December Recap

WE MADE IT THROUGH DECEMBER! PHOEBE WOULD BE PROUD! a month filled with ups and downs for sure but a phenomenal month for reading i must say. i was going through it this once with friends and personal stuff and mental stuff and all that good stuff, buuuuut december was also chock full of healing and personal growth so a happy middle :) anyway enough rambling lets talk books

Normal People by Sally Rooney:

theres a really good chance that this was my favorite read of the entire year. im a sucker for books where the depth of character makes up for the entire lack of plot, and this is the best example of that ive ever seen and maybe ever will. marianna and connel are the epitome of two people who are obviously soulmates but they're just too stupid to realize it, and it is the most frustrating but also the most beautifully devastating thing to read. i love these two characters with truly everything in my being im probably gonna write a whole separate post of me just raving about this novel because this isn't enough space for me to say it all. easiest five stars ive ever given.

Black Swans by Eve Babitz:

I LOVE ESSAY COLLECTIONS I LOVE STORY COLLECTIONS I LOVE IT ALL ODDS ARE IF I READ A BOOK LIKE THIS IT'LL BE IN MY FAVORITES FOR THE MONTH. this made me feel cool it made me feel like i knew where i was going in this world it gave me hope for my future i loved it.... like so much. especially Jealousy god that was so good "it's only temporary; you either die, or get better" WHAT A CRAZY OPENING FOR A STORY COLLECTION. eve babitz is a breath of fresh air five stars five stars five mfing stars.

Stealing Mrs. Claus by Pru Schuyler:

it says enough that i can't remember a single thing about the plot of this book. i bought it for a friend for christmas and i have a read-it-and-make-sure-it's-good-before-gifting-it policy, and i didn't end up giving her this one..... IM SORRY. i wasn't expecting it to be ground breaking or anything, it was just entirely average. I love a good lesbian romance i really do but this just didn't do it for me. theres a difference between not being groundbreaking, and just being completely meh and almost a waste of time. i dont know i just couldve spent this time reading something else (what time lexi relax you read this in a single night calm down). anyway moving on whatever 2 stars

The Surrender Theory by Caitlin Conlon:

this was like borderline earth shattering. as i said i was definitely going through it this december. "sometimes i rip up all the floorboards and still can't remember how you said my name" is quite possible the most cataclysmic thing anyones ever written in the history of poetry ever. like are we kidding???????? however, what makes this book special is that it breaks you, but it then puts you back together. my personal favorite poem in the collection was titled The Surrender Theory Part II" in which the ending reads "I say, don't bleed for anything that doesn't stay with you until morning. I say, i have no interest in dying for the things i love anymore. it's better just to live for them." solid four stars <3

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins:

I LOVE PSYCHO MF AMY DUNNE GONE GIRL GIRL INTERRUPTED UNRELIABLE NARRATORS ITS MY FAVORITE IT NEVER DISAPPOINTS. no but real talk this book had such a good plot development like it had me sucked in from the very beginning. i also am a huge fan of switches in perspective, ESPECIALLY when its characters outside of like the main two. i always find myself wondering what other less central characters are up to in books, and with this one there was no need to wonder which does greatly for my ocd and obsession with knowing everything <3. id seen ths movie a couple years prior but somehow the twist still shocked me which says a lot, very very good novel huge fan 4.5 stars!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen:

i read this for school but i now understand the hype. obviously reading it for ap lit does sort of ruin the reading experience and make me resent everything about it but when i separate myself from the whole writing-forced-essays and assignments thing, i can clearly see why this is a classic. its silly and lighthearted but still meaningful and the love between elizabeth and darcy.......... iconic. have to give kudos to the original enemies to lovers and i am so obsessed with elizabeth she is all ive ever wanted to be but that bitch did it in a time when she wasn't supposed to.... gotta give her a round of applause. four stars !!!! and four exclamation points

The Twisted Series by Ana Huang :

had to end 2022 with some good old fashioned scary man smut can you blame me! twisted love was meh, alex volkov was honestly more bearable in the other three books HOWEVER his groveling is unmatched. TWISTED GAMES HOWEVER WOO CHILD this biok was good. never have i read a romance book where there was no groveling simply because the man could do no wrong like rhys is PERFECT and him and bridget are amazing heart eyes love it amazing. i dont even wanna waste my breathe talking about twisted hate it is disgraceful to put the best girl of the series with the worst man ive ever read about. twisted lies was my second favorite i love christian harper like yes cut that mans hand off for touching me!!! as you should!!! in order: three stars, four stars, one star, and back to four stars!