This is going to be a rather lengthy post, but I'M STILL ALIVE!!!

It's been a year since I posted on here, and I have no regrets. Life decided to come and kick my ass, and I needed time to process and deal with everything.

At first I was dealing with being back in school and dealing with being a PhD student. But after a lot of soul searching and therapy, I realized that I hated what I was doing. I hated being in school. I hated being a PhD student. I hated research. I hated biomedical engineering/pharmacology. I was just doing all of those things because they had been put on me. People (my parents especially) had expectations for me that weren't in-line with what I actually wanted to do. So I made the really tough decision of dropping out of my PhD program.

For a few months I wasn't a student and I didn't have a job, and it was the most stressful and terrifying time of my life. I spent a lot of time in therapy and trying to figure out what I actually want to do with my life. As a result, I started putting myself out there and chasing my dreams.

For almost the past year I've been a part-time freelance book editor, AND I LOVE IT! It's not my main job because that doesn't pay the bills. My day I'm a Content Marketing Specialist for a biotech company which I actually enjoy doing because it's remote and my schedule is incredibly flexible, leaving me time to do the things I enjoy, like reading and editing. I've been able to read and edit a wide arrange of books, and I absolutely love it. Some day I hope to be able to edit books full-time to sustain myself.

Another thing I realized was I hated where I was living. I was in such a depression in Cleveland, and part of that led to my decision to leave grad school. So after lots more therapy and getting an emotional support animal (Luna, she's a Bernadoodle and I love her dearly), I recently moved back to Chicago, and I haven't been happier. I forgot how much I need to be in a big city to thrive.

Also in the spirit of going for things, I've started a BookTok account, @sierratheblackgirlnerd. I absolutely love being on TikTok! I've been able to connect with such nice people and have formed more of a community there than I have on any other platform. While my goal is to get back into the habit of writing bookish stuff on this blog now that life has calmed down and I'm in the mental space to do so, you'll definitely find me on TikTok more than here.

I guess all of this was to say, I'm sorry I left without a word (though I'm sure no one really noticed), but I needed to focus on me. So let me introduce myself again as the new me.

Hi! My name is Sierra and I'm a 24-year-old, asexual content marketing specialist and freelance book editor. I live in Chicago with my 1-year-old puppy, Luna. My favorite genres are YA, fantasy, and contemporary romance. I hope you'll join me as I rediscover my love for reading and blogging now that I'm living my authentic life. 

WORST BOOKS OF 2020

   There aren't a whole lot of books that I hate or dislike. I usually really like books or just find them "eh" at best. But this year I was able to come up with five books that I truly found not good in the least bit or hated with every fiber of my being.

5. In the Darkness by Mike Omer

4. Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory

3. Hate Thy Neighbor by S.M. Soto

2. If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane

1. Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

    Those are the books that just weren't it for me in 2020. If y'all read these books, tell me what you thought of them!

BEST BOOKS OF 2020

I read this book in July and it was a nice, cute, quick read. This book was definitely trying to be like "Red, White & Royal Blue". I don't like it nearly as much as the book it tried to be but it was still a good read as I'm a sucker for enemies to lovers books.

This was a quick contemporary read that fit the mood in the summer. The concept was interesting to me and I think the author did a good job of executing it. I don't tend to go for strictly women's literature, but I was a fan of this book.

7. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

I got this book in an OwlCrate box and I'm glad it was included. It took me a while to pick this book up because the timing just never seemed right, but when I was able to get into it, I couldn't put it down. The entire concept behind "bone houses" was cool to me and I'm a sucker for books that have a main girl and guy going on a journey.  I could visualize everything in my head as I was reading it and for some reason it was giving me Chronicles of Narnia movie vibes in the way it was projected in my mind. 

6. A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout

This is the second book in the "From Blood and Ash" trilogy (the first book which is higher on this list). As far as sequels go, this was a decent sequel. It was definitely more character driven than plot. It had the feel of a filler episode if that makes sense. Overall I had a good time reading it, I just wish there hadn't been so much smut in it. When I say there was far too much smut, I mean like having sex in the middle of a battlefield of no damn reason.

5. Rage and Ruin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Anyone who knows anything about my reading tastes knows by now that I really love Jennifer L. Armentrout's books despite them being so similar to one another and following a formula. This was book two in "The Harbinger" trilogy which is a spin-off of the "White Hot Kiss" trilogy. The book was fast-paced and everything I needed from a JLA book. I can't wait to read the final book because hot damn was that cliffhanger a lot.

4. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

This was the first book I read in 2020 and it absolutely blew me away. I received it in an OwlCrate box and pushed it off before deciding on a whim to pick it up and I'm glad I did. I know this book was hit or miss for a lot of people in the bookish community but I personally loved it. I'm not familiar with the 12 princesses tale that it's based off of, so I can speak to it as a retelling. I enjoyed the characters, the plot, and the worldbuilding more than I anticipated. It had a spooky vibe to it without it being too much of a horror book, which I appreciated. I just might have to reread this one in 2021. This is one of the few books I did review outside of a wrap-up post, so you can read that review here.

3. From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

God damn does Jennifer L Armentrout know how to get me out of a reading slump. Was this book predictable? Yes. We’re the characters identical to her other ones from other books? Yes. Does she essentially take the same story and twist it a little each time? Yes. But damn it if it doesn’t still capture my attention and draw me in each time. The mythology of this tale really drew me in because so much of it is veiled until the end when you start to put the pieces together of what this world actually is. This book is also special to me because I have a signed copy of it and I've always wanted a book signed form JLA since she is one of my favorite authors.

2. The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

I liked this book way more than I know I should have. I think I read this book in like 4 hours or something ridiculous like that. A lot of people didn't like this book because they thought it was similar to "The Cruel Prince". I can see where they might pick up those similarities, but to me this was its own thing. I randomly bought this book in a bookstore without knowing anything about it, just liking the cover, and I'm glad I did. I don't care what people think about this book, it was the right book for me at the time and I enjoyed it. I'll probably reread it in 2021 and see if I still like it or if it was a situational thing that made me like it.

1. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

I enjoyed this book a lot. Like a lot a lot. I thought about rereading it but I decided to hold off until 2021 so it would count towards my 2021 reading goal. From the get-go the worldbuilding was amazing. Was there perhaps a bit too much worldbuilding? Maybe. I know that turned people off this book but I personally enjoy good worldbuilding as it helps my visualize everything in my brain. It was by no means a perfect book, but it was an excellent book. The last quarter of the book really blew me away and I can't wait for the sequel despite the fact that the book read like a stand-alone to me. I wasn't sure if I would like this book because I enjoyed her ACOTAR series but I hated Throne of Glass, so I'm glad this turned out good for me.

    Well, those were my favorite books of the year. Putting together this list, I was surprised that I was able to come up with ten books I truly enjoyed that weren't rereads. This year was a pretty good reading year which surprised the hell out of me. I would love to know what you guys thought of the books on this list if you've read any of them!