DECEMBER WRAP UP (aka the month of trying to catch up)

Hi,

I wanna try and keep up with the updates here.

So 2022 started on an unfortunate note for me. Got sick on the first week (or less). It most likely was COVID but I opted not to leave my room and it was an absolutely lonely time. It did allow me to finish my book journal set up (and it's my first time trying this out) but I still haven't read much. Haven't finished a book but I don't want to panic this early in the year. Rough start reading-wise but it's okay, it's probably just a bit of continuation from last year. There's still 11 and a half months of 2022.

SO, sad things aside, I ordered Roxy early this year as a mini gift for myself since all I've been purchasing are ebooks. So I got one of my most anticipated books from 2021. I don't really know much about this book. I'm really just here to read all of Neal Shusterman's books.

I'm currently in the middle of A Crown of Wishes which I started late December and hoped to finish before 2022 but alas, here I am still struggling with it. I'll probably sell or give this book away along with its companion book Star-Touched Queen when I finish this. I need to unhaul soon especially since we'll be moving to a smaller house soon.

Now for series, I recently finished/watched!
- Mindhunters - just finished this and it was good. It was interesting although admittedly there were a few slow times. There were also times when I won't care for certain characters. There was a point that Holden's personal life just got boring and probably non-existent, Bill's got me curious and sad, and Wendy, fairly indifferent until the final couple of episodes.
- Narcos S3 + Narcos: Mexico - S3 was absolutely amazing. I liked following the Cali Cartel over Pablo Escobar just because they feel smarter and more calculating while Escobar was... chaotic. For Mexico, I was a bit hesitant at first because it'll be a whole new cast. It definitely started intriguing and after a couple of episodes, I was hooked and always excited for it.
- Ozark - I wanted a dark show involving another organized crime thing and some people said that if you like Breaking Bad, this is a good show and is comparable to it and idk if it's just me or those people were joking around but it's NOTHING like Breaking Bad vibes. I mean I get it, the guy's in an unfortunate situation but every episode is just... boring (?). Please tell me it gets exciting.
- Big Bang Theory - it's an endless rewatch for me, I guess. 
- on a side note, we also watched Encanto and damn that was sooooo good! I still have the OST on repeat on Spotify.

NOW ON TO THE BOOKS! 👇👇👇

books read

quick thoughts right here 👇

Shadow Sands - was okay. It generally has the same vibes as its prequel, Nine Elms but less thrilling, I guess. Parts of it feels like the author is shoving down your throat that, "hey, this guy is suspicious." I mean yeah, I get it the first time you mentioned it. You don't have to say it every chapter. lol. This time, I didn't care much about the main characters.
Simmer Down - I unexpectedly enjoyed this. It was a rough start though since I was really frustrated with Nikki and Callum but probably half way through or somewhere there, I got into them and enjoyed things. And I like the small talks on Filipino dishes. Turon still don't get much credit though. This is probably the first time I read it else where unlike lumpia or adobo or pansit. It is pretty simple to make (I think they mentioned it somewhere in the book although they failed to mention that sometimes we add langka (or Jackfruit). soooo good!
Parasite - this is a reread for me since I recently got the 2nd and 3rd book on Kindle when it went on sale. It's been almost 10 years since I read this and the reread worked really well. Some things I completely forgot, others I remembered, and all in all, I enjoyed the ride again. I like the concept of using parasites to cure certain sickness or whatnot and the same parasite taking over a person. Then there's a bit of political or capitalist stuff involved or generally how money is involved why things can't / aren't revealed as they should have been or whatnot. Really good! Although there are a bit of infodump moments.
Sharp Objects - I was just not as invested as I thought I'd be on this. The first half did feel intriguing although I didn't care much about it until things got darker and I got sucked into things and liked it.

book haul

The Cosy Cottage in Ireland (Romantic Escapes #8) by Julie Caplin | The Introvert's Guide to Online Dating (The Introvert's Guide #1) by Emma Hart | When a Killer Calls by John E. Douglas | Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky | The Rising: The Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant | Feedback (Newsflesh #4) by Mira Grant | Rise: The Complete Newsflesh Collection by Mira Grant | In Five Years by Rebecca Serle | The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient #1) by Helen Hoang

Once again, Kindle Deals especially on the last day of December when I bought the last five books. Crime and Punishment was gifted to me by my sister and When A Killer Calls was a Scene of the Crime pick.

HOW ABOUT YOU GUYS,
How was the last month for you guys? Anything you want to share? New hobby, projects, travel, books? How was your reading month? Anything new to your faves?

let's connect!