2020 Goals and 2019 Wrap-Up

Happy Saturday! Today, I am sharing my 2019 reading challenges final update and the goals I have for 2020! Here are all the challenges I did this year and my goals for the new year!

2019 BOOKISH AND WRITING GOALS WRAP-UP

1. Read 75 Books: COMPLETE 

I did complete this goal! I managed to read 82 books this year. I set my Goodreads challenge lower than in previous years, and I am glad that I still managed to surpass my goal. 

2. Finish Writing Camelot Anew: NOT COMPLETE

I have made a ton of progress on this novel but I still haven't finished it.

3. Try to Post at Least Once a Week: NOT COMPLETE

I am still trying to get on a blogging schedule that works for me but it's still hard. 

4. Read 5-6 Books a Month: COMPLETE

I did manage to complete this for most of the months so I am considering it a goal that I completed. Reading five books a month isn't too hard for me 

5. Write Two Book Reviews a Month: NOT COMPLETE

I managed to write quite a few book reviews this year but I still had trouble writing two a month as book reviews take forever to write. However, I'm looking to do better in the new year.

6. Keep 80% on NetGalley: COMPLETE

I managed to keep 80% on NetGalley in 2019 even though it did fluctuate some.

2020 BOOKISH AND WRITING GOALS 

1. Read 75 Books

I am putting my Goodreads Challenge at 75 books again! It should be manageable as I surpassed 75 books last year. 

2. Finishing Writing a Novel 

I haven't finished writing a full novel yet and that has been a goal of mine for awhile. I am very determined to actually finish one in 2020. 

3. Keep a Feedback Ratio of 80% on NetGalley

I've done pretty well with NetGalley over the past couple of years and I am trying to keep my feedback ratio at 80% as it gives me a better chance of getting the books I request. 

4.  Reread Five Or More Books

I don't usually make time for rereading books but I love re-reading books that I've loved and getting to relive the book. I do, usually reread a couple books a year, but I like the idea of making this a goal. 

5. Write Two Book Reviews A Month 

I want to try and write two book reviews a month because I am very bad at writing reviews and I need to get better at it. After all, part of the point of having a book blog is to write book reviews. 

6. Keep My Bookstagram Up 

I admit that I've slacked a lot on my bookstagram and haven't posted in quite awhile. I want to try and post at least once a week on my bookstagram. I also am very bad at taking photos, so I have to work on that. 

2019 CHALLENGE WRAP-UPS

THE GOODREADS CHALLENGE

Hosted By: Goodreads

I pledged to read 75 books this year and I managed to read a grand total of: 82 books which I think is a pretty good accomplishment. 

2019 RETELLINGS READING CHALLENGE

Hosted By: Cornerfolds

I managed to finish this challenge! I read 14 retellings in 2019 which means I surpassed my goal of reading 6-10 retellings. I also really enjoyed most of these and some of them have even made it onto my favorite books of 2019 list.

Books Read:

1. The Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwell
2. The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein
3. The Case for Jamie by Brittany Cavallaro
4. Dark Breaks the Dawn by Sara B. Larson
5. Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
6. The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston
7. Sherwood by Meagan Spooner
8. Suspicion by Alexandra Monir
9. Stain by A.G. Howard
10. Circe by Madeleine Miller
11. Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
12. The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett
13. Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee
14. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig 

AUDIOBOOK CHALLENGE 

Hosted By: Caffeinated Reviewer

I didn't do so well with this challenge. I only managed to listen to two full audiobooks this year. However, they were both pretty long audiobooks and I really enjoyed both of them.

Audiobooks Listened To:

1. The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
2. Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep 

NEW RELEASE CHALLENGE 

Hosted By: Unconventional Bookworms

This is one of the easier challenges and I managed to read 36 books! 

THE BACKLIST READER CHALLENGE

Hosted By: The Bookwyrm's Hoard

I read a total of 43 books for this challenge and I am pretty proud of that. This challenge was very easy and I might find something a little more challenging for next year.


How'd you do on your goals and challenges in 2019? And what goals do you have for the coming year? 

Winter 2020 Books I'm Excited For

There are so many good books coming out in 2020 so I've decided to break my list down by season. In this list, I have my Winter 2020 anticipated books (which includes the months of January and February).


JANUARY

1.  Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim ~ January 7, 2020

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim is supposed to be a retelling of Count of Monte Christo which is basically a story about revenge. It's also a science fiction YA book which are always super fun. 

2.  One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus ~ January 7, 2020

This is the sequel/companion novel to One of Us is Lying which got me into the YA thriller/mystery genre. In this one, we get to see a whole new cast of characters while also (apparently) seeing characters from the first book. 

3. The Night Country by Melissa Albert ~ January 7, 2020

The Hazel Wood was a little bit different to how I'd originally thought but I am excited for a sequel. There is so much more to be learned from this world and I am excited that we will finally get to experience it. Also, more from Finch is always a plus. 

4. Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore ~ January 14, 2020

This is apparently a Red Shoes retelling which is so interesting and something that I personally have never seen. It's also a historical fiction book set in 1518. 

5. Rogue Princess by B.R. Myers ~ January 21, 2020

This is supposed to be a gender-swapped Cinderella retelling and it is also science fiction which is super cool and gives me such Cinder by Marissa Meyer, vibes. Also, people are comparing her to Princess Leia and I am living for it. 

6. Blood Countess by Lana Popvic ~ January 28, 2020

This is about the inspiration for Countess Dracula aka Elizabeth Bathory who was a female serial killer in Hungary in the 17th century. Blood Countess is supposed to be a very dark horror/historical fiction book. 

7. Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda  ~ January 28, 2020

Courtney Alameda wrote one of my favorite science fiction books: Pitch Dark and I am hoping that this one makes it on to one of my favorite book lists. This is a book about Japanese culture and mythology and a girl who's job is to battle demons. 

FEBRUARY 

1. All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace ~ February 4, 2020

This is a debut book about pirates and sea adventures. I don't know if you know how much I love pirate books and Pirates of the Caribbean, but this seems right up my ally and I am very excited. 

2. Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland ~ February 4, 2020

This is the sequel to Dread Nation which was a book that I really enjoyed. I didn't think that it would get a sequel but now that it does, I'm very excited. 

3. Night Spinner by Addie Thorley ~ February 11, 2020

Night Spinner is supposed to be a Hunchback of Notre Dame retelling and while I haven't watched/read that story, I am familiar with it. This is also a fantasy book set in the tundra which sounds so cool. 

4. Storm from the East by Joanna Hathaway ~ February 11, 2020

Dark of the West (the first book in this series) was a complete surprise for me as I didn't really know anything about it when I picked it up. This is the sequel to that book and it already has raving reviews. It is a fantasy novel that was heavily inspired by the World War II era and I am very excited to see what happens to all the characters in the sequel. 

5. Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon ~ February 18, 2020

This is a contemporary Beauty and the Beast retelling which is set in an elite boarding school (where a lot of the students are rich or royals). It sounds so cute and I am very excited to read it. 

6. The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller ~ February 25, 2020

Hate-to-love romances is one of my favorite tropes and this one definitely has that trope. The plot is about a girl who tries to woo the Shadow King in order to marry him and steal his power. I am very excited to read this one. 

Are any of these books on your anticipated lists for 2020? 

WINTERY THEMED BOOKS

Since we have officially entered the month of December, I decided to make a post recommending some winter themed books. None of these are in any particular order.

1.  Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones 

Wintersong is a book about Liesl who's heard tales of the Goblin King all her life and he's inspired many of her musical compositions. However, now that she's eighteen and helping to run her family's inn, her childhood dreams are slipping away. Then when her sister is taken by the Goblin King, she has no choice but to journey to the Underground to save her. This book revolves around winter a lot and it just reminds me of a cozy winter night. 

2.  Hunted by Meagan Spooner

Hunted is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and the majority of the book is set in the winter time in Russia. This follows Yeva, the youngest of three sisters. She's a hunter, just like her father, and finds her calling in the woods. After losing his fortune, her father sells everything and moves them to a cabin in the woods. Soon, her father goes missing in the woods and Yeva sets her sights on the beast that she's been tracking just before his disappearance. 

3. Carols and Chaos by Cindy Anstey

Carols and Chaos is a cute Christmas YA regency romance. This is a companion novel to Suitors and Sabotage but you don't have to read that one to understand this one. This is set in December 1817 where a houseparty is being hosted. Kate Darby is a lady's maid who is eager to welcome along with her mistress' guests, a valet named Matt Harlow. It is a super cute romance that includes many traditions that the characters participate in during Yuletide.

4. Winterspell by Claire Legrand

Winterspell is a retelling of The Nutcracker that was a lot darker than the original. This follows a teenage girl named Clara who lives in 1899 and then on Christmas Eve she gets transported to the magical world of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince named Nicholas (who is supposed to be the Nutcracker prince) who is under a curse. This book is set in a sort of wintery world and it's also set around Christmas which is why it made this list. 

5. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo 

Shadow and Bone is very atmospheric and I always think of winter when I look at it. Even the cover looks dark and reminds me of winter. Also the entire aesthetic of the book includes snow and dark colors which remind me of winter. 

6. Stork by Wendy Delsol

Stork is about a girl who just moved from her home in Los Angeles to Minnesota and feels very out of place at her new school. Soon she finds out she's a Stork, a member of a mysterious order of women with a very unique duty. She also meets Jack, a gorgeous farm boy and editor of the school paper and discovers that a secret from her past binds her fate to his. This has Norse lore, aspects of The Snow Queen, and Icelandic customs and is all set in a frozen midwest. 

7. Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

Frostfire is about the Kanine which is a troll tribe. Bryn is an outcast among them as she is half Kanine (Earth troll) and then half Skojare (which is basically a water troll) and she is treated as inferior because she looks different. She wants to be a part of the King's Guard but all her plans are put on hold when someone begins kidnapping changelings and she's sent to stop him. This is on this list because it is set in a sort of winter wonderland. 

8. The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

The Afterlife of Holly Chase is a retelling of A Christmas Carol and it's Christmas theme is the main reason it's on this list. It's about a girl named Holly who dies after she refuses to mend her ways and she is then stuck in the afterlife working for the super secret Project Scrooge as the latest Ghost of Christmas Past. Every year, they save another grouch and every year, Holly is stuck at the age of seventeen while her family and friends go on without her and she's miserable until this year. It's a cute and emotional book about the spirit of Christmas. 

9. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

The Bear and the Nightingale is an atmospheric fairytale set in Russia. This is about Vasilisa Petrovna who is the youngest child of a wealthy boyar and heir to ancient magic and she has lived with the burden of being able to see spirits and the creatures that surround and protect her town and people. When her father brings home a new bride who fears the spirits that Vasya can see and forbids Vasya from communicating with them and not long after, a young and arrogant priest is sent to her village and uses the rumors about demons to turn the people away from their old ways. Vasya tries to keep the magical protections in place from falling through and if that wasn't hard enough, the Winter King who lives in the woods wants her for himself. This is a very eery and atmospheric book set in the Russian wilderness which makes it the perfect wintery themed book.  

Have you read any of these books or do you want to? 

NOVEMBER '19 WRAP-UP

Time for another wrap up!

November didn't start out well for me in the reading department, however, by the third week I managed to catch up on my reading! I also won my Goodreads 2019 Challenge!

However, I ended up writing a lot for my nanowrimo and I finally feel like I know where my book is going (though I have had a plan from the beginning).

 Anyways...

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first book I read was Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. This is about rag-tag bunch of misfits lead by star pupil Tyler who are sent on their first mission together but their mission is interrupted because of a girl who'd been rescued from space. Said girl is named Aurora and has been trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries. Aurora is out of her depth and she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler's crew could be the last hope the galaxy has. Except, his crew can barely function as a team. I really enjoyed this book as it was a lot of fun and I loved the squad vibes. I rated it 4 Crowns. 

The second book I read was Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand. I had been wanting to read this one for awhile but I could never really get into it as the first couple of chapters were a little bit confusing.  This is a very hard book to explain but I am going to try. Sawkill Rock is an island that is beautiful but has an ugly, terrible secret: girls keep going missing and more disappear every year. Nobody knows where they go and by this time, the islanders have just accepted this sad dark truth. There are three main characters, with chapters alternating between their perspectives. Marion arrives on the island with her mother and sister as her family was hoping a move would help them with the loss of their father. Instead, Marion discovers that something is very wrong with the island which is only reinforced with the disappearance of her sister. Zoey is the daughter of the police chief who's best friend went missing awhile ago and she's never been the same. Her search for answers leads her to discover that girls have been disappearing from Sawkill and nobody has ever found them. Then there's Val who is the queen bee at school but in reality she has a much darker and more haunted side then anything you could ever imagine. I really enjoyed this book and liked seeing how the relationships these girls had with each other progressed. It was a very scary book which I didn't expect but it is also beautiful! I rated it 4 Crowns. 

The third book I read was The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett. Jenn Bennett is one of my auto buy authors as her contemporary young adult books are great. This book is about Theodora who is the daughter of a treasure-hunting father. However, Theodora doesn't have her father's permission to travel with him while her father's protege (Huck Gallagher) does. However, when Huck arrives from an expedition without her father, he asks for Theodora's help in rescuing him. The duo learns from her father's travel journal and people they meet that he's been digging up information on a magical and legendary ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler (also known as Dracula) and it might be the key to finding him.  I really liked this one as it was a fun historical fiction. I really liked the characters and loved the interactions between Huck and Theodora. I rated this one 4 Crowns. 

The fourth book I read was Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year as Loki is one of my favorite Marvel characters and I loved one of Mackenzi Lee's previous books. This is about a younger Loki (before his days in the Marvel movies) who is desperate to prove himself as heroic and capable of handing the responsibility of the throne, when everyone around him suspects him of villainy except for Amora. Amora is a sorceress in training on Asgard who Loki sees as a kindred spirit. However, when the two cause the destruction of one of Asgard's most precious artifacts, Amora is banished to Earth. Loki is very upset as she was the only one who saw his magic as a gift rather than a threat. Then, when Loki upsets his father, he sends him to Earth to investigate a string of mysterious murders with Asgard magic attached, and Loki embarks on a journey to discover who is truly meant to be.  I loved reading about Loki in nineteenth century London as well as seeing him in a way that Marvel never let us see. I rated this one 4 Crowns. 

AUDIOBOOKS READ

NONE THIS MONTH

ARC'S READ

NONE

REVIEWS IN OCTOBER: 

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen Book Review

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

NONE

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

October '19 Wrap-Up

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:

NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S: 

Tyler from Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Kal from Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Finian from Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Huck from The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett

Loki from Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee

NEW FAVORITE FEMALES: 

Aurora from Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Scarlett from Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Theodora from The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett

NEW FAVORITE BOOK RELATIONSHIPS: 

Aurora and Kal from Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Theodora and Huck from The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett

TV SHOWS I WATCHED THIS MONTH:

MOVIES I WATCHED THIS MONTH:

WHAT BOOKS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:

NONE

There's so many more but these are the main ones! 

NEW BLOG FINDS

NONE

SONGS ON REPEAT

Frozen 2 Soundtrack - Frozen 

demons - Hayley Kiyoko 

Siren - Kailee Morgue 

Preacher Man - The Driver Era 

Cake by the Ocean - DNCE

Only Human - The Jonas Brothers

Sucker - The Jonas Brothers

Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles 

World Burn - Mean Girls Soundtrack 

 BOOKS I WANT TO READ NEXT MONTH

The graphics at the top belong to me. The background pictures for them, however do not.