Mini Reviews (part twelve)
Hi everyone!
Welcome to the final round-up of my 2022 non-podcast reads.
We recorded our final podcast episode of 2022 in the middle of December and I somehow managed to finish another 4 books before the year’s end. It was a mish-mash of genres, mostly books I had started a while back and just wanted to finish.
Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1)
This was a solid, if somewhat predictable, Y. A. dystopian novel.
I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t blown away by it. The central idea is an interesting one and it raises some interesting moral questions.
I liked all of the main characters and am curious where Citra and Rowan’s story will go from here.
Rating: 4/5
The Gilded Cage (The Prison Healer #2)
This took me three attempts to finish…
I think it was the pacing and the fact that, honestly, nothing much happened and elements were very repetitive. The characters themselves were engaging, but I honestly didn’t need to have Jaren’s holiness and Kiva’s unending guilt shoved in my face quite so much.
The ending was pretty predictable and a bit frustrating - we’ve essentially taken one step forward and four steps back. I’m sure I will finish this series some day, but it’s not super high on my list.
Rating: 3/5
The Christmas Bookshop
This was just so … bland.
The sister relationship - absolutely nothing was resolved, but circumstances being what they are their issues have simply been put on hold.
The love interests - one is completely fake and the other is as interesting as plain porridge. I genuinely didn’t see the appeal in either of them, nor do they have anything in common with Carmen apart from being roughly the same age as her.
The kids - equal parts cute and annoying, they added some brightness to the story.
The shop - how amazingly easy it was to turn things around in under a month.
The shop owner - what was the point of his ‘secret’, which was introduced too late in the story to properly develop?
Overall, disappointing, I kind of wish I had DNF’d.
Rating: 2/5
In a Holidaze
This was incredibly average.
While I enjoyed the setting and really liked the idea of college friends spending Christmas together at a lodge every year, the rest of the story was kind of meh.
Not the best way to finish off my epic reading year.
Rating: 3/5
Tangled in Tinsel (Holidates #1)
What a ride!
This was a really steamy Christmas novella featuring a reverse harem and a happily-ever-after.
The only reason I didn't give this 5* is because I found some of the dialogue a bit over the top, but otherwise this was very hot and very enjoyable.
Rating: 4/5
Have you read any of these books? Do you agree with my ratings? Let me know in the comments below, via e-mail or DM us on Instagram - we love to hear from you!
Until next time, keep reading!
Lucia