I want to tell you something before I start this, THIS is the one that has me more nervous than the ones I did before. I don’t even know how to introduce this human being! 🤦🏻‍♀️ I love her blog and how passionate she is about what she does and the book blogging community! She’s the most supportive blogger I know, and every time she tweets something to uplift the community I have one more reason to keep doing this. Who this amazing person is? Yes, it is Sofii from A Book, A Thought.

I don’t really know how to introduce her, and that is killing me! The only thing that comes to mind is that she is Latina, like the ones I have highlighted here, from Argentina if I’m not mistaken. She has a beautiful blog where she discusses everything bookish related and as I said I love her content and how passionate she is about the book blogging community especially the international ones.

Why I chose Sofii? WHY WOULDN’T I?! She’s one of the first I had any interaction with on Twitter, as I said I enjoy her content and I don’t know, I just felt like it was going to be an interesting experiment reading her favorite books. But sadly when I think of Sofii I don’t have a book that comes instantly to mind, which sucks because I have had for the ones before. With this said, and I know I didn’t say much sorry, I’ll leave a comparison of our Goodreads, the books we rated the same and the ones we didn’t.

As you can see we have 9 books we both gave 5 stars, and 2 books she rated 4 stars but I gave 2 stars (Red, White & Royal Blue, and Catching Fire). There are other books I have rated high that she rated low, for example, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and FanGirl. This is funny because if you have read my previous installment in this series you’ll know that I have more than 4 books where we differ in ratings (they rated high and I rated low) BUT with Sofii I just have TWO books she rated high and I didn’t! This makes me even MORE nervous about this because I HAVEN’T STARTED READING HER PICKS! I just hope I get to enjoy these books and that I won’t disappoint Sofii with my thoughts! crossing fingers

First book: Little Monsters by Kara Thomas

Why I chose this book?

I have been seeing this book around for years, and since then (I think the first time was on jessethereader’s channel) I have been interested in this book.

What am I expecting from this book?

For this book, I’m expecting unreliable narrators and a good atmosphere. I’m expecting to fly through it and have fun.

Thoughts/Review:

Ok, honestly I was expecting something else, or some more, but is not bad. Yes, I got bored or annoyed at 40-something percent and stopped reading it, but I kept thinking about it and one day I just said “I want to keep reading it, I need to know if my theories are close to what is going to happen” so I did. My main problem with this book was the writing, and I honestly don’t know exactly what part of it. And another thing was my dislike and almost hate for the MC’s friends, how manipulative they were, which made me angry. My theories were not THAT far off, if you want to know this which is not a bad thing for me, I honestly don’t care if I have an “accurate” theory IF the author did it right, and Kara Thomas did it.

Yes, you might suspect this from the beginning of the “action”, but the fact that you can’t trust ANYONE in this book is why I think the author did it well. Plus the paranormal aspect of the book that makes you think that no one is the culprit, yeah was nice. Another thing, the atmosphere of this book is so nice that I felt I was in this dark town with old-looking cafes and buildings, with the nonstopping rain, mist, and fog AND a creepy house in a forest. Atmosphere 8/10, because at some points there was something that got me off the story and place.

Anyway, this wasn’t a complete hit for me nor a complete miss, it was 3.5 stars for me but I don’t know with how much anticipation I would pick another book from this author. But I can see why people like this book and why others didn’t. Content/trigger warnings: murder, manipulation, depression, animal abuse, physical abuse, family separation.

What would call people to read this book?

Toxic frienships, paranomal aspects, family dynamics and crime.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

Second book: Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown

Why I chose this book?

I have heard so many good things about this book that I was inclining myself to pick it up, so when Sofii mentioned it I knew I had to.

What am I expecting from this book?

I’m expecting magical realism and the hardships of life. And I’m expecting to like it, not fall in love with it tho.

Thoughts/Review:

I honestly don’t know why I keep listening to this book, I just keep hoping for a happy thing to happen, for a nice ending, for justice. But this book is breaking me, this book is full of sexual assault and rape that I feel really uncomfortable with, but I’m still hoping for something happy, for Echo to feel happy or at least hopeful, but I’m not comfortable with this book. PLEASE, go with caution with this book, is really graphic and hard to read/listen to and can trigger even the strongest person. I was listening to it at 1.5 but I needed to speed it up because I really love the writing but I don’t feel completely ok with the story, but I want to keep going because I want to know how it ends. And I’m loving so much the author’s voice (literally and metaphorically) that I can’t find a way to stop. I’m really happy I decided to push through even when the topics were a little hard to listen to.

I loved this book and how raw this story is, how Echo kept fighting no matter what happened to her. I knew this book had a “happy ending” and that was what I wanted, what I was looking forward to listening to. But listening to the author saying the acknowledgment, that brought tears to my eyes. I don’t know how to put my feelings into words for this book, I won’t give it a full 5 stars just because of how it made me feel with the trigger parts (so is my fault I didn’t take time to research for the triggers) but I’m just taking .25 stars out of this book. And I feel my rating is unfair because this story is so personal and so raw that I feel I am judging someone’s life and not a book, but I’m rating for my enjoyment and feelings with this one, not the story.

Please excuse me, especially you Sofii if you are reading this, for this mess of a review but that is how I feel now that I finish this book. It was beautifully written and painful to read, but I think is a story that, if you are not triggered, you must pick. Content/Trigger warnings: sexual assault, rape, drug abuse, money problem, abandonment of a parent, prison, accident, mention of hospitalization, murder, mention of suicide attempts, child abuse, physical abuse, death of a parent (I think I added a lot more than the ones people usually mention, but please DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE PICKING IT UP).

What would call people to read this book?

If you like audiobooks, this book is perfect in audio, especially because is narrated by the author. Another thing is the rawness of the story and the emotional impact it has. If you are looking for a story that is told for a long time (childhood to adulthood) this might be for you.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75

Third book: The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Why I chose this book?

Ok, this one was the book I picked for a totally different reason. I picked this because I always thought I was going to dislike this book with all my heart. At some point, I was interested in this book but something happened that made me go “nope, I’m not going to read it because I won’t like it.”

What am I expecting from this book?

I’m expecting a lot of fantasy, a really good atmosphere, a lot of dark things and stories.

Thoughts/Review:

This book is about the legend of three sisters that were drowned and their revenge. I have NOTHING else to say about the synopsis of this book because I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll try to keep my review as sweet and short as possible.

What did I like about this book? EVERYTHING! This was the BIGGEST surprise of the three installments I have already posted. I really liked the characters, the story, the atmosphere, everything. The weakest part for me was the main character and her best friend, but I didn’t dislike them they were just a little bland. The main guy is a bit bland too but the mystery aspect of him makes him a bit more palatable. But, THE ATMOSPHERE OF THIS BOOK IS BRILLIANT! I could feel and hear the water, smell all the distinct smells the author includes, the sounds, the cold, EVERYTHING!

The story was the thing that surprised me THE MOST because I was expecting a full-on fantasy and I got a romance story that I truly enjoyed. NO, I can’t get on board with people falling in love in one day, but the other love story was so precious and it filled me with warmth. Another thing about the love stories here is how the third one progresses after everything, is not perfect and I felt like it wasn’t fair, but in these little chapters, I could see how it grew little by little. Another “love story” is the family ones, this book is full of family bonds and how important it is in different ways, and I always love family bonds over any other love story.

In the end, it was a book I enjoyed A LOT, that I get why people like it. The writing was really nice, nothing over the top, nothing too meh, it was nicely done. Yes, is a predictable story and all that, but I didn’t mind it, my enjoyment was almost 100%. Anyway, thanks Sofii for this recommendation.

Content/Trigger Warnings: death, murder, missing person, lost memory, grief, etc.

What would call people to read this book?

People who enjoy dark stories, small towns settings, books with strong atmospheres; I think those readers would enjoy this book

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wrapping it up:

There you have Sofii’s list (Rules for Vanishing, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Black GIrl Unlimited, Clap When You Land, Skyward, The Wicked Deep, Little Monsters, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Summer of Salt, Scythe, The Bone Witch, and An Ember in the Ashes). It is a huge list, the biggest one I’ve got for this project and I’m thinking of doing a SECOND installment with this list because I have some book on that list that I want to read. So with that in mind, I won’t compare the books I’ve already read (before this) so you get “a surprise” when I post the second part!

Can I trust Sofii’s recommendations?! I KNOW I can trust her, I loved two of the books I read and many others on her list so I think our tastes align in a really good way. I think we both enjoy dark ambiance and stories, as well as emotional ones. I think we both enjoy watching the characters grow through a large period of time, and family bonds and dynamics.

As you already know, I read three books, one 4 stars, one 4.75 stars, and one 3.5 stars; with an average of 4.08 stars, which is nice!

As I always do in these posts I want to thank Sofii, not only for accepting to be part of this but for recommending so many books. For giving me books that stay in your mind even when you are not reading them. For being the most supportive blogger out there, always want others to feel good about their content and time. For being another online friend, even if I just talk to her through posts and tweets haha (I’m shy sorry). And for her amazing content! Thank you for everything you do for the blogging community, especially the international ones. Can’t wait to keep reading your recommendations.

This is all for today, hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading my blog! I can’t wait to talk to you in the comments! Hope you all are having a nice day. Keep reading, keep reacting, and making new bonds! Take care, I’ll see you at my next one, Goodbye!

-Yade

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