Everything I’ve Read During Quarantine

A quick “let me update the copy on my about page” somehow turned into taking 3 months to totally redesign the blog. *insert crying laughing emoji* So, welcome to the redesigned blog!

While I’ve been working on this revamp and not posting, I’ve still been reading. Some months more than others. And while I try to post on Instagram stories and include my current reads in my vlogs and other videos, I know it can be hard to keep track of. Especially because I’ve been going through books a bit faster during quarantine.

Rather than creating individual monthly wrap ups, I thought one large quarantine wrap up would be fitting. I also feel like I’m one of 10 people who still believe coronavirus is even still a thing, and that quarantine is over for everyone else. Am I crazy? Over cautious? Is everyone else crazy?

Besides reading and overthinking my level of concern about COVID, there have been a lot of things happening in the world and on the internet that I’ve been processing and sifting through. Typically when I post these reading wrap ups, the end of the posts includes a couple of links for book discounts, including Book Outlet and Book of the Month codes. Those aren’t included in this post, and won’t be included in future posts. I explain why, among other things, in this video. I also typically link using my Amazon affiliate links, but I’ve switched over to using Bookshop.org affiliate links. When you shop through Bookshop.org, a portion of your purchase is donated to indie bookstores near you!

You can also view/shop this entire quarantine reading list on Bookshop.org.

Okay, onto the books…

May Reads

Normal People by Sally Rooney
Rating: 3/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: This book has pretty polarized reviews and I totally understand why. I wanted to read the book before watching the show on Hulu (which I felt pretty much the same about). The writing style took me a little while to adjust to (there aren’t any quotation marks to indicate dialogue and it can be hard to follow when the POV changes). But overall, I thought the writing was very strong and the storyline was interesting. I didn’t love the ending and wish both characters could have gotten more resolve, especially Marianne who endured significantly more abuse! Trigger warnings for physical abuse and abusive relationships.

The Honey Don’t List by Christina Lauren
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: I’m a huge Christina Lauren fan, but I honestly could have taken or left this book. The storyline was cute, but everything felt like it happened so fast! Hate to love is my favorite troupe in romance novels, but I have to believe the hate! And I just didn’t buy it. I think this would be a great read to take with you to sit by the pool and read in one sitting.

Any Man by Amber Tamblyn
Rating: Unrated
What I Liked/Disliked: There was no way for me to rate this book. It’s been weeks since I finished it and I still don’t completely know how I felt about it. The premise was super interesting to me: rape culture flipped upside down where men are viewed and question the way that women today are. I thought the writing was beautiful, and the characters were great. The fact that it’s written in verse and relatively short made me wish we had more time to really dig into the characters, and I wish we would have gotten more from the female attacker. But, I also think that was the point. It was definitely an impactful read!

Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai
Rating: 3.5/5
What I Liked/Disliked: I’m still really enjoying this companion series by Alisha Rai! The first book, The Right Swipe, was one of my favorite reads of last year. This book follows Katrina, one of the side characters from the first book, in a social media meet cute gone wrong. I loved her so much as a character and thought that the anxiety representation was so well done. I really enjoyed how it normalized taking medication for your mental health, and actively going to therapy. I did think the slow burn was a little too slow, but overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next one!

The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana
Rating: 3/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: The writing in this book was absolutely beautiful. Reading it honestly felt like someone reading you a folk story. I loved that we get two strong female main characters who don’t rely on men to save them. I think the book did a few too many things in the middle and I found myself distracted, and then the ending was kind of rushed through.

Blitzed by Alexa Martin
Rating: 4/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: Alexa Martin is absolutely an auto-buy author for me!! I have loved every book in this series, and I think this one was my favorite to date! I really enjoyed Brynn as a main character, and especially enjoyed the relationship she has with her dad.

My Bestie’s Ex by Piper Rayne
Rating: 3/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: I grabbed this e-book while I was home at my dad’s house and the protests and riots in Philadelphia had just started. I needed something the stop me from doomscrolling on Twitter for 5 hours a day, and this book did the trick. Was it the best book I’ve ever read? No. Were the characters pretty basic and shallow? Sure. But it was fun, steamy and so fast paced that I finished it in a day.

April Reads

She Regrets Nothing by Andrea Dunlap
Rating: 3/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: This was the over dramatic, Gossip Girl-esque, wealthy white drama I needed to get my mind off of the virus! If you need ridiculous characters, doing ridiculous things with an abundance of money, definitely pick this up.

A Blade So Black by LL McKinney
Rating: 3/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: This was a really fun YA fantasy! It’s an Alice in Wonderland retelling where Alice is a young Black teenager from Atlanta working to protect wonderland from nightmares. Full disclosure, I think this book solidified for me that I’m not a huge Alice in Wonderland fan lol But it was amazing seeing a story I’ve seen so many times redone with a Black female MC. And I really, really enjoyed the relationship Alice has with her mother.

Scthye by Neal Shusterman
Rating: 5/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: THIS SERIES OMG OMG OMG. If you were following me on Instagram when I was reading this, you know I basically stayed up until 3am for a week straight to binge read all 3 books. I absolutely loved this series. The world building is like nothing I’ve ever read. I could not put it down. The plot twists absolutely destroyed me. I cannot wait to reread it, and I highly recommend picking this up!

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
Rating: 5/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: I loved the second book in this series even more than the first one. I can’t say much without posting spoilers but please know that I threw the book and screamed at the ending. It was a wild ride. RIP to my fave.

The Toll by Neal Shusterman
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: The final book in this series introduced new characters who I absolutely feel in love with and wrapped things up well. It wasn’t the ending I would have written, but I think everyone who deserved resolution received it. It was amazing to see how tiny seeds planted in book 1 bloomed into critical plot points by the end! I’m so impressed by Shusterman as an author.

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
Rating: 5/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: I really enjoyed this middle grade book! These were the kinds of stories I wish were on shelves when I was younger in middle and elementary school. Amal is an incredibly smart, courageous and loveable main character. Definitely the kind of character that Black and Brown girls could benefit reading. I loved how the book touched on elements of Middle Eastern culture in a way that young readers could digest.

March Reads

The Kissing Game by Marie Harte
Rating: 2/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: I didn’t like many things about this book if I’m being honest. The story follows a young Black woman who ends up falling for a “rough and tough” man from (Germany? Russia? I honestly don’t remember). It was…weird. The male character was supposed to be rough and struggling to show emotion but somehow the broken english and fight scenes gave more problematic cave man than diamond in the rough. The Black woman character was written as though the author had never seen a Black woman in real life. I guess…the sex scenes were well done? This was also my first time reading Marie Harte, and I recognize that this was a companion novel to a few other of her books, which I haven’t read. And that could impact my perception of this book…I guess.

Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
Rating: 5/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: I am obsessed with this series, obsessed! It is such a brilliant premise for romance novels. The Bromance Bookclub was a favorite of last year and this follow up did not disappoint. In this book, we follow Liv who most readers, including me, didn’t love. I adored her in this book, even when she frustrated me. I cannot recommend this series enough!

American Royals by Katharine McGee
Rating: 4/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: I really, really love the way that Katharine McGee writes messy teen drama. This book was so fun, filled with great twists and so many good characters. As someone who is a bit too obsessed with European royalty, and doesn’t really jive with the state of American government, imagining the United States with a monarchy was a very fun time! I’ll definitely be reading the second book in the series, Majesty, which is out this September.

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
Rating: 4/5 stars
What I Liked/Disliked: I totally understand the hype behind this book! Tiffy and Leons romance was a joy to read. In all honesty, Tiffy’s character annoyed me a bit at first. I thought she was playing on the “quirky” bit a little too hard, but she grew on me over time and I was rooting for her! I loved Leon’s character from the first time he appeared on page and loved how his chapters are written as stream of consciousness. Definitely recommend this book.

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What have you been reading during quarantine? Drop your favorite (or least favorite) recent reads in the comments!