Tami鈥檚 Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2024

24,036

pages read

books read

Tami

The No Bullsh#*t Guide to Vision Improvement by C.G. Hayes

Shortest Book

pages

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

Longest Book

835

pages

Average book length in 2024

353

pages

Most Shelved

2,506,281

people also shelved

Least Shelved

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Tami鈥檚 average rating for 2024

3.7

Highest Rated on 欧宝娱乐

4.34 average

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Tami鈥檚 first review of the year

it was amazing

This book was actually so good! I couldn't put it down. ...more

罢础惭滨鈥橲 2024 BOOKS

it was amazing

it was amazing

it was amazing

En la vida de Ignacio Morel by Ram贸n J. Sender

it was amazing

it was amazing

it was amazing

it was amazing

it was amazing

Tami鈥檚 last review of the year

it was ok

This could've been really cute if it weren鈥檛 for the icky fact that the FMC's sister is marrying her ex-boyfriend. Somehow, the FMC is blamed for all of this, even though she was the one blindsided: "My poor life choices caused my sister to suffer and keep her feelings about Aiden to herself, so I decided that she was the one who deserved her happy ending with the guy of her dreams while I punished myself for being so damn selfish and oblivious t This could've been really cute if it weren鈥檛 for the icky fact that the FMC's sister is marrying her ex-boyfriend. Somehow, the FMC is blamed for all of this, even though she was the one blindsided: "My poor life choices caused my sister to suffer and keep her feelings about Aiden to herself, so I decided that she was the one who deserved her happy ending with the guy of her dreams while I punished myself for being so damn selfish and oblivious to everyone else's feelings."

This is supposed to be a cozy holiday novella, but there's a darker undercurrent here. Catalina (the FMC) is basically the scapegoat of her family. Her narcissistic mother has always labeled her the black sheep while her sister, Gabriela, is the golden child. Cata is constantly made to feel awful about herself. On top of that, her shyness is often misinterpreted as rudeness, and the family dynamics only make it worse.

The drama started when Gaby had a crush on Aiden, but Aiden asked Cata out instead. They dated, then Aiden broke up with her and started dating Gaby. Now he鈥檚 marrying her. How is any of this Cata鈥檚 fault? What were the so-called poor life choices? Was she supposed to read her sister鈥檚 mind? Aiden asked her out, and she liked him鈥攕o what exactly was her sin here?

Everyone, including Cata herself, acts like she committed some unforgivable atrocity against Gaby. But honestly, this all feels like the mother鈥檚 influence. Cata did nothing wrong. If anything, she鈥檚 the victim here. Aiden left her for her sister. I hated both Gaby and Aiden; they can rot. And don鈥檛 even get me started on how they emphasize that Cata and Aiden didn鈥檛 sleep together, as if that somehow makes everything okay. It鈥檚 implied their relationship was platonic and 鈥渕eant nothing,鈥� but Cata鈥檚 actions say otherwise. After Aiden, she swore off love, stuck to one-night stands, or only dated guys who wanted something casual. That screams heartbreak to me.

Luke Darling (aka Doctor Darling), the new love interest, was great. He鈥檚 a genuinely nice guy, and I really liked him and Cata together. But I wish the icky situation with her sister and Aiden didn鈥檛 overshadow the story. Honestly, I didn鈥檛 even feel strong holiday vibes鈥攊t just wasn鈥檛 cozy enough.

Also, the editing here left a lot to be desired. I get this was an indie release, but it desperately needed another round of edits. There was a whole scene mentioned later in the book鈥攕omething about Luke making his intentions clear in the car鈥攖hat never actually happened. It was obvious the scene had been cut, which made the narrative confusing. On top of that, there were some noticeable grammar mistakes.

Now, Cata鈥檚 maid-of-honor speech? Absolute fire. She shaded her sister in the most iconic way, but the author played it off as a sweet moment. I was gasping. She said Gaby always stole her Ken dolls, so of course her man was next. 馃槀

Overall, this could鈥檝e been so much better. I agree with most of the reviews鈥攊t was kind of boring, which is a pattern with Lauren Asher鈥檚 books. And yet, I keep reading them. Truly, a phenomenon that needs to be studied by science. ...more

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