My Reading Goals for 2022| CarenzaOnBooks

I'm aware that it's very late to be posting something like this, but I wanted to share my reading goals for 2022. Compared to previous years, I want to set some goals I can actually stick to. I've picked three goals that I want to try and complete in 2022. These are things that are important to me and will help me have a great reading year this year. 

Read More Diversely

Reading diverse has been something I've been doing since about 2017, however I've noticed I haven't been reading as diverse as I thought I had. I use CAWPILE to track my reading and one of the features is for how many POC authors you read. I was shocked that mine was only eighteen out of eighty-four. That's not even a quarter. I also read from forty-four American authors, making over half my authors from the US. This year I want to read from more POC authors and from more non-American authors. Translated fiction is going to be a way of tackling that as it's something I would like to read more of. Basically, I want to move away from white American writers and explore more varied voices in my writing. 

Tackle My TBR

As of writing this, I have 220 books on my TBR. 150 of these books are ones I own in my main collection, three are for reviews, thirty-five fall under the "odds'n'sods" category and the remaining thirty-three are ones I'm going to borrow from my parents. I roughly read 85 books a year, so it's going to take me 2.5 years to read all these books. That's without getting more books. So, I'm on a book buying ban. As I work at Waterstones, I can still receive books from publishers and if there are exclusive editions or books in series I'm already reading, I can get those. But, I'm pretty much on a book buying ban until my birthday in August. I am going to tackle this ridiculous pile of books I have to read. I have so many that I want to read and it's time that I finally get to them. 

Read at Your Own Pace

Last year, I set myself a monthly goal of reading one book a week. I didn't always meet that with how busy I was at various points in the year and it would make me sad as I wasn't reading as much as I wanted to. This year I want to read at my own pace. My average is 6 books a month, with some being a lot better and some being a lot worse. I'm going to read at my own pace so I can enjoy the books I pick. At the end of the day, that's all that matters. That I enjoy my book and not how much I'm reading.   

Those are my three reading goals for this year. What are your reading goals for 2022??

What I've Been Reading Recently- Christmas 2021 Edition| CarenzaOnBooks

I know this post is a bit late, but I wanted to share the books I read in the final months of 2021. I didn't read as much as I wanted and that was because I started my first graduate job as a Christmas Bookseller at my local Waterstones. I'm still working there, which is why I haven't been as active on here and why I wasn't able to read as much as I like. I read 6 books in November and in December, making my total read for 2021 84 books. Let's get into the books I read over Christmas last year! 

November

no one is talking about this by Patricia Lockwood

The reason I read this book is because everyone seems to be talking about it. It was nominated for the Booker and Women's Fiction prize in 2021. I can see what this book was trying to do, it just didn't quite do it for me. I do think it highlighted how we view the internet and online culture. It's been a couple of months since I read it and it didn't really leave an impact on me. I gave it 3/5 stars.

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

I enjoyed Detransition, Baby much more than no one it talking about this. The themes of what it means to be a woman today and how they are so varied were very powerful. The characters felt real, they were all over the place and were the type of characters I like to read about. I personally felt the ending was a bit rushed, which is why I ended up giving it 3.5/5 stars. I also have a full, spoiler filled review, which you can read here. 

Loki: Agent of Asgard by Al Ewing

I had dabbled with comics before this, but after receiving this as a birthday present, I am very interested in reading more comics. I really enjoyed the Loki TV show and I really enjoyed the source material. It was funny, and had a great story. There are so many comics that I'd love to read after reading this. I gave it 4/5 stars.  

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This was my audiobook listen for November and I would really recommend the audiobook version of this available through Apple Books for free. It's narrated by Karen Gillan, who does an amazing job of narrating this story. For the actual story, I didn't care for it that much. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more as a child as it's a children's classic, but as an adult, I didn't connect with it as much. For the audiobook alone, I gave it 3/5 stars. 

Once Upon a Winter by H.L Macfarlane and others

Taken from Twitter

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an eARC to read before publication and to review. I enjoyed some stories a lot more than others in this collection. I think the idea was strong, but the execution didn't quite work for me. I found the collection a bit too all over the place. I have a full spoiler filled review, which you can read here. I gave it 3/5 stars. 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

A reread for my book club. I read this book back in 2017 and adored it. However, I've changed a lot as a reader in the last four years. I did enjoy it this time, but nowhere near as much as I did in 2017. I can see why it's problematic. I think the saving grace is the relationship between Lou and Will as they have such strong chemistry. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

December

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper

Historical, feminist fiction is very popular at the moment and with books like The Wolf Den out there, rightly so. I had been wanting to read this for a while and so I finally got around to it in December. This book is brutal, it does not shy away from how awful these women's lives were. But it also shows them coming together and supporting each other in difficult times. I cannot wait for the sequel to come out later this year. I have a full, spoiler filled review, which you can check out here. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R Tolkien

I wish I was as talented as J.R.R Tolkien as this collection was beautiful. The stories in the letters, the artwork that went alongside them. Just everything about these letters was amazing. Even if you aren't a Lord of the Rings fan, I would recommend reading this book. You get to see the letters alongside a typed out version of what was in them. I gave it 4/5 stars

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed it. It was fin and escapist. It was an easy read. On the other hand, it was very poorly written and crafted. There were good and bad things about it. It did hit the spot of a Christmas murder mystery I have a full, spoiler filled review of my thoughts on this book, which you can read here. I gave it 3/5 stars.  

Sex Education: The Road Trip by Katy Birchall

If you are a long time reader of my blog, then you will know I adore Sex Education on Netflix and was very happy when they announced a book to go alongside it. I finally read it in December and sadly I was disappointed. I think the story would have worked better as a one off, longer episode. I also found the writing style very inconsistent, with it randomly switching POVs for one paragraph, before returning to our main POV, which was Maeve. It was a fun and easy read, but I was expecting a bit more from this. I gave it 3/5 stars. 

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa

This was exactly what it said on the tin. It had a cat saving books. And I loved it. It highlighted what it meant to be a reader and the joy we get from books. It's a translated fiction that's been so popular at work. I adored every second of reading this book. The cat was a great character and I would love to read more from this author. I gave it 4/5 stars. 

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

My final book of 2021 ended up being a bit of a let down. I bought this for my birthday because it looked cool and I had seen a BookTuber I like recommend it. However, I was so confused about what was happening. There was just a bit too much world building and it went over my head a lot of the time. It might be that I picked this up at the wrong time as I wanted something easy to read to finish off my reading for the year. I might give this another chance in the future. But for now, it gets 3/5 stars from me.

What books did you read in November and December??  

The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

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Title- The Key in the Lock

Author- Beth Underdown

Series- N/A

Published- 2022

Page Count- 304

Publishing House- Penguin

Genre- Historical fiction, gothic, mystery

Rating- 3/5 stars

Note- thank you to Penguin for sending me an eARC via NetGalley to review. 

About the Author

Beth Underdown was born in Rochdale in 1987. She studied at the University of York and then the University of Manchester, where she is now a Lecturer in Creative Writing.

The Witchfinder’s Sister, her debut novel, was published by Viking in the UK and Ballantine in the US in 2017, was a Richard and Judy bestseller and won the HWA Goldsboro Crown Debut Award. The Key in the Lock, her second novel, is out now with Viking.

Taken from Beth's website.

Plot 

I still dream, every night, of Polneath on fire. Smoke unfurling out of an upper window and a hectic orange light cascading across the terrace.

By day, Ivy Boscawen mourns the loss of her son Tim in the Great War. But by night she mourns another boy - one whose death decades ago haunts her still.

For Ivy is sure that there is more to what happened all those years ago: the fire at the Great House, and the terrible events that came after. A truth she must uncover, if she is ever to be free.

Brimming with secrets, this lyrical haunting historical thriller is perfect for fans of Elizabeth Macneal, Sarah Waters and Diane Setterfield.

Taken from Goodreads

Opinions

I'd like to start this review by thanking the publishers for sending me an eARC to review via NetGalley. I received a copy in exchange for a review. Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres to read and one I find myself gravitating towards more. When I joined NetGalley, this was one of the first books I saw and thought that sounded interesting. I feel very lucky to have received an early copy to read.  

Before I get into my actual review, I want to quickly talk about the format of the book. So I was sent a digital copy to review and while I'm grateful, I think this format attributed to some of my problems with the book. I've seen quite a few people on Twitter talk about the format of these documents and how it makes them difficult to read. I have to agree. The layout is really odd, with sentences being randomly broken. It isn't always clear when there's a new chapter. I think there's a way to fix it, but I personally don't know. I just wanted to add that to my review as that's part of the reason why I gave it 3 stars.

Now, let's get into the review. The first thing I want to say is that I found it difficult to get into. This is a dual narrative story, with one half being in 1918 as Ivy grieves for her son, and the other half in 1888, the events of Polneath fire. In the 1918 sections, I noticed the author would have quite lengthy flashbacks to 1888, which I found confusing. I couldn't always work out which time section I was reading about. For example, in the 1888 section, Ivy's future husband was referred to as Boscawen until the last few chapters. While in the 1918 sections, he was Richard. I think to ease confusion, it would have made more sense to keep him with the same name. I understand why the author did it as it led to a big reveal that they had gotten married, but they felt like two different characters. 

Out of the two storylines, I preferred the 1888 one. The mystery around William's death and the creepy things that kept on happening at the house were much more intriguing to me. I also found Ivy a much more likeable character in the 1888 storyline. She felt more human, more compassionate. There was a focus on what was happening in the moment, rather than drifting between the two storylines. It was also a fairly compact story, with the events taking place over a week, rather than a year. The 1800s is a time period I gravitate towards reading anyway, so the 1900s one threw me a bit. This is entirely a personal preference. 

I have mixed feelings about Ivy as a protagonist. At times, I found her compelling. In the 1888 storyline, she grew on me. She was intelligent, kind and fierce. In the 1918 one, she was very selfish. She didn't seem to care for Richard or the people that worked on her house. She was all over the place. Her connection with Edward felt really unhealthy. He was significantly older than her and took advantage of her. I think at around the halfway mark, Ivy became a more likeable character, but that was because it took me almost half the book to get into the book. 

The reveal at the end that Edward was actually the villain rather than his father wasn't the most exciting twist. To me, it undermined the whole plot, which was about finding out why Tim had died and what had actually happened in 1888. I didn't really like Edward, he felt a bit off to me. He just wanted different women to sleep with and was not a very nice person. We learn quite early on that Ivy was involved in Old Man Tremain's (Edward's father) death. However, all she did was cover for Edward. I was expecting a bit more, that she had been partially responsible for the fire. It wasn't the best ending.

Overall, after a rocky start, this did grow on me. I think I enjoyed the last half more, apart from the ending. I can see why people liked this, but it wasn't entirely for me in the end. The Key in the Lock comes out today and I've included a link here where you can purchase a copy from Waterstones. 

What did you think of The Key in the Lock??

My Favourite Books of 2021| CarenzaOnBooks

2021 is officially over. It was another strange, scary and unusual year. I wanted to mark my first post of 2022 by sharing the books I loved in 2021. In total, I read 84 books. I'm really happy as my reading was all over the place, with various life things. I cannot wait to see what books I'll read in 2022, but for now, it's time to share my favourites from last year. 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I finally read The Secret History in 2021 and I can see why it is so well loved. These characters were insufferable and awful, yet I wanted to know what happened next. I was so invested in their lives that I read this massive book in a week, with almost the final half being read in one day. This book does have it's problems in that it's very white and doesn't really feature any characters of colour. I've also heard mixed things about her other books, but The Secret History marked a good start to my reading year. You can read my full review here. 

The Poppy War by R.F Kuang

I am so annoyed at myself for not continuing this series sooner as I really enjoyed The Poppy War. Rin is one of my new favourite characters as she had a no nonsense attitude and felt very realistic. I now have the other two books in this series and I will be reading them this year. I also cannot wait for Babel by R.F Kuang to come out. This was my first time reading "adult high fantasy" rather than YA. 

If We Were Villains by M.L Rio 

This was easily my favourite book of the year. I think I've realised that I like messy characters in intense academic settings because this book blew me away. I read it in three days because I was hooked. I love the theatre backdrop and it was incredible. If M.L Rio writes another book I would run out and buy it immediately. I have two copies of this now, the normal edition and the beautiful special edition. Just fantastic. You can read my review here. 

The Familiars by Stacey Halls

Coming in close as my second favourite book of the year, The Familiars was equally impressive. I am slightly biased as this is a story close to my heart, as it tells the tale of the Pendle Witches and my family is from Lancashire. I found the issues being discussed really important, really liked the characters and the gothic backdrop was beautiful. I wasn't the biggest fan of The Foundlings, but am interested to see what I think of Mrs England, Stacey's third novel. She has become an autobuy author for me. You can read my review here. 

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy 

I read this book in one sitting and it made me feel so happy from reading it. This was easily the most wholesome book I read this year, if not the most wholesome book I've ever read. I think it's a book for everyone and one that needs to be read more. Just so sweet. I hope Charlie Mackesy writes another book as this one had such an important message. 

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper

My final favourite of the year is a very hard hitting book. I love historical fiction and I love feminist books. This was a combination of both. It was brutal and gripping, yet whenever I sat down to read it, I found myself flying through it. The first book in a trilogy and I don't know how I'm going to wait until the second one comes out in paperback as that's a very long time away. You can read my full review here. 

Honourable Mentions

I always like to do an honourable mentions section as these are some books I really enjoyed this year, but not quite as much as the ones above. I would recommend all the books on this list. Here are some quick reviews of my four honourable mentions: 

• Flake by Matthew Dooley- a graphic novel about an ice cream seller in the North-West of England. Heartwarming and funny, made me laugh out loud and I really liked the art style.
• Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell- very popular book about the lives of the people around William Shakespeare. Beautiful writing and I cannot wait to dive into Maggie O'Farrell's back catalogue of books. 
• Gods and Monsters by Shelby Mahurin- very satisfying conclusion to the Serpent&Dove trilogy, one of my favourite series of all time. Flew through this and can't believe their stories are over. 
• Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia- some of the most beautiful writing I have ever read. I wish I was that talented. Historical, fantasy. It ticked all the boxes for me.

Those conclude my favourite books of 2021. What books did you enjoy last year??