2023 Reading Challenge Review

The year has somehow zoomed on by, and here we are, looking towards 2024 right on the horizon.

With the days of December coming to an end, it’s time to look back on this year’s Goodreads challenge.

At the start of the year I set a goal of reading 33 books, to celebrate my 33rd birthday in January. I’m happy to announce that not only did I hit that goal, but surpassed it more than I expected. So, let’s dig into it.

This year I found myself getting more into the fun colored cover romance novels. They say to not judge a book by its cover, but I was a sucker for a lot of these bright, fun, and cute cover designs. I also kept up with my love of magic and witch related content, and also looked for a few more books that dealt with topics of royalty (Dukes, Ladies, etc).

Here’s some of my most memorable reads from the year:

  1. House Witch (the series as a whole)
  2. Lunar Love
  3. Too Good to Be Real (perfect for Hallmark Movie Lovers)
  4. The Lost Witch
  5. Spells for Forgetting

What are you waiting for, grab a good book, a cup of hot cocoa and explore a new world!

Happy Reading!

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Cozy, Fall, and Witchy Vibes – BookTok Recommendations

Fall is here! It’s my favorite time of year. It’s also a great time to cuddle up under a blanket and grab a good book and a cup of hot cocoa.

My Tiktok For You Page has been filled with Fall and Spooky season book recommendations. So I figured I’d do a roundup of all the most popular book recommendations from Booktok I’ve seen and see which ones I can conquer this season.

Witcha Gonna Belladonna by Avery Flynn
A witch with no magical abilities? A spell gone awry that leads to cursing her own family. This book kicks off the Witchington series.

I just picked this book up from my library’s e-book system. I love a good rom com and who doesn’t love a story about a witch who finds magic where she least expects it.

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
A romantic fantasy about a young woman confronting death and her own powers.

This book is considered YA, and is actually in stock at my library, so I’ll probably check it out one of these weeks. It is also the first of two books in a series.

A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating A Demon by Sarah Hawley
A witch who loves baking and gardening, who also is prophesied to be the most powerful witch in her family in years, meets a demon who is looking to get back his bad reputation.

I’ve seen this book recommended so many times, that it’s hard to get in stock if you’re a library girl. I found my library system has this available as an e-book, so I’ve placed a request!

Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare
A rom com with a witchy twist, featuring a witch who works in a bookshop in a small town. She clashes with the town’s mayor, and discovers hidden magic.

This book is the first in the Witchlore Series. It looks like there’s two books out already, with a third planned. I’ve placed an e-book request via my library system for this one too.

Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare
An eccentric witch who posts a job opening that turns out to be for his own familiar. And who gets hired? A young human woman who thought she was applying to work for one of her favorite games.

This is the first book of two, and just by the cover itself, looks cute. Who’s heard of a familiar that isn’t an animal? My library in town doesn’t carry this, nor is it available as an e-book from them, but it is in my library system, so I’ll have to place a request.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
An apothecary catering to women who are looking for a way to get at men who have wronged them.

I’ve seen this book around for a while, and just haven’t had the time to pick it up. It’s been on my To Read list in Goodreads for quite some time, so hopefully this Fall I’ll get to it.

Happy reading! What books are you loving this Fall Season?

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2022 Reading Challenge Recap

With January here, it’s time for my yearly Goodreads Reading Challenge check-in.

Last year I hoped to tackle 30 books throughout the year, and I was quite surprised to see I strongly surpassed my goal by reading a total of 43 books! Woohoo!

Let’s take a closer look at what I read.

As usual, it was another year full of books about magical universes, witches, queens, and British period pieces about romance.

I decided to give some classics a try this year too, reading Little Women and the books in its series, and I have to say, I didn’t get the appeal. The books weren’t that captivating to me, and it almost felt like a chore to finish them. I’m still intrigued to check out the recent movie adaptation of Little Women that came out over the past couple of years to see if that’s more captivating.

One of my favorite books included Deep Blue, a book that kicks off a series focusing around mermaids and the sea. Some of the visuals in the book were just simply stunning, and made me feel like I was right there in the reeds with pearls and cute fish circling around.

If you’re interested in YA Fiction, How to Hang a Witch was a great and easy read that I couldn’t put down. A fun read if you’re planning a trip to Salem, Massachusetts too.

For my 2023 Goodreads Challenge, I’m aiming for 33 books. Just a few days ago was my 33rd birthday, and it seemed like a fitting number to try and strive for. I’ve already got one book under my belt, and I’m in the middle of a second book that was gifted to me for Christmas.

Happy Reading!

Be my Goodreads friend here.

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2021 Reading Challenge Review

With just a few hours left until the year is complete, it’s time to look back at one of my favorite things, my Goodreads yearly reading challenge!

My goal for this year was to read 30 books. I try to read a little bit every night as part of my evening ritual. Reading helps me escape the stresses of my everyday life, and hop into a different world.

Let’s take a look at the stats!

With 2021 being another Covid filled year, travel didn’t happen, and weekends weren’t busy, so I was able to smash my goal and read 10 more books than I had hoped, closing the year at 40 books read.

Some of favorite books from this year include:
The Ex Hex
Sixteen Scandals
Nature of Witches

Time to prep for 2022! I already have a stockpile of books to tackle in the coming days, thanks to a sale at my local library where I was able to fill a bag for only $5.

For this coming year, I’ll probably stick to 30 as my goal. It’s a fairly safe number that I think I can achieve, but who knows what 2022 has in store for all of us.

Happy Reading!

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2020 Reading Challenge Recap

I realize I’m quite late to the game on this post, but better late than never? We did have quite the pandemic in 2020, so I think we’re all a little more lenient on people’s speed of actions lately. So while we’re already several months in 2021 (and the pandemic continues!) I wanted to look back at my reading challenge I set for last year because quite honestly, I’m just proud of myself, and I read a lot of great books!

I had a goal of 20 books, figuring 20 books for 2020, why not. What I, and the rest of the world didn’t anticipate, was that 2020 would be a year like none we’ve ever experienced.

March came around and I started to work from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, giving me more “free” or “me” time since I wasn’t commuting in and out of New York City. This allowed me to have a little more time in the evenings to snuggle up with a good book. I started a few series, read some fun novels, and read a few short stories. For the most part, most books I picked up were winners, which makes getting through so many a breeze!

One of my favorite books that I picked up last year was The Art of Inheriting Secrets. It was a novel about romance, self discovery, growth and full of charm and characters you fell in love with. I honestly thought about this book for weeks afterward, it just really stuck with me.

As you can see from my selection above, I’m obsessed with anything about magic, witches, royalty, or the occasional time period story with romance thrown in.

I’m so proud of the number I was able to accomplish. Just like 2020 was unique, 2021 is pretty similar in a lot of ways. I’m still working from home until at least end of Summer, the world is still a little crazy, and my state has one of the highest number of Covid 19 deaths in the US, and in the world, so I’m staying home and staying safe.

This year I’m well on my way towards my goal of 30 books. Will I surpass it like last year? We’ll have to see what curveballs come my way this year.

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