So here we are! Another tag for now. I feel like this tag will give you all a good representation of what 2022 has been like for me so far. As well as highlighting some books!

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao – New Year’s Day 2022

Plot: The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain. When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​ To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

Now, I listened to this on audiobook and I completed it on the first day of the year. That day, all I was doing was packing online orders for work. I was in one room for the whole day. To save myself the bordeom, I thought I would finish the audiobook I had started in December. Well, I got through the last 4 hours no problem and finished my first book of 2022 on the first day of 2022. It was a 5 star book as well!

The Mad Women’s Ball by Victoria Mas – My trip to London (March)

Plot: The Salpetriere Asylum: Paris, 1885. Dr. Charcot holds all of Paris in thrall with his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad and cast out from society. But the truth is much more complicated—these women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives, those who have lost something precious, wayward daughters, or girls born from adulterous relationships. For Parisian society, the highlight of the year is the Lenten ball—the Madwomen’s Ball—when the great and good come to gawk at the patients of the Salpetriere dressed up in their finery for one night only. For the women themselves, it is a rare moment of hope. Genevieve is a senior nurse. After the childhood death of her sister Blandine, she shunned religion and placed her faith in both the celebrated psychiatrist Dr. Charcot and science. But everything begins to change when she meets Eugenie—the 19-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family that has locked her away in the asylum. Because Eugenie has a secret: she sees spirits. Inspired by the scandalous, banned work that all of Paris is talking about, The Book of Spirits,Eugenie is determined to escape from the asylum—and the bonds of her gender—and seek out those who will believe in her. And for that she will need Genevieve’s help . . .

So, I read this book on my weekend trip to London. It was a super fun murder mystery experience where my family and I went of the Pullman Train and had to solve a murder on it while we had some AMAZING food. After that we watched SIX the Musical which was amazing. It was a great time but I did end up getting COVID….

Murder by the Book by Martin Edwards – COVID

Plot: A bookish puzzle threatens an eagerly awaited inheritance; a submission to a publisher recounts a murder that seems increasingly to be a work of non-fiction; an irate novelist puts a grisly end to the source of his writer’s block. There is no better hiding place for clues – or red herrings – than inside the pages of a book. But in this world of resentful ghost writers, indiscreet playwrights and unscrupulous book collectors, literary prowess is often a prologue to disaster.

So, yes, March 2022 I got COVID after going to London. Not sure how I got it but both my mum and I ended up with COVID. I, unfortunately, gave it to my boyfriend but thankfully my mum didn’t give it to anyone. During that time I was so tired that I couldn’t focus on much so all I read during that time was a short story collection as it was easier to manage through my tiredness and headaches.

Hicotea by Lorena Alvarez Gomez- Completing my Goodreads Goal 2022

Plot: On a school field trip to the river, Sandy wanders away from her classmates and discovers an empty turtle shell. Peeking through the dark hole, she suddenly finds herself within a magical realm. Filled with sculptures, paintings and books, the turtle’s shell is a museum of the natural world. But one painting is incomplete, and the turtle needs Sandy’s help to finish it. 

Yes, I have offically completed my Goodreads Reading Challenge! I have read over 70 books now and I am super happy with myself. Also, as of now, I have also offically beaten last year’s number of books. Last year I read 75 and I am currently reading my 77th book! Super excited. This book is actually my 71st book but I count this more as it offically got me over the finish line.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang – The Platinum Jubilee

Plot: Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases—a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old. It doesn’t help that Stella has Asperger’s and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice—with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can’t afford to turn down Stella’s offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan—from foreplay to more-than-missionary position… Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he’s making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic…

Now, I read this book during The Platinum Jubilee bank holidays where I was lucky to get time off. It was all BBQs and shopping! That being said was this the most appropriate book to read around my family…. no. That being said I loved it.