worldofbai

January Wrap Up

The beginning of 2022 treated me pretty well book wise. I found a new book to love and a new book to despise! I read a total of four books this last month and I would say they were all very different from each other which made for a pretty diverse reading month for me.

I will post a quick thought on each book and also the link to the full review so you can easily find my full thoughts on the books. If you have read any of these please drop your rating below!

Books

Lets start from my favorite read all the way to my least!

“Crescent City” By Sarah J. Maas

This is my new all time favorite book! Just barley beating Verity and One Last stop out.

I loved this book with all my heart! The world building was well… Out Of This World!

I fell in love with all the characters as well.

Sarah J. Maas really knows how to captivate her readers and transport them into her worlds, that is what really made the book my all time favorite!

Full Book Review

“The Maid” By Nita Prose

I really thought this book would have been a quick five star read for me, but it wasn’t! It took me about 100 pages to actually get into this super short book and then towards the end I finally fell in love with the main character Molly.

I felt like this book was over hyped but to be honest it was still a book that maybe one day I would give another try to see if maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for that week.

Full Book Review

“Malibu Rising” By Taylor Jenkins Reid

This is another over hyped book that I read this month. I had heard so many great reviews for this book but I just don’t see why?

I felt like the book moved really slowly, if you like books that have a lot of background history into the characters this book would be for you.

The main issue was that they introduced too many characters and nothing ever paid off!

Full Book Review

“Leave The World Behind” By Rumaan Alam

This will be a mini Review

I HATED this book with all my heart. It made Anxious People sound pleasing to read again which was previously my least favorite book before this one.

I listed to this on audio and the only thing I enjoyed about the book was the narrators voice. It took all of me to finish listening to this book.

All it was is listening to people say “I wonder what is causing the black out?” “What was that noise” over and over again. I felt like every chapter was the same thing just written a tad different than the first.

I really don’t like to be a negative person but I really didn’t have a positive thing to say about this book. I guess they are going to make a movie out of it and I am wanting to know how? We will just be watching people sit down and drink and freak out over the world possibly ending? I am not sure if there is enough content to make a movie, but to each their own.

I highly recommend not wasting your time on this one.

Favorite Quote

“It sucks that everyone just…moves on, and forgets. They expect me to forget. But I can’t.”
From Crescent City

QOTD: What was your favorite read for January?

I just made a buy me a coffee site where you can go to support me and this blog! I am hoping to start making bookmarks soon and this is a way you can help me reach my goal and start my dream shop! I changed it a bit and it is called buy me a book, just to fit my theme!

Buy me a Book!

Book Review: “The Maid” By Nita Prose

I went into this book pretty much blind, meaning I did not read the synopsis I just saw it was labeled as a debut mystery book on Book of the Month Club and decided ehh why not. I liked the simplicity of the cover and that it was less than 300 pages which meant it would be a pretty quick read. Lets see what my thoughts were on this book.

“I am your maid. I know so much about you. But when it comes down to it: what is it that you know about me.”
Direct Quote from book

About The Book

Author: Nita Prose

Date Published: January 4th, 2022

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Page Count: 285

Main Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller

GoodReads Rating: 4.05

“I don’t cut corners, I shine them. No fingerprint left to erase, no smear left to clear.”
Direct quote from book

Synopsis

Molly works as a maid at The Regency Grand Hotel. What she lacks in social skills she makes up for with her superior cleaning skills. Molly finds happiness in knowing that she can come into a destroyed room and to leave it as if it had never been touched.

Her simple maid life takes a quick turn downhill when she finds a V.I.P guest dead in their hotel room and she quickly finds out that she is the number one suspect! With very little social skills and hardly any friends she has to figure out how to clear her name.

“Hello, I’m Molly, the Maid. You don’t see me, I’m invisible but I see you and all you leave behind.”
Direct quote from book

Rating

“It’s what’s between the lines, not on them.”
Direct quote from book

Review

This book started off pretty slow for me. I was on page 75 when I contemplated not finishing the book. However, there was less than 300 pages in the book and it felt like a waste to be almost half way done with the book and to quit so I trekked on! To be honest I felt like the ending was worth the read.

I really struggled with the writing in this book for the first half, the story was slow, the conversation boring and I had nothing that pulled me in. The book really started moving about half way through and you will be forced to finish in one sitting!

Like I said before I have seen this book all over bookstagram with a lot of 5 star reviews so I am in the minority here with this unpopular opinion. I typically love mysteries and it isn’t that this book wasn’t good it is just that it wasn’t memorable!

What I did really like about this book is that Molly really grows on you towards the end. I thought her character was really well rounded and put together. I also liked the relationships that grow throughout the book. Well written characters made this book for me.

I think if you like the synopsis for this book then give it a try! But if you are on the fence maybe skip it.

QOTD: What is your favorite mystery novel?

Valentine’s Buddy Read with Bai.books (AKA Me)

Love is in the air!

I have decided for the month of February and maybe the months to follow I would like to host a buddy read! This month is based on romance reads due to the Valentine’s day Holiday. I was originally only going to pick one book for this because hosting two chats can be intimidating. However, I decided to host two this month because I have been dying to read both of these books!

The Books

“The Unhoneymooners” By Christina Lauren

Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.

Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of… lucky.

4.01 Average rating on GoodReads

“Weather Girl” By Rachel Lynn Solomon

Ari Abrams has always been fascinated by the weather, and she loves almost everything about her job as a TV meteorologist. Her boss, legendary Seattle weatherwoman Torrance Hale, is too distracted by her tempestuous relationship with her ex-husband, the station’s news director, to give Ari the mentorship she wants. Ari, who runs on sunshine and optimism, is at her wits’ end. The only person who seems to understand how she feels is sweet but reserved sports reporter Russell Barringer.

In the aftermath of a disastrous holiday party, Ari and Russell decide to team up to solve their bosses’ relationship issues. Between secret gifts and double dates, they start nudging their bosses back together. But their well-meaning meddling backfires when the real chemistry builds between Ari and Russell.

Working closely with Russell means allowing him to get to know parts of herself that Ari keeps hidden from everyone. Will he be able to embrace her dark clouds as well as her clear skies?

3.97 Average rating on GoodReads

Reading Schedules

If you are wanting to join in on one or even both of these buddy reads please head over to my Instagram and comment on my buddy read post! I will then get you added to the chats for that particular book.

The group chats will be held on a designated night that we all vote upon in the group chat. We will then be able to discuss the book and talk about reading schedules. As I get the updated information I will update this blog post.

I am so excited to be hosting these buddy reads and I hope you are all excited to join!

Book Review: “Crescent City” By Sarah J. Maas

This book left me speechless! This is my first official deep dive into a fantasy world beside Harry Potter, However I feel like the wonderful world of Harry Potter is very simple to catch onto. This book had some major world building to follow along with and being my first big dive into fantasy it was hard to keep up at times but I am so glad that I trekked forward and finished this behemoth of a book!

“Through love, all is possible.”
Direct Quote from page 282

About The Book

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Publish Date: March 3rd 2020

Page Count: 803 Pages

Main Genres: Fantasy, Romance, New Adult

GoodReads Rating: 4.45

“There are worse fates than death, you know.”
Direct quote from page 383

Synopsis

As a Half-Fae Half-Human Bryce Quinlan spends her days working at an antique shop and her nights out partying. She is known as the party girl around Lunathion but all it takes is one horrific night to strip the party out of the girl.

Two years after a gruesome murder tore apart Bryce’s life she is recruited to help track down the murders. Fueled by revenge Bryce is determined to find all the missing clues to avenge her friends but as secrets reveal themselves Bryce is forced to question how well she really knew the ones she cared about.

“It sucks that everyone just…moves on, and forgets. They expect me to forget. But I can’t.”
Direct quote from page 556

Rating

Review

All I could say when I finished this book was “Wow!” I don’t think I have ever read a book that tugged so much at my emotions! I laughed, I cried, I threw my book at the wall and my heart fell in love! I tab my books and if you watch my Tiktok video of my thoughts ten minutes after finishing this book, you will see that I used two whole tab sleeves to tab all my emotions into this book!

I haven’t ever read a book that had actually made me cry! This book will tug at your heart and I think that was one reason why I really enjoyed it.

Full disclaimer, this book took me about 60% of the way through to actually pick up the pace and fully understand the world. This book has a ton of world building and characters that you need to understand but once you get it and it clicks then you will fly through this book!

This is my first book over 700 pages that I have read and I finished it in a week and a half and that really impressed me! Even though this was a long book for me and also way out of my reading comfort zone, I still read this book in a week and a half which I think is some kind of record for me! I grant my fast reading speed to the wonderful writing in this book. I feel like if I hated the world building and the characters I probably would have DNF’d this book about 200 pages in, if I am being honest with you. However, I did fall in love with the characters, so much so that I was falling in love right along side Bryce.

I highly recommend this book to everyone out there, especially since the second book will be coming out in just a few short weeks!

QOTD: Have you read this book? If so, What did you rate it and will you be reading the next book?

“That’s the point of it, Bryce. Of life. To live, to love, knowing that it might all vanish tomorrow. It makes everything that much more precious.”
Direct quote from book from page 773

Book Review: “Malibu Rising” by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Five days into January and I have officially finished my first read of the year! I chose this book because of my Reading Challenge for January. The reading prompt for this month was “A GoodReads 2021 Good Choice Award book”. I was really excited to read “Malibu Rising” because of all of the amazing reviews I have read since this book was released. Lets see if this book lived up to all the hype.

“Our family histories are simply stories. They are myths we create about the people who came before us, in order to make sense of ourselves.”
Direct quote from book. Page 31

About The Book

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published Date: June 1st, 2021

Page count: 369 pages

Main Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary

GoodReads Rating: 4.10

“I’m just saying…. I don’t come from any money at all. But I don’t think what you’re born into says anything about where you’re headed.”
Direct quote from book. Page 38

Synopsis

The Riva family may be famous but that doesn’t mean their life was easy. Four siblings who grew up with an absent father and an alcoholic mother are forced to grow up real quick their mother drowns and their father doesn’t come home.

Nina, the eldest sister of 17 years, drops out of high school to take over the family restaurant and become the sole guardian of her younger three siblings. Money might be tight but nothing can come between their love for one another.

As time goes on her and her siblings make a name for themselves and find a life of riches, fame and love. This brings on the party scene and Nina is known for throwing the coolest parties around and this years party would be one that no one will ever forget!

“It would not be her that broke and bent anymore.”
Direct quote. Page 317

Rating

Review

In all honesty I felt like this book was way over hyped. Maybe I would have given this book a higher rating if I had picked it up without reading any reviews but I did read almost all five star reviews so I went in with high expectations that didn’t get met. Was this a bad book? No, it wasn’t terrible, definitely something people should read sometime in their life but maybe don’t go in with such high expectations.

I thought the beginning was super slow but worth while for the story building. Part two is where the story really picked up and started connecting in places and even got a bit emotional at the end. I just felt like the second half of the book wasn’t great enough to bring up the rating any higher.

One of the biggest problems I had with this book was the amount of characters and people you had to remember between each of the chapters. Each chapter was based on a different characters point of view but it wasn’t always one of the main characters, it was typically some random famous person talking about what they were doing at the party and it didn’t really connect to the main story till the final few chapters. There was too much going on and it got confusing at times.

I personally really struggled with this book which makes me sad because I had heard a lot of great things. I wanted my first book of the year to blow me away and this didn’t quite reach my expectations.

QOTD: What was your first book of the year?

2021 Book Superlatives

It is finally that time of year where we have read an impressive amount of books and now we need to rank them. I know I had a handful of books that drove me nuts and then I also had a decent sized stack that I really enjoyed. Now is the time to reveal all the good, bad and ugly from my 2021 reading pile.

Top Ten Books

In no particular order here are my top ten favorite reads of 2021

Awards

Book of the year

“Verity” by Colleen Hoover

Full Review

Least favorite book

“Get a Life Chloe Brown” by Talia Hibbert

I don’t have a link to this review but honestly this book was by far my least favorite thing I read this year by a long shot.

Best Dressed (Prettiest Cover)

“The Lost Apothecary” by Sarah Penner

Full Review

Most Likely to Make you Swoon

“The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood

Full Review

Most Likely to be reread

“One Last Stop” by Casey Mcquiston

Full Review

Best Graphic Novel

“Black Lantern” by Chris Bodily

I don’t read a lot of graphic novels but I really love how this one came together! The cat was so cute too!

A book that walked the line of morality the best

“RazorBlade Tears” by S.A. Cosby

Full Review

A book that was over hyped

“Where The Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens

Full Review

A book that surprised me

“Crave” by Tracy Wolff

Full Review

Character Awards

Favorite character

Olive from “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood

I felt like I could really relate to Olive in a lot of different ways. I thought she was very stubborn, she knew what she likes and she is very smart and independent. I love an independent lead woman character.

Least favorite character

Jasmine from “Desperate Measures” by Katee Robert

This book was a steamy spin off tale of Jasmine and Jaffar from Aladdin and the whole book was pretty cringe worthy. However, Jasmine just drove me nuts the whole book. If you hate a main character there is something really wrong.

Favorite couple

Jane and August from “One Last Stop” by Casey Mcquiston

These two were just so adorable! I couldn’t get enough of their relationship. Casey McQuiston for Christmas released an update for the characters written from Janes perspective and it was everything that I didn’t know I needed.

Christmas Letter

Personal Achievements

This year I accomplished more things than I could have ever imagined! I am so proud of how far this blog has came since starting in June of 2021. I have also made so many amazing friends on Bookstagram. Let’s look at some of my greatest accomplishments from this year.

Started my blog in June 2021 and have over 60 followers six months later

Reached my reading goal for the year of 35/35 books

Reached over 2,000 followers on my bookstagram

Celebrated my one year bookstaversary in October

Made friends with authors

Made friends with people all across the world

Found several books that I literally fell in love with

Proved to myself that I can achieve my goals when I work hard and dream big

I am beyond proud of myself for accomplishing all that I did this past year and I really can’t wait to see what 2022 has to bring. I have changed my reading goal for next year to 40 books and I have even created my own reading challenge so I am very excited to start this coming year.

QOTD: What is your reading goal for next year?