Teodora ’s Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2023

45,838

pages read

143

books read

Teodora

2 likes Like

Shortest Book

pages

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

Longest Book

805

pages

Average book length in 2023

320

pages

Most Shelved

6,116,808

people also shelved

Cealaltă jumătate a Europei by Francesco Guida

Least Shelved

people also shelved

Teodora ’s average rating for 2023

3.8

Highest Rated on Goodreads

4.71 average

Teodora ’s first review of the year

it was ok

2.45/5 ⭐

Ah yes. Another book with immense potential, but without that certain something to make the narrative shine.

Short story of how I got to read this book: I forgot the other book I was reading at home and, given the fact that I work in a bookstore currently, I could choose whatever book I felt like reading.

I kid you not, I kind of had high hopes for this because it's marketed pretty well. I've been seeing this around quite a lot and I've al 2.45/5 ⭐

Ah yes. Another book with immense potential, but without that certain something to make the narrative shine.

Short story of how I got to read this book: I forgot the other book I was reading at home and, given the fact that I work in a bookstore currently, I could choose whatever book I felt like reading.

I kid you not, I kind of had high hopes for this because it's marketed pretty well. I've been seeing this around quite a lot and I've also seen many people buying it so, naturally, I was curious especially because I love thrillers.

The premise was exceptional and the first chapter was fantastic. It gave me chills, I was impressed already by the thought of this being a good read. I mean an old, abandoned sanatorium for patients suffering from tuberculosis hidden somewhere in the Swiss Alps is about to be turned into a fancy hotel and the main architect disappears suspiciously. This has to be something good, come on! It's giving mental illness!

Well sadly, for me, the marvel and magic didn't last past the first chapter. And that is a shame and a crime because I wanted to like this. Like damn, even the cover looks like Netflix itself dropped a dark and creepy German-produced series, multimillion-dollar TV series already.

The characters felt bland and I couldn't get myself to like or dislike any of them. I simply had no emotion regarding them, they were simply some lifeless puppets on a string.

The story itself was also full of too much detail about things that were good enough for the building of the personal life of the characters, but not good enough for the plot.

I personally think that if these details were more concentrated around leaving little hints and clues around the narrative so we could pick up in a different, more engaging manner, and also to point out better the horrors behind this abandoned sanatorium, with spooky, cruel and gruesome elements that could make everyone's hairs stand on ends, then that would've definitely been a 4 to 5 star read for me.
For now, I'm not blown away, but maybe in the future, detective Elin Warner will manage to have better statements than this case.

...more

TEODORA ’S 2023 BOOKS

it was amazing

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers by Jen Campbell

Babel. La început a fost Cuvântul by Dan Alexe

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

100 Nasty Women of History by Hannah Jewell

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

it was amazing

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories by Tim Burton

Cele cinci limbaje ale iubirii by Gary Chapman

Cărticica poporului ascuns by Alda Sigmundsdóttir

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things by Amanda Lovelace

Moonlight Sins by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

it was amazing

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

it was amazing

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

it was amazing

Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Flowers of Buffoonery by Osamu Dazai

Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

really liked it

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

really liked it

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

The History of Witchcraft by Lois Martin

If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

it was amazing

Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura

Ocolul Mării Negre în 90 de zile by Sabina Fati

it was amazing

Medeea si copiii ei by Lyudmila Ulitskaya

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

it was amazing

The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

Istoria și arta ceaiului by Laura C. Martin

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

really liked it

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa

Break Your Glass Slippers by Amanda Lovelace

The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart by Margarita Montimore

Teodora ’s last review of the year

really liked it

4/5 ⭐

Did I enjoy this? Yes.
Was it better than the other series? In my opinion yes.
Did I think it was a little bit more put-together story? Yes
Was it spicy? Hell yeah.
Do I recommend it? Also yes.

Also, where do y'all find billionaire boyfriends who will buy you a whole ass house just cuz you said you're bored and you need fun renovating it??? I'd like one. ...more

2023 READING
CHALLENGE

Teodora read 143 out of 100 books.

143%

What did you read this year?