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Let’s Talk: My Favorite Reads of 2022 Part 2

Hello, friends! Can you believe that we’re approaching the end of 2022? I really can’t — I know I say it constantly, but time really is not real. It’s been a whirlwind of a year, and I’m looking forward to what’s in store for 2023!

As the end of the year is right around the corner, it’s time for my Favorite Reads of 2022 Part 2 post! You can check out Part 1 here. The books featured here are reads that were new to me in 2022 — and as of this post I’ve read almost 100 books in the second half of the year, it was definitely hard to narrow it down to the 12 listed here!

As always, I have done my best to list trigger warnings based on my own personal notes, trigger warnings from other reviews and what is listed on websites like Book Trigger Warnings and Trigger Warning Database if needed. That being said, there may be things that I have forgotten and if so I apologize! If you’ve read any of these books and notice that I’m missing some triggers, please let me know so that I can update the trigger lists!

✩ indicates an ARC / Read as an ARC

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Blog Tour and Review: Five Survive by Holly Jackson

Eight hours. Six friends. Five survive. A road trip turns deadly in this addictive YA thriller from the bestselling author of the worldwide phenomenon A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER.

Red Kenny is on a road trip for spring break with five friends: Her best friend – the older brother – his perfect girlfriend – a secret crush – a classmate – and a killer.

When their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, they soon realize this is no accident. They have been trapped by someone out there in the dark, someone who clearly wants one of them dead.

With eight hours until dawn, the six friends must escape, or figure out which of them is the target. But is there a liar among them? Buried secrets will be forced to light and tensions inside the RV will reach deadly levels. Not all of them will survive the night. . . . 

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Wrap Up: November 2022

Hi, hello everyone! Welcome back to our frequent friends, and welcome to our newer friends joining us today! We’re super excited to be bringing you our monthly wrap up for November, and we cannot believe it is nearly the end of 2022!  


This month Caitlyn read 26 books, Cossette read 22 books, and Mary read 7 books.

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Annotate with Me: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Part Three)

Hello friends! Well, I had originally planned on my Little Women annotation series being two posts (which you can read here — one, two), but to absolutely no one’s surprise — well, I guess to my surprise because I was being an absolute clown — I had so much to say and the series has now been split into three posts. 

This post focuses on Laurie’s proposals to Jo and Amy, as well as how Amy and Laurie grow together while they’re in Europe. It, as always, is a long one because I have many thoughts and I have very strong opinions on these scenes. So, grab your cup of tea, get cozy and let’s get started!

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TeaTimeReads December Pick: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Hello everyone! We can’t wait to discuss our November read Arsenic and Adobo with all of you, but until that time comes we’re so excited to announce our December read, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna! We love this cozy story about found family and can’t wait to share it with all of you.

Here is the full summary for The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches:

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules…with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn’t the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for….

Links for The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound

You can see our loose reading schedule below, but as always, feel free to read at your own pace.

Content Warnings for The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches: death, abandonment, estranged parents, sibling abuse, memory loss

We hope that you all are doing well and can’t wait to read this one with you all!

Annotate with Me: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Part Two)

Hi y’all! I’m back with the second part of my Annotate with Me post for Little Women — you can read part one here. Volume two of Little Women, also known as Good Wives, takes place three years after the conclusion of part one, and the second half of the book really does have some of my favorite scenes in the entire book, so I’m really excited to share my thoughts with you all. 

This time around, I wanted to focus on Meg and Beth, as I feel like they don’t get enough appreciation and I just adore them! So, get cozy, grab a cup of tea, and let’s talk about the less appreciated March sisters.

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Review: The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake

Six magicians were presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.

Five are now members of the Society.

Two paths lay before them.

All must pick a side.

Alliances will be tested, hearts will be broken, and The Society of Alexandrians will be revealed for what it is: a secret society with raw, world-changing power, headed by a man whose plans to change life as we know it are already under way.

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Wrap Up: October 2022

Happy Halloween and end of the month, everyone! We hope that you’re all doing well and staying safe. As you know, with the end of the month comes our monthly wrap up! Check it out to see what we enjoyed this month!

This month Caitlyn read 13 books, and Cossette read 25 books.

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Annotate with Me: Romeo and Juliet

Hi friends! Welcome back to another Annotate with Me post! As we know, I am a Shakespeare fan first and human second, so today’s post is focused on one of my most favorite Shakespeare plays — Romeo and Juliet.

Something that particularly motivated me to work on this post is that I see so many people say that the only reason why they don’t read Shakespeare is that they don’t really understand the language and that makes them feel inferior or unintelligent. That truly breaks my heart! I started reading Shakespeare when I was around fourteen, and I loved it but didn’t fully understand it. Then in college, as a theatre major, we had an entire class on Shakespeare, and my love kind of turned into an obsession because I was able to really understand and dissect his works. That is to say: no one is “not smart enough” to understand Shakespeare, you just need to spend a little more time learning how to read Shakespeare.

Shakespeare wrote for the masses, and I feel strongly that everyone should be exposed to his writing because he wrote about the spectrum of human emotion. I personally have learned so much through reading Shakespeare and that is thanks to the teachers I had who helped me understand him. While I am in no way a Shakespeare expert, I do think that I have a good grasp of his works and I would love to help others develop a love for him as well. And, to be 100% transparent I have SparkNotes and CliffsNotes open while I read as it usually helps me process my thoughts, and remember what happens in which scenes, since in the case of Romeo and Juliet, I’ve read it so many times that sometimes the minute details blend together.

So, all that being said, whether you love Shakespeare or not, I hope you enjoy hearing my thoughts, observations, and analysis on one of my all-time favorite stories, Romeo and Juliet. 

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