Books (Oct, Nov, Dec)

It has been a long time since I have done a book recap blog. I did read quite a few books and I re-read some of the old books. I want to read at least 20 books by the end of 2022. Recently, reading has become so fun and every time I finish I book, I remember why I love to read so much.

(Warning: There may be some spoilers for some of the books in this blog)

1. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo- Taylor Jenkin Reid

Brief description- A reporter from Vivant Magazine receives an invitation from Evelyn Hugo, a renowned Hollywood actress, to write a piece about her selling her famous dresses in an auction to help breast cancer research. Turns out, it was just a cover story and Evelyn want to write an autobiography about her life and she chose Monique. Later, Monique discovers that there are many parts of her life that intertwine with Evelyn’s. The autobiography was called- ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,’

Review- 5/5 stars (I lowkey wish I could invent another star for this book). Without giving away too much, this is the most beautiful book I have ever read. I think Taylor just has a way with words. She has this great ability to create characters which you despise but love at the same time, someone who is so unapologetically themselves. You can see how their actions were justified to a certain extent. I was absolutely captivated from the beginning to the end and this is probably my favourite book

Lesson- Everyone’s perception is different. Every time Evelyn would recite an event, at the end there would be a News article headline attached, it just makes you think that how different the media perceives that event, how Monique perceives it, and what actually happened according to Evelyn. Everything is not what it seems and we should not be so quick to jump to conclusions

“It’s always been fascinating to me how things can be simultaneously true and false, how people can be good and bad all in one, how someone can love you in a way that is beautifully selfless while serving themselves ruthlessly.”- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkin Reid

2. The Hating Game- Sally Thorne

Brief description- Lucy works for one company and Joshua works in another but after the merger, they work in the same publishing company and they absolutely hate each other. Then one day, there is a huge promotion up for grabs and Lucy does not want to lose to Joshua. One day, everything changes between him, and Lucy starts to think that she does not hate Joshua as much as she thought she did.

Review- 2/5 stars. Well, I don’t love this book but I do not absolutely hate it either. I feel like the first half of the book; Lucy’s entire personality was just hating Joshua and they got together so fast. There were some cute moments that I’ll give the book. I also did not feel like Lucy had a solid enough reason to hate Josh so much to the point where it became her personality. For an enemies to lover plot, I think everything progressed way too quickly. I don’t think this book wraps up very well. It makes no sense how Josh was in love with Lucy this whole time. The book was very decent overall but I would not recommend it.

Lesson- well, I really do not think I learned anything from this book except that hatred is a very strong word and I do not think we should resort to hating someone without having a very valid reason. We should always try to work things out, having an unspoken hatred is worse. Maybe if someone is unkind towards you, you should bring it up with them instead of resorting to hating them

“I’m probably not good at a lot of things, but I will try to be”- The Hating Game

3. People We Meet on Vacation- Emily Henry

Brief description- Poppy’s job is to travel the world, update her blog and write up in a travel magazine. She is most passionate about traveling. Back in her college days, she and her best friend Alex would take trips together to remote places and have the time of their lives. Although they had gone in different directions in the world, they always take one annual trip together until two years ago when everything changed between them. Recently, Poppy feels very stuck in her life. she knew that the last time she was really happy was when she was taking a trip with Alex. She tries to rekindle her friendship with Alex and convince him to go on one last trip together to see if their friendship can be saved.

Review- 5/5 stars. This book was absolutely brilliant. It does take place in alternating timelines, leading up to the trip that changed their friendship and then the one last trip she convinces him to go on. I think this was a very well-written book and I was captivated from the beginning to the end. I do not think there was a moment when I wanted to put this book down. It was a friends-to-lovers trope. I think it also touched on their love of travel so beautifully and how it was the thing that brought them together, yet it was the thing that separated them. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone.

Lesson- I just kind of learned about the beauty of travel and how the small things in the world go underappreciated. It is really all the little things in life that we take away. Poppy and Alex’s annual trip seemed like such a small thing compared to Poppy’s job literally being to travel the world but at the end that was the biggest thing in her life. The small thing that Poppy loved about travel, the new people, the places, and most importantly the experience. How every trip she took with Alex, she had this one memory of them. There are so many possibilities in such a big world

“I still have a lot to figure out, but the one thing I know is, wherever you are, that’s where I belong. I’ll never belong anywhere like I belong with you.”- People We Meet on Vacation

4. Two Can Keep a Secret- Karen Mc Manus

Brief description- Twins Ellery and Ezra Corcoran had come to the small town of Echo Ridge where her mother had grown up and where their aunt had disappeared. There was an incident five years ago where a homecoming queen had disappeared. The town seems perfect but they are hiding so much. Ellery is determined to find out what actually happened that year but things get messy and the secrets start getting exposed

Review- 3/5 stars. I thought that the book was pretty average. It was not as good as the first two books but this could also just be because I did read the first half of the book in pieces which tends to make you enjoy a book much less but it was a decent plot overall. It’s a nice book to pick up if you want to read a quick mystery novel. The plot was pretty interesting in the end

Lesson- being honest and open in a friendship is so very important. If Ellery’s aunt had been honest a lot of events could have been prevented. If Ellery’s mother had told her what happened at her time and if her grandmother would have just told them everything, it would have prevented a lot of events from happening and some people would be safe in their homes. I think what this town as a whole was their relationships with each other and they just needed to be honest and open with each other

“Welcome to life in a small town. You’re only as good as the best thing your family’s done. Or the worst.”- Two Can Keep A Secret

5. Paper Towns – John Green

Brief Description- Spencer is enjoying his life when Margot, a popular student in high school asks for his help to play pranks on her friends. He has the best time but the next day Margot goes missing. She leaves clues and cryptic messages all over the town and Spencer embarks on a journey to decode them and find the clues to find the girl who stole his heart and to find out why she would leave in the first place

Review- 4/5 stars. This was the book I re-read this month. I think this book was very beautifully written, the whole concept of paper towns is so beautiful. How the towns were planner and not very sturdy. I was not very happy with the ending, I just felt that it left me wanting to know more. I was very intrigued throughout the entire book and I could not put it down but I feel for the ending that the book built, I was just expecting way more

Lesson- sometimes you just have to get out of your comfort zone. Sometimes, it is very easy to get overwhelmed and feel so out of place and like you do not belong here. Maybe instead of just taking off, we should talk to someone about it. Try to come to terms with what has us feeling “stuck” and try to work through it. A comfort zone is very familiar, pushing through that is very important. Try new things, meet new people and see new places.

“What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.”- Paper Towns

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog. I know I didn’t read that many books in the last three months but I was very wrapped up in studying, I have made it my mission to read way more this year. So, hopefully, more monthly (or two months) reading wrap-up is coming. I am also attaching my to be read list (only the books I really want to read as soon as possible):

- The Love Hypothesis- Ali Hazelwood

- The Cruel Prince- Holly Black

- Gone Girl- Gillian Flynn

- Loveless- Alice Oseman

- It Ends with Us- Colleen Hoover

- The Inheritance Games- Jennifer Lynn Barnes

- The Spanish Love Deception- Elena Armas

- Daisy Jones and the Sixth- Taylor Jenkin Reid

- Malibu Rising- Taylor Jenkin Reid

- Before the Coffee Gets Cold- Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Thanks for reading,

Xx Mahika

(Question of the day: What are some books on your TBR this year?)

(Ps: follow my Instagram: @blogbanterandbigwords where I share polls and put teasers for my upcoming blogs, you might also find some nice quotes in there)