For 2021 I didn’t have a reading challenge that I followed along with, I only had a reading goal for 35 books. I have seen a lot of challenges out there that have so many prompts! With my reading style I know I can’t do a challenge that has a billion prompts so I decided to create my own reading challenge with a single monthly prompt.
This reading challenge is for anyone who gets overwhelmed with big challenges or are even mood readers. You will only have one prompt to fulfill a month and each prompt is fairly broad so you can really pick anything that suits your mood. I am a huge mood reader and I always find it so hard to stick with complicated or more detailed yearly reading challenges. If you fit into any of these categories I hope you will give these reading prompts a try.
World Of Bai’s 2022 Reading Challenge Prompts
January: A GoodReads 2021 Good Choice Award book.
February: A book about True Crime.
March: Don’t judge a book by its cover.
April: An Indie book.
May: A self-help or memoir book.
June: A book that intimidates you.
July: Book title that starts with the first letter of your name.
August: A book title that has the word “Game” in it.
September: A book written from the villains prospective.
October: A book about witches.
November: A book that includes a map.
December: A Holiday book with an LGBTQ lead character.
I am so excited for 2022, I think this is my year to really bring this blog to life and grow my reading portfolio. I have set my reading goal for next year to 45 books which is 5 more than this year. I know that isn’t a huge difference but I don’t want to over sell myself when I barely met my goal this year. I am a fairly slow reader and I am okay with that!
If you do end up using my reading challenge for next year use #WorldOfBai2022 .
QOTD: What reading challenge will you be using this year?
This book has been sitting in my Kindle library for over a year now and I have no clue why it took me so long to read this book. I mainly downloaded it because I had seen a lot of people talking about the book when I had first started reading so the idea of reading this book seemed really nice. I feel like I remember reading the first chapter and just not really feeling like it was worth my while, so I essentially just let it collect electronic dust in my kindle. But who does that? Who reads one chapter and then gives up on a book? I do, I have done it with countless books and now because of this single 300 paged book I think I need to reconsider my process.
“Some families are lucky enough to never experience a single tragedy. But then there are those families that seem to have tragedies waiting on the back burner. What can go wrong, goes wrong. And then gets worse.”
Direct quote from book.
About The Book
Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Date Published: October 5th, 2021
Page Count: 336
Main Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Romance
GoodReads Rating: 4.37
Synopsis
When famous author Verity Crawford gets in an unfortunate accident rendering her incapable of finishing her series book contract with her publishing company her husbands seeks out Lowen Ashleigh to finish the last three books in the series Verity started. Lowen had just lost her mother, money wasn’t coming in from her previous books and she was about to get evicted from her apartment, so even though she felt uneasy about finishing such a famous authors books she really had no other choice.
In order to get in the headspace of Varity, Lowen has to go through Varity’s home office and sort through piles upon piles of notes from her years of writing. But when she stumbles across a manuscript for an autobiography everything changes. In this manuscript lies everything from innocent sexual fun to the omission of murder. Does she show this to Verity’s husband or let him continue to love a possible psychopath?
“And that’s what love at first sight is. It isn’t really love at first sight until you’ve been with the person long enough for it to become love at first sight.”
Direct quote from book.
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Review
What do I even say about this book? I am still trying to comprehend the ending. Maybe I should have waited a few days before I posted this review to give my mind some time to really think about my feelings for this book but I really wanted to get this out here while it is freshly engraved into my brain.
This book started off kind of slow for me but I gave a few chapters and I was hooked! I didn’t put this book down other than to do my job that I am actually getting paid for but I didn’t really even want to do that. This is the ultimate thriller in my eyes because it had a really good story but also made you question every thought in your brain.
This is the first book that I have read by Colleen Hoover and it definitely won’t be my last! I absolutely adored her writing, I might has well been the main character of the story because I felt everything this girl was feeling, every thought she had I was right there with her. If every book of hers is written like this I will be a life long reader of Collen Hoovers books. Well done!
Over all I highly recommend this book and I think everyone should read this in their lifetime. I know I am very glad I got around to it.
The biggest question I have for you, Are you team manuscript or diary? If you don’t know what I am talking about I need you to stop reading this post and pick up this book because I guarantee you will have a preference! (Maybe also don’t read the next few sentences) For me at first when I finished this book I didn’t know which team I was on and who I believed and maybe I still really don’t know for sure because this book messed with my head so much! But I like to think I am on team manuscript. Verity was just such an amazing writer that she could manipulate anyone who read something she wrote. She knew she could get away with whatever she wanted because of her writing and might I say acting skills. There is no way someone who can write such dark things like that manuscript (About her own children) could actually be ok in the head. I am not sure if this is really my final stance because like I said this book really messes with your head especially the last few chapters.
“No matter which way I look at it, it’s clear that Verity was a master at manipulating the truth. The only question that remains is: Which truth was she manipulating?”
This book was a November Book of the Month pick that I initially skipped over. This was a mistake! Once people received this book reviews were coming out so fast that I couldn’t keep up and each of them were raving about how amazing this book was. So naturally I added it to my December box and sure enough finished it within the week.
“They need to be punished to feel guilt, and then they’re never punished, so they never do.”
Direct quote from book, page 139.
About The Book
Author: Alison Gaylin
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: November 2nd, 2021
Main Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery
Page count: 352 Pages
GoodReads Rating: 4.07
“Nothing’s guaranteed- Not future plans or justice or love or goodwill or the integrity of groups to whom you swear your allegiance. Not the good guys winning or the truth prevailing and certainty not life, the least guaranteed thing of all.
Direct quote from book, page 266.
Synopsis
Five years after her daughters death Camille is still struggling through her grief. The one thing that keeps her going is knowing that her daughters killer is still living a happy and normal life and that her daughter needs justice.
After a drunken misstep at a college awards ceremony for her daughters alleged killer a video surfaces on the internet and brings light back to her daughters case but bad publicity isn’t ideal.
When a strange lady hands her a card with one word “Niobe” listed on it, she goes down a rabbit hole that leads her in the end to the dark web. She finds a community full of grieving mothers looking for justice for their children but when fueled hatred meets a sisterhood, words become action.
Walking a thin line of justice and criminality, Camille’s forced to face the truth of how far is too far?
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Review
* Possible Spoilers *
I am a huge sucker for thrillers and mysteries, throw in a twist that I didn’t see coming and you have a fantastic read!
I had high hopes for this book and honestly the first half of the book I was a bit skeptical because this felt so morally wrong but you can understand where these woman are coming from. I found myself very upset with the tasks the main character was sent to do and I would end up screaming at her to stop because it is just wrong! But then you hear her talk about all the horrible things these people have done and then you think “Yeah, He should die.” Ugh, I was torn!
Towards the end of the book the main character becomes aware that what they are doing is probably not the best thing to be participating in which was probably my favorite moment in the book. However, (Major Spoiler, don’t read this if you don’t want to know…..) the ending of the book was so good! I love a depressing ending where the main character doesn’t get the fairytale ending they wanted. These endings are so rare but that is what makes them feel like a breath of fresh air. Does this make me a monster?
This book is in the running for the best book of the year? Can this beat out two romance novels? I guess you will have to wait and see my final rankings for the year.
Let me start off by saying I am typically not a huge fantasy reader, let alone a book about vampire’s. I really have no desire to read Twilight and honestly that could be because I have already seen the movies, I hate Robert Pattinson and I think it is way too popular (is popular the word I am looking for? Probably not.) I found this book all over Booktok for a fun YA Romance Vampire read and I was already not super stoked about it but like I said, I saw it everywhere! So I decided to purchase the first book with low hopes and jumped in.
About The Book
Author: Tracy Wolff
Published Date: April 7th, 2020
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Main Genres: YA, Fantasy, Romance
Page Count: 592 Pages
GoodReads Rating: 3.77 Stars
Synopsis
When Grace’s parents unexpectedly pass away due to a car crash she must leave hot and sunny California and move to cold and snowy Alaska to attend her uncles Boarding school. But when she arrives she can tell something is off about this school. Every student belongs to a clique but she just can’t seem to fit in to any of them. She can’t even make it to her first class without her life being threatened. The worse part is that everyone seems to be keeping secrets from her. How could a boarding school be so mysterious and dangerous?
Rating
Review
I have read so many mixed reviews about this book ranging from five stars to one star. I have seen comparisons to twilight (which I haven’t read yet) and I have seen people stating it was super cringy.
Did I think parts of this were cringy? Yes, the romance aspect of this book felt very strange but then again it is a fantasy novel based in a high school age group. Thinking back to my high school romances I guarantee we were this cringy and awkward. So I feel like for a YA romance read this was suitable. The main character and her love interest also started off hating each other and just a few short days later can’t keep their hands off of each other which seemed fast until you read the whole book and the author I felt tied it together nicely.
As for this book being a knock off of Twilight, I guess I can see where these people are coming from but then again it still had its own storyline. I can see a few similarities just from what I have seen of the Twilight movies but honestly, I found this book and plot more interesting. Maybe I should read the Twilight series before I make the assumption that this is better. However i have no desire to read that series.
I gave this four stars rather than five stars because I honestly found the main character grace annoying more often than not and towards the last fourth of the book I did get a little bored but the ending pulled me right back in. I also felt like this book did not need to be 600 pages long, but even so I read it in a week and that is very impressive on my end.
I am very excited to read the rest of the books in this series and I really hope they just continue to get better.
QOTD: Should I read the Twilight series or just call it good?
This month I actually feel pretty good about what I read! I have done so poorly the past few months and have dropped off the face of the Erath I feel. I love that I have actually read a few more books this month and have read things that I actually enjoyed.
This month I also didn’t make a hopefuls list because honestly, I never stick with them in the first place and I was in such a slump I didn’t want any pressure for this month. Do I think I will do hopefuls again? Probably, just because I think it is fun to make a plan, I am just terrible at sticking to it!
What I Read
“Branded” by Neva Bell
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Chloe and Chelsea are twin sisters ready to leave for college, but not just any old college, Livingston is a college for witches! In order to go to this witch school you have to be branded first with either a white dove or a black hawk to decide what you will study.
When Chloe gets a brand that no one was expecting her and Chelsea’s life changes drastically! This brand becomes a dangerous mark and both of the girls lives are at risk. Werewolves are the witches biggest threat and when a surprise attack goes in the werewolves favor Chloe is forced into a dangerous path of revenge.
Olive is a Ph.D student who has never really been a romantic person. However, in order to keep her friend happy she finds herself kissing a random stranger in the middle of the night.
This random stranger ends up being the schools most hated professor, Adam Carlson, and Olive immediately feels like her world is about to fall apart. The biggest surprise is when Adam agrees to keep the kiss a secret, but even more surprising was the fact he was willing to keep up this charade and fake date Olive to help benefit the both of them. Olive, to help her friend find love, and Adam, to convince the school to release his research funds.
After all, it is a win win situation with a deadline. What could possibly go wrong?
Two families get together ever year for Christmas at a house in Park City Utah. The kids all grew up being very close with one another and Maelyn has had a huge crush on their friends oldest son Andrew but wait, there’s a love triangle including the other brother Theo. Theo and Maelyn have a little too much eggnog on Christmas eve and after one very awkward make out session all seems lost for Maelyn. Theo treats her as if she doesn’t exist, Andrew saw it all go down, and worst of all they have to sell the house! Many years of Christmas memories are about to be washed away and the final year would be left in ruins. But one wish and an accident can change the course of nature.
I haven’t typed up a big review for this book because I feel like most people who haven’t read this yet have probably seen the movie(s) already or already know what’s going on in the book.
I needed a fast book to read to try and get my reading goal reached for this year and this is the shortest book on my shelf. I am not someone who likes to read classics and honestly this book reminded me why. This book is short, yes, but it took me forever to get through. I even tried listening to the audio version and I was just consistently bored. I do not think my review is a fair review to be honest.
I feel like I dislike classics so much that my subconscious just didn’t give the book a real chance. So yes I might have rated this book low but it wasn’t a terrible book, just not to my liking. I might get some hate for this and to be honest I am ok with that. I did like the narrators voice a lot the writing of the book is just older and my brain can’t concentrate for too long.
So please do give this book a try, especially you are into the classics!
Conclusion
This was honestly a great month. I finished four books and I liked most of them! I feel like I have been becoming a harsher critic the longer I have been reading, but that is ok! I think I am also really over romances for a bit, I am just drained!
Life Updates
Me and Noah have officially been together for three years as of today! I am so proud of how far we have came in these past few years and I am so excited to see what adventures await us in the coming years.
I wouldn’t have this blog without Noah so I am beyond grateful for him. He is my biggest supporter and he is always reading these blogs as soon as they come out, he proof reads them too, thank goodness!
This is a Christmas book that I started before Thanksgiving and finished on Thanksgiving day which honestly felt really strange. I was very excited to dive into this book and I just didn’t even think about what season I was in which normally wouldn’t bother me but for some reason not having snow on the ground and thinking about turkey really threw me for a loop.
This book is set in Utah which is my home state which made this book kind of a fun read! I was just worried that the Author would skip over some details that might have bothered me, but to be honest I don’t know much about Park City Utah to do any fact checks.
“You can’t erase mistakes. You just have to figure out how to fix them.”
Direct Quote from book. Page 268.
About The Book
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Date Published: October 6th, 2020
Total Pages: 307 Pages
Main Genres: Romance, Holiday, Fiction
GoodReads Rating: 3.76
Synopsis
Two families get together ever year for Christmas at a house in Park City Utah. The kids all grew up being very close with one another and Maelyn has had a huge crush on their friends oldest son Andrew but wait, there’s a love triangle including the other brother Theo. Theo and Maelyn have a little too much eggnog on Christmas eve and after one very awkward make out session all seems lost for Maelyn. Theo treats her as if she doesn’t exist, Andrew saw it all go down, and worst of all they have to sell the house! Many years of Christmas memories are about to be washed away and the final year would be left in ruins. But one wish and an accident can change the course of nature.
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
“My biggest fear in the car before the accident was the prospect of things changing. But isn’t that what I wanted when I threw that wish out to the universe? For everything to change?”
Direct quote from book. Page 122.
Review
I don’t do half star ratings so this was pretty hard to decide between three stars or four stars. I did a lot of deep thought before posting this review to finally come up with which way I wanted to lean. I finally landed on four stars based on a few facts. Why don’t we dive in?
I feel like I have read so many fake dating romances lately that this Groundhogs day type book was quite refreshing. Even though Maci did have to repeat a few days a couple of times it didn’t get repetitive. The author wrote this in a way that Maci did something completely different on each restart so it felt like a new storyline.
Another plus was that it was based in Utah and I liked the familiarity of that. I may not be up in Park City very often because lets be frank, it is a complete tourist trap, but honestly it is also super expensive and bougie. I live about 45 minutes away and that’s good enough for me. However it is really cool to see places you are familiar with being referenced in books.
I really liked Maelyn and Andrew being together for the most part. Maelyn has always liked Andrew and honestly it reminded me of all my childhood crushes. I love getting a nostalgic feel when I read. However, I do believe it is also the reason its not a five star rating though. They have known each other their whole lives so they have “cute” (Honestly gross) nicknames for each other and it felt really childish and awkward reading. Also the steamy scenes were worded really weirdly and I just felt awkward reading them. I have said it once and I will say it again, I think it is impossible for an author to write a steamy scene without using awkward phrasing. I need these steamy scenes to start coming together and leaving me speechless rather than wanting to close the book and move on from the moment.
Maybe I have just read way too many romance reads recently that I am becoming too picky about the stories I am reading. I am not sure to be honest. I had high hopes for this book and for the most part it was really good! I loved the whole story of her trying to find what makes her happy and trying to save the house, but the romance of the book was kind of meh to me.
Over All
If I did half ratings I would be giving this three and a half stars but because I don’t I weighed out my options and decided it deserved the full four stars. I think this was a cute and cozy holiday read and I would recommend this to someone who is looking for a Christmas read this year.
QOTD: Have you read a book that was based in the area you are from?
World of Bai 