Kelly’s Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2022

2,694

pages read

books read

Kelly

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Shortest Book

182

pages

Longest Book

599

pages

Average book length in 2022

384

pages

Most Shelved

2,021,749

people also shelved

Least Shelved

16,841

people also shelved

Kelly’s average rating for 2022

2.1

Highest Rated on Goodreads

4.11 average

Kelly’s first review of the year

it was ok

I put this down and never returned to it, it was just so boring. There’s nothing that happens or really changes. The entire time the protagonist wallows in self pity and it gets annoying and repetitive. It started out good, but there’s no plot or if there is it took too long to get to and I lost interest.

Update: 9/15/22

I took to finishing this book just because I was curious and had nothing else to read at the time. I do like the ending, it’s the ...more

KELLY’S 2022 BOOKS

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

really liked it

Kelly’s last review of the year

it was ok

Trigger Warning: Burn Survivor

I have a lot to say about this book...not necessarily good or bad, but just a lot of thoughts.

First, the writing was very juvenile. I think the issue that many people have with this book is that it reads like a YA novel when they were expecting something along the lines of more mature adult fiction. I don't even think the publishers classified this novel as a New Adult. I know that if I weren't in the general age r Trigger Warning: Burn Survivor

I have a lot to say about this book...not necessarily good or bad, but just a lot of thoughts.

First, the writing was very juvenile. I think the issue that many people have with this book is that it reads like a YA novel when they were expecting something along the lines of more mature adult fiction. I don't even think the publishers classified this novel as a New Adult. I know that if I weren't in the general age range for these characters (I'm 26 and these characters at the end I believe are 23) I would be kind of peeved that I had wasted my time on a book where the protagonists have a lot of immature moments. I don't think that mature adults reading this novel could really relate to this book, being that it's so outside of reality that most of us have probably never heard of or tried to make a relationship work only by seeing each other once a year. Many of us barely have time to connect with our closest family and friends on a daily basis.

Furthermore, the fact that Ben was the one who caught Ferren's house on fire is a red flag for me. I'm sorry, but that will be a big NO. If you went out of your way to burn down my house, give me scars and trauma for the rest of my life, be all creepy and stalk me, and then seduce me later without telling me the truth I would think you are a psychopath. There was absolutely nothing romantic by the end of the novel. Ben is a concerning figure, and I think I would have honestly been scarred more by Ben's "manuscript" of lies than by the actual fire (trust me I am a 3rd-degree burn survivor. For anyone who knows, I had a skin graft that didn't take). This brings me to my next point.

Not all burn victims are like Ferren. Yes, there is some insecurity about how we think others might see us. (I have a large scar on my thigh from an incident where I got a 3rd-degree burn and even to this day I still worry about wearing shorts because of what people might do, say, or react.) But I don't care for the victimization throughout the whole novel, and I don't like that the protagonist has to have a guy give her confidence. As an adult, at some point, you gotta stop feeling sorry for yourself and just move on. It was annoying how Ferren didn't take any responsibility but blamed everyone else in the entire book. Her dad, especially. The whole time I was waiting for Ferren to grow up and stop her "woe is me and my deformities" spiel. Burn victims are some of the strongest people I know (look at Kane Hodder and Elvira) and I've never met any one of us who dwells in what happened. Cause you gotta move on, get stronger, and be proud of what you've accomplished. Not many people could ever imagine the pain from a burn, and that's your red badge of courage. So in some ways, I understood her, but in other ways, I was really waiting for a more confident, resilient character to who I could relate to. I got the sense from the author that she pitied burn victims.

And boy was the ending cheesy. I love my boyfriend, and he's sweet, but there's no way in hell I'd ever hear him say "they lived happily ever after" to me. And that's perfectly fine--I don't want him to. I think I would gag. Maybe I'm not like most people, but I don't find those kinds of lines romantic. I find them awkward and uncomfortable--like pickup lines almost. And most of us don't say things like that. Or compare our kisses to romance novels.

Well folks, after this I think I will be going back to my usual true crime and thriller genres. No more romance for me. I obviously don't appreciate the cheesy mush. I heard rave reviews about this author and now I can say I did read one of her books. But I guess if you've read this far you know you can relate to me when I say this book won't be missed.

**Two stars for the general flow of writing being spectacular. Everything else eh ...more

2022 READING
CHALLENGE

Kelly read 7 out of 10 books.

70%

What did you read this year?