A Tired Teachers Book Review (January - March 2023)

I have read quite a few winners over the past few months but also a couple that just fell flat. I am not going to lie, BookTok really sold a few books to me that I just didn't connect with and didn't think their writing was anything special. Some of which, didn't leaving me wanting to read the second book in its series. However, some of them were real winners and I cannot stop thinking about how amazing the writing was.

My reading list for January - March 2023:

• A Court of Thorns & Roses - 4/5

• A Court of Mist & Fury - 5/5

• A Court of Wings & Ruin - 5/5

• Twisted Love - 5/5

• A Thousand Boy Kisses - 3/5

• November 9 - 4/5

• Heart Bones - 4/5

• Ugly Love - 5/5

• If He Had Been With Me - 3.5/5

• Dating You Hating You - 4/5

• Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not dating - 3.5/5

Let's start with Sarah J Maas and her wild fantasy ride of A Court of Thorns & Roses. I LOVE this series! I will admit the first book was incredibly slow and I did not think it was the right choice for me. However, once I start something I have to finish it to see the end result, and I am so glad that I did. The last 150 pages had me hooked and I just couldn't put it down. This led me to reading quite a few of the other books in this series very quickly. I even got my husband into the series and he is ahead of me by 2 novels! I still have 2 to finish within the series, but plan to do so very soon (My TBR is overwhelmingly long right now.) I love Feyre and Rhys, they are definitely my favorite duo in the series. A Court of Mist & Fury was my favorite book in the series! I loved how she evolved into a new confidence and truly found where she needed to be. A Court of Wings and Ruin was so suspenseful and left me on edge until the very end! I cannot wait to read the next two in the series.

Twisted Love is a great book, I honestly thought it was going to be a cheesy love story between a girl and her brothers best friend. There were so many twists and turns and some things I, quite honestly, didn't see coming. It kept me on my toes the entire story. I HATED the ending and how it dropped off so quickly, It left me wanting more. However Ana Huang left us a wonderful, extra chapter we could read if we joined her email list! It was what I needed to end the story. I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in this series, even though it will not be about the same main characters.

A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole was a sweet story. However, the author was clearly writing from a view point of a child and teenager which made the writing feel a little flat. You could tell that the author was trying to put themselves into the character but it was just missing something to help you connect with such a deep topic. The love between the two main characters was there, but it left you wanting more for the two of them. When the big event happens at the end of the book it was lackluster, I was expecting so much more from it. I felt like I was supposed to be crying, but I wasn't. The twist at the end, made me mad, I wanted so much more for Rune.

November 9, was a great Colleen Hoover book. I really enjoyed this one! I was shocked by the twist and didn't see it coming. I loved how much he built her confidence. I know it was hard for her when she learned the truth, but let's be honest her Dad had it coming. I just wish he told her sooner rather than letting her find it out the way she did. Overall It was a great read.

Heart Bones was probably one of my FAVORITE Colleen Hoover reads. This one made me cry by page 3. I connected to this one in a way that I haven't before. I have family members that have dealt with addiction and I have had to deal with this similar situation many times. However, I am fortunate enough to not have a parent with these issues and had a pretty "stable" childhood. I do however relate to Beyah and her fathers relationship! I can relate to having a father that doesn't show up for big events or that doesn't reach out to ask what is going on in your life. This one will stick with me for a long time!

Ugly love by Colleen Hover was definitely the most SPICY out of the reads that I had over the past few months(probably her spiciest book as well). I really liked this one! I loved that CoHo really left you in the dark about what trauma he truly faced until you really needed to hear it. This one was incredibly well written. I loved it!

If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin was another one of those books that was written from a perspective of a teenager and I didn't feel like the language was captivating enough for me. I just needed more depth. However I really liked the story and I had to see it through. I HATED the ending of the story! I felt like Phineas deserved a better ending than that! I connected with this story a lot because at a time in my life I experienced losing one of my best friends to growing up and moving on with a new relationship that turned out to be my forever. Losing that person affected me for years and I still have some resentments on how that all went down! I hated that it ended with Autumn dealing with the effects of severe depression, which I deal with time to time. I was sad knowing that this beautiful story was ending in that way, until the twist at the end which was obvious would happen in hindsight. There is a second novel in this series, and I am still unsure if I want to read it. I have it saved on my TBR but the feeling I have after book one has me contemplating if I want to read it.

Dating You Hating You by Christina Lauren was a cute read. This was definitely not my favorite Christina Lauren novel, but one that I really enjoyed. I loved the Harry Potter meet cute and how they interacted with each other while being faced with their challenge at work. I loved them pranking each other and making each others lives miserable all while falling in love. If you are needing a heart warming and funny feel good novel this is one to read. I chose this one for a "Sisterhood of the traveling book" with my best friend Sarah! I annotated my thoughts while I read and marked funny and important parts of the story. She will read and react too and return the book when she is done.

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren was a quick read. I read this on New Years Eve and finished it in a matter of hours. It was cute and I really liked the story. Most people have a hard time handling Hazels eccentric personality and her absurd amount of pets, but Josh doesn't seem to mind and they somehow find their way to each other in the end. It is a great feel good read!

My current TBR for the next few months:

• Throne of Glass Series (5 books) - Sarah J Maas

• Crescent City Series (3 Books) - Sarah J Maas

• A Court of Frost & Starlight - Sarah J Maas

• A Court of Silver Flames - Sarah J Maas

• My Favorite Half Night Stand - Christina Lauren

• Twice in a Blue Moon - Christina Lauren

• The Soulmate Equation - Christina Lauren

• Something Wilder - Christina Lauren

• The Honey Don't List - Christina Lauren

• A Million Junes - Emily Henry

• Happy Place - Emily Henry

• Twisted Games - Ana Huang

• Twisted Hate - Ana Huang

• Twisted Lies - Ana Huang

• Archer's Voice - Mia Sheridan

• Things We Never Got Over - Lucy Score

• It Starts with Us - Colleen Hoover

• Brutal Prince - Sophie Lark

• Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus

• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - Sangu Mandanna

• Daisy Jones & the Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid

• Georgie, All Along - Kate Clayborn

• Discovery Of Witches - Deborah Harkness