readingwithmuggy's reviews
314 reviews

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

3.0

This book had the potential to be great but was mid at best and felt relatively chaotic. There was a lot that I had forgotten and so that made the plot move for me. If you are into war planning and lots of people dying this is the book for you. The end pissed me off & made me cry so I guess it succeeded in eliciting emotion. I’m mad. I really tried to finish before midnight but it didn’t work out. So now it’s 1:40am 2024 and I guess this is my first completed book of the year.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

5.0

YES YES YES. I forgot how this book ended and I’m off to read the next one. The plot line is super blurry for me at this point which will be very exciting 🔥

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

5.0

the first time I read this was 6th grade English class and wow does it hold up. This book not so subtlety launched me into my love for fantasy/dystopian novels and I am forever indebted. It was so fun catching not only little details I completely forgot about, but also details that I just wasn’t aware of 14 years ago, like the greater societal picture about class disparity and privilege. A quick read and onto the next book!

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

4.0

I know I’m late to the party on this one but I actually really enjoyed this. As someone who was in late middle school/ early high school during the prime of the Hunger Games franchise, this felt so easy to slip back into. I’ve only ever read the first two books in the trilogy so I plan on immediately starting those again. Can’t wait to see all the connections between this one and the other ones.

Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile

5.0

I went into this knowing the bare minimum about Brandi Carlile. I knew that she was in the band The Highwomen and that she also had a solo career and she was gay icon in country music. I’m not kidding you. Like two chapters into this, I fell in love with her storytelling. This was written so beautifully and I could listen to her talk forever. Highly recommend the audiobook as she performs songs related to the content after every chapter. My heart now has a space dedicated to Brandi Carlile

The Holiday Switch by Tif Marcelo

3.0

I really enjoyed this book! Since it’s YA, it definitely had some cheesy moments and therefore hit middle of the road for me. Honestly, I’ve enjoyed several of the other holiday books I’ve read more which is why I’m giving this one 3 stars, but I still really recommend picking this up. Sweet wholesome and quick to get through! Love the book blog and the inclusions of text messages to spice up formatting throughout the book. I’m constantly having to remind myself that 3 stars doesn’t mean a book was bad, and rating books will always be my achilles heel.

Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun

“I used to think letting more people in would mean having more people who could ultimately disappoint me. Hurt me. Walk out of my life. But having more people means there are more arms at the ready to catch me when I fall. And I fall a lot.”

A queer Christmas romance that has found family is exactly what the doctor ordered! So sweet and tender, and kind. A great diverse cast of characters that are messy and love each other despite it. This book was so perfect for the season!

The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson

4.0

“Anyone, it seemed, could be a reader”

books about books are always a win for me. From the pov of twenty-something year old Maggie trying to figure out her life, this book about banned books, correcting history, and sneaky mischief really took the cake for me! A side romance, diverse cast of characters and the idea of a community coming together protest against injustice warmed my heart. Sweet read!

The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese

4.0

I’m not a mega romance girly at heart but this one was sweet and made me swoon. 

You’ve Got Mail vibes 💌
Grumpy/sunshine ☀️ 
Autism/T1D representation 🎧
Enemies to Lovers 🥰
Slow burn 🔥

I’m not a big fan of smut when it overrides the plot and it’s just sex back to back to back. I need some plot in between. So needless to say I could’ve done without the majority of the last two chapters. But other than that it was a good read!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova

4.0

Omg. Honestly, I loved this book so much. It’s exactly what I needed and more. This is the third book in the Meant to Be series, where different authors are doing Disney Princess retellings. Featuring a Hannah Montana trope where our main character Ariel del Mar is a pop star that takes off her wig and no one recognizes her. She decides to venture the country “undercover” outside her father’s command. The best part is that the Latin representation in this novel is so so good. Both main characters are Latinx as well as the majority of the side characters! Wholesome little romance 🤩