A month of Cozy Books, Book mail & Productivity │ Reading Diary pt. 5

As 2023 began, it surprised me at how productive the month of January was because nearing the end of 2022 I was getting into a bit of creative burnout, but I embraced that slump which made the start of 2023 that much more of a creatively fulfilling first few weeks. Which leads me to a ✨ SUPER INCREDIBLE ✨ announcement I’m going to finally be sharing on 24hr.YABookblog which is that I’ve started…a Cozy Fantasy book club 🎊🌷📚

Cozy Fantasy books have been an exceptional comfort for me in ways I didn’t entirely realize until making more cozy book content on my platforms. So for any of you Cozy Fantasy readers out there I’ve launched Cozy Story, a book club dedicated to cf books & reading. We’ll have monthly club picks, discussions, silent reading & other virtual events to share our love of this sub-genre, so if any of that interests you, follow along on with me & YA author Jamie Pacton (whose my co-host) on Booktwt and we’re having our first Silent Reading event on February 8 @ 4pm PST which you can sign up early for here!

This project feels like one that’s really bringing that spark back as a book blogger & reader again, which makes me BEYOND HAPPY! If you can follow along with us, that would be great ˚ ༘♡ ˏˋ°•♡⁀➷

Reading-wise that meant I didn’t get to too many books, but honestly these past few months (year more realistically) I’ve been a big mood reader, jumping from one book to another. Breakup From Hell by Ann Dávila Cardinal, which was a very refreshing, witty contemporary-paranormal romcom following small-town girl Mica who learns her new crush, may have roots in the underworld!! You can read more of my thoughts in my full book review here.

My second book of the month was The Dragon Of Ynys from Minerva Cerridwen, an “all-ages” lgbtqia+ fantasy novella following a knight who finds himself unexpectedly bonding with a snarky dragon when they embark on an adventure to bring back a local villager. I struggle with finding time to prioritize indie-published books but I’m glad I finally gave this one a chance because it’d been on my tbr for a few years. The plot had that nostalgic fairytale quality but sometimes the writing could be a bit too plain leading the world to feel a tad underdeveloped. Planning to do a more in-depth review of this one in the coming weeks!

During the month I set up a couple cozy reading dates with a friend and when we were visiting a local library she was browsing the YA section, which led me to the familiar book-lover scenario of trying to talk about a favorite book that they should read & why (I KNOW, but tbh my mind went blank for a few seconds in typical bookdragon fashion 😂). But it led me to recommend a book that frankly deserves MORE recognition and that’s THE VICTORIA IN MY HEAD by Janelle Milanes (a queen in coming-of-age YA romances imo), I never realized how charmingly awkward the story was but my friend absolutely LOVED it and it made me happy that my irl recommendations made in impact in some way (I’m always here to spread the Janelle Milanes agenda 🤭💝). That whole experience has me even more hyped to reread it this year!!

Barnes & Noble was still running their 50% off sale so I had to pick up Strike The Zither, Violet Made Of Thorns and This Vicious Grace, a few YA fantasy reads that’ve been on my radar. Simon Teen gifted me with a copy of Mysteries Of Thorn Manor and Wednesday Books surprised me with The Witch And The Vampire from Francesca Flores, in addition to She Is A Haunting, Blood Debts among other reads which made my week/month!!😍

Next I wanted to shout-out some wonderful posts from bloggers I’ve been reading this past month: TK from GenieInANovel had a fantastic discussion on Booktok displays, the ways they often showcase similar books that past communities have hyped up, among other topics. The wonderful Andge from Down The Rabbit Hole has such great reviews and I adore reading her thoughts on books outside of my comfort zone, like her review on Constance Wu’s memoir. Sophie from Me&Ink is one of my new favorite blogs, I love the variety of her content + the books the she talks about, this month she did a super fun “Would I Rather” (fantasy edition). Marie from Drizzle And Hurricane Books wrote a detailed list of her reading, writing & blogging resolutions for 2023. Michelle from MagicalReads7 wrote a fun post where you pick an emoji & get recommended a 2023 book! Bianca from YourWordsMyInk wrote about her favorite books from 2022 ❤ Pagesunbound wrote a fantastic discussion on how spaces like Booktok are conflating YA with the age of the characters and not the marketing term/section (in which “Young Adult” is meant for teens) and how that can cause books to be woefully mis-categorized. I hadn’t been all that interested in Emma Lord’s newest YA until I read the review ImAllBookedUp which got me intrigued. As a manga lover I’m so glad to have discovered Mehek’s from TheCritiquesOfAFangirl‘s post on the manga she wants to read in 2023. Like Louise from FoxesFairytale I also have a weakness for superhero stories & would love to read more indie books, which makes glad to have read her review on a new release! Wildwood Reads also took part in doing my Cozy Fantasy book tag & loved seeing other responses to my questions ❤

Sara from StoriesAndSidequests (another one of my favorite blogs) writes the best wrap-ups and I loved reading about her favorite books of 2022! To conclude, K from Library In The Tower wrote a fantastic critical review on True Beauty (a manhwa/webcomic) and how she preferred the drama adaptation.

I’ve posted a few cover reveals on TheBookedShelf and am thrilled to announce I’ll be sharing the cover for a new YA romcom coming from Simon Teen in Fall 2023 by a beloved author…head to the blog on February 7 for the first look!

As for my current reads this month, I’ve chatted with Marie from drizzleandhurriance about this author before, but I’m super thrilled to have finally started reading Amelia Diane Coomb’s Keep My Heart In San Francisco, a YA contemporary following Caroline “Chuck” Wilson and her ex-best friend Beckett Porter, who team-up to save the Wilson family-owned bowling alley. What’s charmed me so much about this book (maybe its the timing) but reflecting a lot on my mental health recently, I think I needed a book with good mental health rep and discussions. Having heard wonderful things about Amelia’s books, I’m so happy to finally be reading this and its been the most fun! Eager to read the rest of her books.

Next, I’ve just started this wonderful YA anthology called High Spirits by Camille-Gomera Tavarez, a collection of 11 short stories that paint the tapestry of a multigenerational Dominican family as it explores identity, among other themes as you learn more about the family members. I knew I’d love this book, but wasn’t expecting to love it SO MUCH, wow this book is genuinely underrated and highly recommend this.

Said it in my thread and I have to say it here, but Camille truly captures the multigenerational diaspora feelings that I didn’t realize I’d relate to quite a lot ❤

To wrap-up this diary entry, here are some recent posts I’m proud of and hope you can check them out or give them a read 📚✨: – 5 Reasons To Read Witch Hat Atelier – My Thoughts on Goodreads “36 Cozy & Feel-Good” Sci-fi + Fantasy Books list – Latinx YA Books Releasing In 2023 –

What have you read this month? Have you hauled any new books? Any blogging or bookish accomplishments you’d like to share? 🎊📚

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