In an Instant by Suzanne Redfearn | I haven’t cried that much in a long time

I love it when the ARCs I choose end up on my favorites of the year list. It doesn’t matter how many of them might not be the best, and how many I might DNF during the year, because there are always a couple that will stand out in the best way possible. 

After reading «In an Instant», I will read anything Suzanne Redfearn publishes in the future. Atmospheric and utterly heartbreaking, the story of the Millers family made me cry multiple times, the tears of sadness and joy. 

The Reasons why I don't Re-Read books anymore!

Every time I see someone re-reading their favorite books, I get transported to my teens when all I did was re-read books over and over again. To the point that I knew them all by heart. The most notable re-reads back then were (1) the Harry Potter series, (2) The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, (3) children’s detective novels and (4) some witty and funny adult crime fiction. 

I wanted to justify my re-reading phase with the fact that I didn’t have that many unread books on my shelves, but that’s not entirely true. My grandfather spent most of his life collecting books, which was very difficult to do in the URSS. Most of the available books were propaganda, and foreign authors were forbidden for many years. There even was an “underground” book trade business. 

Elevation by Stephen King | One of the best short books!

I’m slowly dipping my toes into Stephen King’s works. Last year I tried his dystopian novel «Cell» and this year I decided to start with one of the shorter books – «Elevation». I’m still avoiding his horror books, even though «Elevation» is classified as Horror and even won Goodreads awards in the horror category (shocking!) you’re safe to read it because it’s nothing more than a Fiction book with elements of fantasy? sci-fi? something out of the ordinary. 

This was an outstanding story and it instantly made it to my “favorites of 2020” list!

The Other People by C.J. Tudor | The best of C.J. Tudor’s books to date!

After reading «The Chalk Man» in 2018, I immediately became a fan of C.J. Tudor’s writing! She creates the most gripping and thrilling plots, infused by the terror of simple common things that feel too real. Last year, I read her other book «The Taking of Annie Thorne» that was just as incredible as the first one. 

And now in 2020, we got «The Other People»! Her next book (my edition of «The Other People» had the first chapter of it) is coming out next year and sounds very interesting.

Skyward (Skyward, #1) by Brandon Sanderson | M-bot & Doomslug are my favorite non-human characters!

I wouldn’t have started this book in January if it wasn’t for Rafaella @The Portuguese Bibliophile. Thank you, for suggesting to buddy read this book with you, and also thank you for going along with my crazy idea to start it immediately and read 100 pages per day to finish this book in less than a week!

This was my first ever time reading a book with someone else. I’ve never participated in book clubs before, I never did buddy reads. I guess I’ve done some read-a-thons, but most of them have prompts to follow, so everyone was reading different books for the same prompts. And I had so much fun! To be able to discuss the “spoilers” was a lot of fun (and also quite weird in the beginning, as my mind kept saying – those are spoilers! you aren’t supposed to say them out loud!). 😀

Keeper of the Lost Cities (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #1) by Shannon Messenger | I'm hooked and plan to binge-read this series!

I need to thank Regan from PeruseProject for voraciously reading this fantasy series last year, always so excited about the next installment! Her reading vlogs made me want to purchase the entire box set for myself, and that’s when I spotted the ARC of the first book on NetGalley! 

Simon & Schuster Children’s UK are re-publishing this wonderful middle-grade / YA series, and I’m so happy that I got approved and had a chance to try the first book.I instantly became addicted to the characters and already got myself a couple of next books in this series.

Saving Missy by Beth Morrey | Is it really for readers of «Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine»?

This happens every single time! The publishers pitch the book as “perfect for readers of…” and I immediately fall for it, especially when they reference it to «Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine», which was my favorite book of 2018.

Will the readers of «Eleanor Oliphant» find similarities and love «Saving Missy» just as much?

My answer is No. BUT! (there is always a “but”, isn’t there?) «Saving Missy» has the same feeling of warmth and wholesomeness as «Eleanor Oliphant» did. So if you loved it because of how attached you grew to the character and how much you wanted her to do well, «Saving Missy» will be perfect! However, don’t expect any mysteries or funny moments. 

Books on my TBR I predict will be 5-star reads | Another reading challenge!

My February TBR (link) is already looking too long for me to add any books to it, but I’ve been meaning to participate in one of this “5-star prediction” challenges in a very long time, and couldn’t pass this opportunity! Hence why I’m making another list of books-to-read in the nearest future, and I hope that I will actually read these books soon! 

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday (link) topic is Books on my TBR I predict will be 5-star reads, and because my TBR is so vast, and my time to read books is limited, I decided to pick 5 books from my physical TBR that I think I’ll absolutely love, that aren’t first books in the series, and challenge myself to read them during the next couple of months. Wish me luck! 

January 2020 Wrap Up | The month I learned how to stay on top of things!

January will always be my favorite month of the year! It might be the fact that I always see it as a fresh start, or maybe because I get so tired of holidays that I just want to dive into a familiar work-home-work routine. I try to treat every day as a fresh start, but nothing feels quite the same as the first month of the year. 

This was one of the quickest passing, but also incredibly productive months in a very long time. I followed most of my new year’s resolutions and tried to organize my life to the little things. 

Did you start the new year strong?  

February 2020 Monthly Goals | Cosmerealong, the "Literally Dead" book club & huge TBR!

For the first time in years, I have a proper TBR to share with you today, and these are all the books I have to read this month – either because I’ll be joining book clubs and read-a-longs, or because I want to read certain ARCs before their publication date.

This TBR comes with a set of rules:

• I can’t add any more books, and 
• I’m not allowed to switch any of these out.

What Kind of Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel | The contemporary book that you might be “forced” to like

When I first started blogging, I threw myself into every book I heard about online. It didn’t matter if it was mentioned on youtube or on one of the blogs I followed, as long as the book was “hyped enough” I had to get my hands on it. 

This led to me reading a lot of YA contemporary novels that I wasn’t a big fan of.Lately, I try to avoid YA contemporaries as Adult Fiction tends to be so much more interesting and more relatable in a way as well, as I’m sloooowly approaching my 30s (did I just say this out loud?!)

Grace is Gone by Emily Elgar | One of my favorite tropes in thrillers!

Reading «Grace is Gone» reminded me of two very distinct things:

1. why thrillers and mysteries used to be my favorite genres, and also
2. why I stopped reading them. 

This might sound like I disliked this book, which is not true. But I can’t say that it was the best Mystery either, especially since I suspected from the very beginning what the twist will be, and patiently waited for my guess to be confirmed by the author.

The Newest Additions to My Bookshelf | The "post" Christmas Bookhaul!

2020 started very well for my bookbuying addiction. I received a few books for Christmas, my “Black Friday” buys finally arrived, and I also treated myself to some more books from the thrift bookshop. I think I will need to implement a rule soon when it comes to book buying at the thrift shop – to only purchase new books after finishing the ones I bought. Otherwise, I can see my TBR shelf getting out of control very quickly.

As of right now, I have approximately 78 unread books on my physical TBR. Considering that I’ve been reading mostly ARCs and E-books in December and January, and probably will continue this trend in February and March, this will become a BIG problem in 2020.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott | The sweetest, most heartwarming book I’ve ever read!

I never thought that I would fall head over heels for the March sisters! Just a couple of chapters made me care deeply for Meg, Joe, Bess, and Amy, and I wished to be their friend, to see them grow up and set foot into adulthood! 

«Little Women» is a perfect book to read during childhood and early teens. And I’m actually sad for not reading it sooner. It is slightly “childish” in terms that the author feels the need to explain all the lessons to her audience, the hints and the acts would have been enough for me, but I do understand why the younger audience might need less subtle explanations.

Ashlords by Scott Reintgen | The most epic phoenix horse racing!

If you haven’t read the Nyxia trilogy by Scott Reintgen, what are you doing with your life?! Scott Reintgen’s work deserves so much more attention than its getting, and I won’t get tired to spread the word about his amazing skills to write the most exciting YA Sci-Fi and Fantasy competitions!

Everyone who loves the Hunger Games, Divergent or The Maze Runner, YOU NEED TO READ THE NYXIA TRILOGY. And after you are hooked, just as I am, immediately pick the first book in his new YA duology – «Ashlords»!