably my least favorite one of the whole series, but I still love it all the same. The main thing I got from reading is that I forgot how much of a a–hole Draco Malfoy was in the books. Some of that is definitely different than it is in the movie.

Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass, #6) by Sarah J. Maas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I didn’t think I would enjoy it because it was completely about side characters — not about Aelin Galathynius. I still enjoyed Chaol, Yrene and Nesryn’s story. It was cool to see what was happening to them during the same time as book 5.

What books have you read this month? What are you going to read next book?

Books read in May 2022

May 30, 2022KelliLeave a comment

This month I wanted to read four books, but I only ended up reading three – which is still good for me, honestly! This month I read two different series, and that actually puts me almost done with one of them (only two books left!) Below is my rating and my opinion!

Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4) by Sarah J. Maas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

On goodreads, I gave this book 5 stars, but I would really give it 4.5 stars. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but once I finally started getting into it I finished it fairly quickly. The thing I love most about Aelin Galathynius is that she does everything with purpose, and we never know why she does these little things until later. When the reveal happens, I just want to punch the air and go “good for her!” Sometimes… I may actually do that.

The 5th Horseman (Women’s Murder Club, #5) by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The women’s murder club series is the series I turn to when I need an easy read. I need breaks after reading books like the one above. Some people think it’s weird, but I cannot read a long series back to back. I have to read books in between, and this is one of them. I believe this series is really good. I’ve come to really love the character Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer (and her friends).

Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5) by Sarah J. Maas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think this book was the best one yet out of all of them. I love Aelin. I love Rowan. I love Aedion. I love Dorian. I love Lysandra. I love Manon. I love them all. Again, I love the way Aelin will have purpose for everything that she does. I know the others are mad that she doesn’t reveal her plans to everyone, but I do love the shock that they have when her plan unravels. This book left me with the hugest cliffhanger about her well-being and I KNOW that I won’t know anything until I read book 7 because book 6 is about Chaol. Pray for my mental well-being.

Also, I just want to note that I have now read 12 books this year. My goal is to read 22 books. If I reach my goal before December I will probably extend my goal.

Do you have a reading goal? What is it? What book are you reading right now?

Books I read in April 2022

May 2, 2022May 3, 2022KelliLeave a comment

This month I not only read a couple books (some I am still reading), but I also listened to some audiobooks – which I do count toward my goodreads reading challenge.

The Zombie Chronicles (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed, #1) by Chrissy Peebles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was definitely for a younger audience, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. I love zombie books and movies. I like that this book revolved around teenagers and young adults instead of the middle-age and up genre. This was interesting enough that I would check out the next book of the series.

If You Ask Me by Betty White ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely adored listening to this audiobook. It was read by Betty White herself (rip). I really liked learning more about her life.

Forever Words: The Unknown Poems by Johnny Cash ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I listened to this one on audiobook as well. This was something I wish I would have read instead, but it was still an interesting listen. Two poems stuck with me and one was him talking about how he didn’t want to have a movie made about him (unless it told his whole story well) and the other one was a poem called I wish you a merry Christmas. With the second one, it is still with me because the contents of it definitely surprised me. I did not expect it.

Books I read in March (2022)

April 5, 2022April 4, 2022KelliLeave a comment

If I am able to read at least two books a month then I will more than likely makes these posts monthly instead of every other month. I have a book goal of reading 22 books, but I have almost 30 that I listed that I want to read. Click here to go to the post of the books I want to read this year (and books I have read so far that were not on that list).

Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3) by Sarah J. Maas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This assassin series is really good. This is the third book of the series. It has been a while since I read the last one, but it did not take me long to remember what had happened in the last book. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars is because it did take a little bit for me to actually get into reading the book. I think most of the books in this series are pretty big, and it is dragged out a little bit. I’ll read the next book next month.

4th of July (Women’s Murder Club, #4) by James Patterson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the fourth book of this series. I found this book to be really interesting. In this book, it had a trial and I found myself to be “on the edge of my seat” in anticipation to figure out how the whole trial was going to pan out. I did find myself guessing the murderer (mostly), but it did have a twist I did not see.

2022 TBR

March 16, 2022KelliLeave a comment

My book goal for this year is 22 books, but I have 26 books on my TBR this year. I have a few more I would like to read that I do not have on this list, but these are the main books I definitely want to plow through this year.

Will by Will Smith
NYPD by James Patterson
Her name was Olivia by Carol Eason
Cell by Stephen King
Hater by David Moody
The Stand by Stephen King
1984 by George Orwell
Carved by Brenda K. Davies (The Road to Hell, #2)
The Road by Brenda K. Davies (The Road to Hell, #3)
Into Hell by Brenda K. Davies (The Road to Hell, #4)
4th of July by James Patterson (Women’s Murder Club, #4)
The 5th Horseman by James Patterson (Women’s Murder Club, #5)
The 6th Target by James Patterson (Women’s Murder Club, #6)
Alienation by Jon S. Lewis (C.H.A.O.S, #2)
Domination by Jon S. Lewis (C.H.A.O.S, #3)
Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass, #3)
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass, #4)
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass, #5)
Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass, #6)
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass, #7)
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas (Court of Thorns and Roses, #4)
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (Twilight, #1)
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer (Twilight, #2)
Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer (Twilight, #3)
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer (Twilight, #4)

The ones that have a strike through them are the ones I have read so far this year. I do not have as many done as a wish. Here are the ones I have read that are not on the list:

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Stacey Kennedy (Kinky Spurs, #4)
Of Beast and Beauty by Chanda Hahn (Daughters of Eville, #1)

Books I’ve read in January and February (2022)

March 10, 2022KelliLeave a comment

I have made it one of my missions this year to start reading more now than I am out of college, and have somewhat figured out how to structure my life. I posted on my resolutions that I want to read 22 books this. However, right before the new year, I made a list of the books that I want to read this year – most of it consisting of series that I want to finish.

That list consists of 26 books and counting.

While the books on the list are my main focus, I have already ventured off the list and have read 2 others that are not on there. Below are the books that I have read this past January and February.

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Stacey Kennedy ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was like one of those hallmark movies. It was a really fast read. Very cheesy.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have read this book once before, but it had been so long that it was like I was reading it again for the first time. It was kind of cringe in some parts, but I did actually enjoy reading it. I think of this series, I have only read the first two and have not read the others at all. To be honest, the main reason I wanted to read this series this year is so I could read the only in Edward’s point of view. I read a section of it and find it really funny.

Carved by Brenda K. Davies ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the second book of the Road to Hell series, and I loved it so much. I know there’s quite a bit (but not 50 shades a lot) of sex in these books, but honestly, the best part is just seeing how the characters progress. I love the two main characters, River and Kobal, but I also love the side characters as well. I also really love how the book gives both River and Kobal’s point of view. It lets the reader know why they think and do the things they do.

Of Beast and Beauty by Chanda Hahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This story is a very loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The characters and plot really interested me. I read this book in a day, which having the power go out really pushed me to read more. The whole series (which every book is about a different sister) is about their mother getting revenge of seven kingdoms through the help of her adopted daughters. I will definitely read the rest at some point. The only thing about this book is that the two main characters getting together didn’t make a whole lot of sense, and the ending seemed extremely rushed. This book would have benefited from also having the guy’s point of view because at first he hated his new wife, but it changed somehow. I wish I could have seen that thought process.

Books I Read in January 2021

February 10, 2021KelliLeave a comment

Hello! In the month of January, I read four books. I wrote a small review of each one. I liked most of them, but not all of them. Most of these were mystery books. There may be small spoilers, but no reveals of who the killers were.

The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

At first I thought this book was going to be good, but it got boring really quickly. I was really disappointed in this book because someone who loves John Grisham really hyped up some of his other books. He may have other good books, but in my opinion, this is not one of them.

Truth Be Told by Hank Phillippi Ryan

I really enjoyed this mystery. This is the first time I ever read this author, but I will probably read another one of his when I feel like reading another mystery. I did not see the twists coming in this book which is the whole point. It switched between several different people, but I liked being able to see what each one of them were thinking about different situations.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This book was phenomenal. I was interested from the beginning. I have read reviews were the author talks too much about the Marsh, but I think the description of it makes the image playing in my head even better. The book goes from the past to the present – the present having to do with the main character, Kya, being tried for murder. This book had me trying to guess who the murderer was the entire time. It was not until the end that it was ultimately discovered.

1st to Die by James Patterson

This is book one to the Women’s Murder Club series. It was about four women trying to figure out several bride and groom’s killer was. I was so sure it was this one person, but there were many twists to this story. At one point, I was actually getting aggravated because I was not sure who the serial killer was. It was a really good book though. I have heard that a lot of James Patterson books are the same so I will probably space out when I read his books.

Have you read any of these? If so, which ones?