Lately it’s harder finding tags to do that I want to do at the moment, so when I saw this post I haven’t seen before I knew I needed to give it a go. I discovered Last Year I Was Reading on Cozy with Books. This meme was originally created by Reading Maria and started off on Instagram! Let’s check out what this is all about an what I was reading last year!
What I (and you!) do is:
Take your current read and compare it to what you reading this exact time last year. Which one do you like better? What is different about the books? Any special facts/things you want to make note of or bring attention to?
Luckily, I still have my 2020 reading spreadsheet and can see what I was reading this time last year. I’m a reader that reads multiple books at once, so I’ll choose one for today’s post!
Last Year I Was Reading: Ghost Squad – Claribel A. Ortega
Coco meets Stranger Things with a hint of Ghostbusters in this action-packed supernatural fantasy.For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business. Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd’s witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely’s firefly spirits before it’s too late. With the family dynamics of Coco and action-packed adventure of Ghostbusters, Claribel A. Ortega delivers both a thrillingly spooky and delightfully sweet debut novel.
I’m Currently Reading: House of Hollow – Krystal Sutherland
Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats.
Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind.
As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children.
The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous – and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years.
Comparing the Books:
I can honestly say I don’t think these two books could be more different, haha. On one hand Ghost Squad is a middle grade fantasy. On the other hand House of Hollow is a young adult fantasy/horror. Both have to do with family and darker/spooky events, but that’s where the similarities end.
I loved Ghost Squad. If you click on the title earlier in this post you’ll go to our buddy review. As usual this middle grade read had some important lessons and subjects such as: grief, a parent leaving and finding a new normal. Add some spooky adventures and amazing side characters and you’ll definitely have a fun time.
At the moment I’m only 6 chapters in with House of Hollow, but I was sucked in right away. The writing is dark and creepy and that atmosphere just jumps at you. It’s definitely mysterious and I can’t wait to read more later today!
So that’s the first Last Year I Was Reading post. I definitely hope to do these more often, because it is fun comparing what you’ve read and are currently reading! What were you reading this time last year? What are you reading now? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you!
