2020 Surprises & Disappointments ⚡️

⚡️ Hi, guys! I hope you’re having a beautiful day full of good readings and wonderful moments! ❤️ Today I’m more than excited to share with you this second post in the series of “end of the year posts” and this time I bring you my Surprises & my Disappointments of this 2020. 🙌🏻 On the one hand, we have those books from which I didn’t expect so much and they ended up surprising me by how much I enjoyed them and on the other hand, those which I had high expectations from, but ended up disappointing me.
As always, I want to clarify that these opinions are only my own and don’t mean that we all have the same experiences with these books and that’s fine 😊 & on the other hand I also want to clarify that the group of books that today I want to share with you that were surprising for me, are books that really captivated me but they didn’t reach my top of the year as favorites, so this is also a good opportunity to give them their moment of recognition, appreciate them and tell you a little about them. 😍
I also want to tell you that those books that are in the group of my disappointments this year aren’t bad books at all, in fact, I’ve enjoyed them, it just that I get into them with high expectations or I expected much more from them and they just didn’t live up to and that’s why they’re in my disappointments. Which doesn’t mean they aren’t great reads anyway. 🌟 
In short, I want this to be a fun post to share and exchange opinions, always knowing that we are all unique and different and that’s wonderful. 💞 So you know that I hope to know everything you think in the comments about these books!

I hope you enjoy the posts a lot, so get yourself something delicious to drink and eat ☕️, make yourself comfortable & let’s get started, I’m excited! ⚡️

I’ll leave you the link to my reviews, as always, in case you want to know more about each book!

⚡️ Mayhem by Estelle Laure | For a book that was described as for fans of The Craft, I think this falls a bit short, I really enjoyed the experience reading it, but I must confess that I expected much more from it. In terms of the story itself, I think it’s very fascinating, it has an interesting magical idea behind it, but an even more compelling plot that has to do with the main character’s family and touches on super hard topics such as domestic violence and suicide. On the other hand, the magical elements were not very in-depth and I ended up wanting to know more since the main idea behind the magic of this book really lacks development. The story is set in the 80s which I loved, especially because it also takes place in a beach town, and it’s very beautiful, and on the other hand, at one point it takes on a very strong background of mystery since girls have disappeared and it’s something interesting, but at the same time I think that it’s unnecessary for the plot since I feel that the author has wanted to cover many different topics and therefore some things have felt short and rush, especially as I already mentioned the magic that seemed interesting to me at some point, gets lost along the way, and I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the development of the characters and their personalities. Even so, the author has very beautiful prose that I would like to try again in the future.

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⚡️ The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1) by Roshani Chokshi | This could be one of my biggest disappointments of this year because guys, I really thought I would love this book because I’d only heard the best things, but here I go with my super unpopular opinion of it. I really love the idea, I think it has a very original and unique base to explore in historical fantasy, but at the same time, I feel that it’s a bit messy in terms of structure, and many times I felt that it read like a sequel or that there was a lot of information that the characters told us about the past while there was little that the book offered in the present. The characters didn’t impress me at all, the inspiration of Six of Crows is obvious and I appreciate that above all the great diversity that the author was able to create with her cast of characters, but in personalities, none stood out much for me. Still, I want to highlight the beautiful prose of the author and the fact that the book has beautiful descriptions and settings that I loved, but it just like the story itself didn’t hook me enough, you know? I really love the vibe of the book, though, it is quite captivating at times, but it wasn’t enough to cover the other aspects that the book lack in development and depth.

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⚡️ Rebel (Legend #4) by Marie Lu | I LOVE Marie Lu so include here one of her books breaks my heart, but I can’t help it, when I think of a book that disappointed me this year this is definitely one of them, I’m sad to say this, but I would rather prefer it doesn’t exist. First, I want to start by saying that I read the main Legend trilogy this year too and I loved it completely it was super entertaining and addictive and I really felt happy with that ending that we had, so bittersweet, but beautiful at the same time, so I didn’t read this book because I need more. I was curious to see more of one of my favorite literary couples that are June & Day, but then I saw that it was about Day’s little brother and even though everything is fine with that, I couldn’t be captivated as much as by the other books. Edan is adorable, I adore him, but I don’t think he’s material to be the main character, personality in this book seemed opaque to me, I don’t think he stood out too much. The plot itself didn’t seem very interesting to follow, it was easy to read because Queen Marie Lu wrote this book, so of course, I loved the writing, but on the other hand, I’m not interested in any new character, I feel sorry for what happens with Day and I’d rather forget about it, I swear. I have a confection to make, I feel that this book deserves fewer stars than I’ve given it, but I don’t feel like to give it less, especially because of the weight of nostalgia that this story has in me, you know? Reading about your characters as adults is nostalgic and it feels good in the heart, but on the other hand, I know that it’s not a really necessary book.

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⚡️ Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia | When I decided to read this book, part of me knew that I would like it because it has that gothic vibe that I love and I also adore creepy books, but this book is on another level, it really took me by surprise and in a million years I would have been able to guess the twists of the plot of Mexican Gothic, and if you did, you’re some kind of genius! I love the concept I think it’s something new and innovative within the horror genre, I know it’s a book that’s not for everyone because it’s quite ambitious, and plays in very graphic and gory ways, but it worked for me. I liked meeting a bold and sassy female main character for her time (the 50′), it has a super rare English family involved that’s SO disturbing, but above all, I love how atmospheric it is and how each scenario is very well thought out to accompany the story and take it to another level. I think this book is one of those that slow pace suits them very well, I think it’s the best way to tell this story. I love how it takes you to unexpected places in each scene making you feel uncomfortable and super confused along with Naomi, a 1950s gothic horror story that’s very addictive to read, haunting and weird on another level. I cannot assure you that you’ll like it, but I would undoubtedly recommend it, the experience is unique.

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⚡️ Circe by Madeline Miller | I know I never wrote my review for Circe because I honestly think I read it at the wrong time, I was too distracted with other things, but I still loved it, I thought it was incredible. I plan to re-read it next year, so I can bring you a review worth reading, I promise. It’s somewhat slow and hard to read at times, but in the same way super fascinating, I love mythology and especially Greek’s, so I was living for this book! I think Circe’s story is heartbreaking in many ways, but it’s also a story of empowerment, strength, and personal growth for her as a woman. Of course, there’s a lot of violence, such as gender inequality in this book, it’s portrayed in a very shocking and raw way, it impacts a lot in that sense just as it does because of the richness of mythology and its stories themselves, as well as the stories of the gods and characters that we also meet.
It’s a very captivating story and that slow-paced makes everything a little more real, it puts you into the story in another way. I can’t wait to get into my re-reading of this book so that I can relive every detail and feeling to share them with you in a better way.

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⚡️ The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton | This book is so smart and well thought out!! It really was a big surprise for me this year, I can’t help but recommend it if you like mystery, but also with an unexpected touch of sci-fi/fantasy thing, that’s really wonderful. This book also has one of my favorite endings! I think the writing style is challenging, it’s quite over-descriptive and dense but it’s worth it for the plot, the idea is brilliant and it gets even better as it progresses, which can be quite confusing but I think that’s the point. The author’s idea is totally to confuse the reader a little and leaving all of us without knowing well what’s happening until the end, so I liked that factor of discovering things together with the main character. All the characters are super realistic, they’re very well built, but at the same time I have to say that the plot is EVERYTHING in this book, you cannot stop reading until you discover what’s happening and when you do it, you’re left with your mouth open. What a brilliant idea, guys! Another of my favorite things about the book is the atmosphere it has, it takes place in a cold season and also in super rainy surroundings, with fog and a scary forest, and I love that completely, the setting is simply incredible, perfect for this type of mystery plot. It’s a great book, I highly recommend it if you want to be surprised because I’m sure you will!

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Credits for the source of the original image HERE

I hope you liked this post very much, I really enjoyed doing it, I was SO wanting to talk about books with you more in-depth! So thank you for sharing this moment with me.❤️

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⚡️ Let’s talk! What have been your surprise readings of this 2020? & What have been your disappointments readings? I would love to know everything about your choices, so even if you decide to do this type of post, I would love that you let me know, so I can check that out! You know I love to know what you think so don’t be shy, and let me know everything in the comments.⚡️ 

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