I wasn’t sure what I was expecting with Spoiler Alert, but I really loved it 💙! I remember walking through Target and I saw the cover, and I instinctively bought the book. Not me judging a book by it’s cover 🤪. We all do it.

I, of course, expected romance, and from the blurb, I expected fandom related things. But I loved the delicate balance of dual POVs because it moved the story along and it had such an interesting take on how both people felt with being famous and being someone new to fame. I also loved the complex backgrounds of Marcus and April.

Having depth to the characters and dual POVs was what did to for me! I also found something very humanizing and relatable about Marcus, that I loved.

I can’t wait to read the next Olivia Dade book!

Two phenomenal and powerful writers?!?! What was not to love about TMWYWYG 💛!

I really really really loved TMWYWYG (despite it’s long title to type out 😅). What a heart-felt, beautifully written, gripping, and powerful story about family complications, toxic environments, fending for yourself, the power of siblings and good people, and ultimately yourself.

I never expected to resonate so much with Bea in feeling invisible or unwanted. I just wanted to give her a big hug and tell her she was loved. I also loved Ezra because what a sassy and strong person he is. The things they have been through broke my heart because I know many people in the world actually do go through what they have been through. I can’t even fathom that, and I’m sorry because that sucks and you don’t deserve that.

I loved the email writing style because it had a nice flow and it got the story across wonderfully.

I was a sob story and a hopeful for this book.

Nicola Yoon said come BACK 👏🏼!

It’s been years since I’ve read a Nicola Yoon book, and I could understand why she didn’t write a book in this time—she was going through a whirlwind of movie projects and personal hardships. It’s difficult to write when you’re in a stressed or heavy mindset.

I talked about this on my blog review, but I loved Nicola Yoon even more for taking the time to take care of herself and do what was right. Authors are people and they don’t just pop books out like nothing even though it seems like that.

There were a lot of firsts because this was the first book in a LOOOONG time that I didn’t want to put down. The last book I didn’t want to put down was The Selection when I read it in 2014 or 2015. It’s 2021.

Wow.

What a book.

I was a ruined mess after I read Instructions for Dancing. Don’t let the title fool you, it’s not really about dancing. I loved the magical realism, I loved the romance, I loved the heart. I also could see myself a lot in Evie because my family went exactly through what she did when she was younger. So, every moment and emotion Evie felt, felt amplified in my heart because I knew what she felt—-the anger, confusion, the hurt, the visceral battle of forgiveness and hate.

It’s hard to believe or navigate love when you see every image that doesn’t lead to happiness.

Instructions for Dancing had my heart and my love 💗.

Two years ago, I said I Love You So Mochi was one of my top ten reads of the year.

It doesn’t surprise me that From Little Tokyo With Love also easily became a new favorite.

I mean, my gosh. I gushed so much about this book as I read it and after I read it. I had to legit sit down for half an hour or so for days on end, thinking about the plot and the ending and all the good feelings. Sigh.

Sarah Kuhn book, in my opinion, are HIGHLY underrated.

The running metaphor throughout the book? Amazing.

I loved the metaphors with happily ever afters and finding what you lost.

The representation? I loved. As a Filipino, it made my heart glitter and shine to see a Filipino main character because we are one of the most unrepresented Asians out there.

The adventure? SO fun!

The romance? High level of adorable and mature and wonderful. I loved loved loved Rika and Henry because they were soooo cute and they had some steamy and heated moments. When I say heated, I mean arguments and even then, I loved the level of maturity they had to talk about their feelings.

The underlying messages? Phenomenal. I can’t even say how much I loved the conversations about anger being a feared emotion, representation, people making you feel not enough, feeling like you aren’t enough in a community, and so much more. There’s so many good talking points and I loved that Sarah Kuhn gives an outlet to speak about it.

Also, a happy ending? The best ending, if you ask me.

I loved every second and gushy detail of FLTWL 🥰!

The hype around Red, White, and Royal Blue was bonkers, as it should be. But personally, One Last Stop slapped some major flapjacks 👏🏼!!!

I have never laughed so hard from a book in a long time, and I needed a good laugh! I also loved loved loved the magical realism and the idea of a girl being stuck on a train, and trying to find out why she was stuck, but also trying to get her off the train.

I loved Jane on the train 💜!!!

She was such a fun, exuberant light of a character. If I could describe her energy, it would be a disco ball because she was the life of the party and she had such a kind heart. I loved her impromptu dance parties and her love of the song “It’s Tricky.”

August was also fun to read about because she’s the exact opposite of Jane, but she also has such a big heart that cares for the people around her.

The biggest thing I loved about OLS was the found family. I’ve read some found family books here and there, but the found family in OLS is incomparable. I loved how each person had a personality and they all supported each other in different ways—they had different relationships. It genuinely felt like they were a family, navigating the big city and adulthood 💜/

OLS was pure fun and love and magic in book and there is nothing else I could want 🥰

I really wanted this to be higher on my list.

I’m sorry, Queen Cassandra Clare! I tried to make this higher on my list . . . but I read so many good books this year and it pains me that Chain of Iron is number five 🙈.

It’s not that Chain of Iron’s not a good book, it’s just other books were too good to me. With that said, I loved Chain of Iron. I just love the Shadowhunter world in general and I will always have a soft spot for anyone Cassandra Clare writes about.

I loved reading more about Tess and Will’s kids. I would have liked less Grace and her darn Gracelet because she irritates me 🤪. Tatiana also needs to go because she’s getting a bit wild.

Also, Cassandra Clare ceases to never surprise me in the limits she pushes romance. I mean that in a good way! Just when I think she can mess with my heart enough, she goes and shatters it again. We love that for me.

Darn, if Matthew doesn’t get a happy ending, I’m going to sue on his behalf (I’m joking) 😂.

Okay, so now we’re getting into my top ten 👏🏼.

This was extremely painful and hard for me to decide what books were my top five. Addie LaRue would be higher on my list but given the other books I read this year, I couldn’t knock them down on my list. So if there was one book that I would rate as tied for any of my top three, then Addie LaRue would be it.

I really did not know where to place this.

I fell in LOVE with Addie LaRue 🖤.

I loved the atmospheric time that V.E. Schwab created because I felt like I was walking alongside Addie throughout her life, silently rooting for her, and getting to know her. I loved how we could feel her heart and soul navigating this world being invisible.

I also loved the dual POV switch with Henry and learning about his story.

I loved the grey moral character, who gave me Darkling vibes—I wanted to hate him, but a part of me didn’t. Sort not sorry. It added such a delicate and intricate battle that I loved.

I loved the pictures and art chapter separators.

I loved the lyrical prose of V.E. Schwab. I mean, V.E. Schwab’s writing was absolutely stunning and a dream. Every line felt like poetry, every scene was well set. This is my first V.E. Schwab book, and I kid you not when I bought all her other books right after I finished Addie LaRue, and they are sitting on my shelf at this very moment. So you know more V.E. Schwab book reviews coming.

But I really became a fan of V.E. Schwab after Addie La Rue 🖤.

Absolutely stunning.

I am a smut through and through. And Sarah J. Maas practically makes up the majority of my hopeless romantic love life, so of course this book was in my top three 😆👏🏼!!!

I LOVE the ACOTAR series with a burning passion—with a silver flame passion.

I would cry for ACOTAR. I would swear on ACOTAR. I would hug ACOTAR. I love ACOTAR.

I didn’t really like Nesta before ACOSF, but after ACOSF, I had so much more respect, understanding, and compassion for Nesta. Do I love her as much as I love Feyre? Not really.

But, I loved going on this cathartic healing journey with Nesta because it was immensely raw, deep, powerful, angry, and difficult. Healing is like that a lot of the times, so I loved that Sarah J. Maas captured the uphill and downward spiral that healing can be. Nesta wasn’t an easy character to like or go through this with, but I rooted for her the whole way.

I also loved reading more about Cassian because I love that man! I also loved seeing the IC again because I love those people 🧡.

Nesta also found her own IC with Gwyn and Emerie. I loved the family—sisterhood—-with them. The training scene were also very fun and seeing them become Valkyries. We love strong woman 👏🏼!

But we all need to pause and talk about the SPICY scenes.

Gosh, I never felt more like a child 🙈! What was going on!??? Darn. It felt sacrilegious to read sometimes. Sarah J. Maas said NEW ADULT.

I said, let’s go!

Now you see why Chain of Gold had to be number five 😅.

If you read my Six of Crows book review, which you really should because I had a fun time writing it, I said that I read Six of Crows twice before and never got into it because I was confused. But then when Shadow and Bone came out this year, it was like something clicked for me and I read Six of Crows a third time, and FELL LIKE OOMEN off the boat for Six of Crows.

The action was impeccable! A bit concussing because who really understood every dynamic of the winter court heist?

But what I loved most were the characters ♥️. I adored the witty, sassy, and dark humor/banter. I loved the relationships between the Crows. I also loved how each Crow brought something unique and different and we got to know them more. When I got to know more about the Crows, my love for them multiplied because they were dealt the worst hand, but they were reclaiming something better together. There’s something beautiful in that.

Also, I would go down with these ships.

And Kaz Brekker is superior.

I love love love Six of Crows ♥️🖤♥️!!

What was better than Six of Crows?????

Crooked Kingdom 👏🏼💛!!!!

What a fabulous, action-packed, heart-wrenching, gutting, beautifully-written, and hilarious book this was.

Crooked Kingdom had everything I never knew I needed in a book and it was just the best time. I have read a multitude of fantasy books, but my gosh, when I say Crooked Kingdom blew me out of the water and shot me into the sky or some sort of euphoric metaphor, I mean it. There were no typical cliché fantasy plot lines—every moment had me on my toes and I had no clue what was going to happen next. I kept trying to guess what Kaz and the Crows would do next. I never got anything right, but I loved that because it just made me more invested in the story. I think if a book can surprise you that much, it has to be a masterpiece.

Crooked Kingdom was a masterpiece!

Also, all the love to Leigh Bardugo and her mastermind 👑!!!! I have no idea how people come up with such creative and epic stories like Crooked Kingdom without being some secret genius. Everything was just so well written and precise like Leigh Bardugo lived these experiences and knew just what to do or write to keep the reader engaged.

I also loved loved loved learning more about the Crows and their backstories. I loved being more in Ketterdam. I loved the ships. I loved that Wylan got promoted to main character energy because he deserved it.

This book had everything for me and that’s why it’s number one. It was sooooo good and there’s no other way to describe how amazing, astonishing, and flabbergasting this book was. It took me two blog posts to write my full thoughts on the book.

I had a book hangover after Crooked Kingdom because I didn’t know what to do with myself when everything was over. I didn’t know what to read, to watch, or feel because I was still mentally in Ketterdam.