2020 Blogging Recap!

At long last, it's time for our entire 2020 blogging recap! It was quite a year for us, with some of us graduating school, starting graduate school, going back to school, getting awesome internships, and just generally adapting to the chaos that was 2020. But no matter how stressful the year may have been, we're excited to look back on all of the good things that we ended up accomplishing this year. So without further ado, let's take a peek into all of the things we accomplished on the blog in 2020:

In 2020...


....We reviewed tons of great books!
Check out our 2020 review archivereview archive to see what reviews we added this year! We reviewed a lot more than we expected to even with the chaos that was this year, which was really exciting. And now we're excited to start with a fresh new archive page for 2021, with more reviews coming your way soon! :-) 

....We interviewed so many amazing 2020 debut authors!
You can check out their interviews here. It was such an honor to work with so many amazing 2020 debut authors, and we're looking forward to another great year working with 2021 debuts, coming your way soon (with some interviews already up here)! 

....We hosted a giant rom-com giveaway!
In the spirit of Valentine's Day, we teamed up with 12 amazing rom-com debut authors for a MASSIVE giveaway -- even though it's over now, you can always check out the post to see what some of their favorite rom-coms are!

....We used the leap year to our advantage!
Shout-out to an extra day of reading!

....We wrote some more installments of The College Diaries!
We graduated undergrad, started grad school, powered through nursing school, went back to school, and so much more, all in the middle of a pandemic. You can check out all of our updates from this year here!

....We interviewed The Bookshop Project!
We also got the opportunity to interview The Bookshop Project, a blog started by one of our college friends with the mission of interviewing indie bookstores all over the country and all over the world. You can check out our interview with Emma here!

....We hosted our Celebrating Black Writers giveaway!
We teamed up with a member of the YA community to get books into the hands of 5 young Black readers who may need the inspiration right now. Although the giveaway has since ended, you can still read the community member's list of some of their favorite and up-and-coming books by Black writers here!

What was your favorite thing that we did on the blog this year? We can't believe that we still managed to get so much done even when it felt like the world was turning upside down, but here we are, and we're excited for another great year of bookish antics ahead. What are your recommendations for future posts/reviews? Comment down below and let us know! :-)

Happy New Year to all, and see you all in 2021!



Waiting on Wednesday: Hot British Boyfriend by Kristy Boyce

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine where we highlight some of the upcoming books we can't wait to read! 


Title: Hot British Boyfriend
Author: Kristy Boyce 
Publisher: 
HarperTeen
Paperback, 336 Pages
Publication Date: February 9th, 2021

Summary: After a horrifying public rejection by her crush, Ellie Nichols does what any girl would do: she flees the country. To be more precise, she joins her high school’s study abroad trip to England. While most of her classmates are there to take honors courses and pad their college applications, Ellie is on a quest to rebuild her reputation and self-confidence. And nothing is more of a confidence booster than getting a hot British boyfriend. When Ellie meets Will, a gorgeous and charming Brit, she vows to avoid making the same mistakes as she did with the last guy she liked. Which is why she strikes up a bargain with Dev, an overachieving classmate who she’s never clicked with, but who does seem to know a lot about the things Will is interested in—if he helps her win over her crush, then she’ll help him win over his. But even as Ellie embarks on a whirlwind romance, one that takes her on adventures to some of England’s most beautiful places, she still needs to figure out if this is actually the answer to all her problems…and whether the perfect boyfriend is actually the perfect boy for her.


There are so many things about this book that I love and am so excited about -- for starters, the cover is adorable, and the summary itself seems hilarious and super intriguing. I'm a huge rom-com fan, so the second that this one came across my radar, I knew that I wanted to read it ASAP! So if you'll excuse me, it's time to count down the days until February 9th...and look out for our interview with 2021 debut author Kristy Boyce, coming soon! :-)


What are you waiting on this week? Leave your links so I can stop back! 

Our Favorite Books of 2020!


Happy (Almost) New Year's Eve! If you're unfamiliar with our Best Book Awards, it's a tradition at The Book Bratz in which we showcase some of our favorite books from the year. It's lots of fun and we want YOU to get involved too -- by commenting down below and telling us what you would choose as the winners for certain categories, and what you thought of our choices! There was no voting process on these books and there aren't actually any official awards -- this is just a fun way of celebrating all the books we loved this year! Also, Emily didn't get much time to read this year due to intense nursing school classes, so she decided to sit it out this time. But she sends her well wishes! So without further ado... Here are our favorite books of 2020! 




**Please note that not all of these books were necessarily published in 2020. Some were books we've had on our TBR for awhile, or 2021 ARCs that we read this year and really stood out to us!**






 
 
Jessica: Midnight Sun (Twilight, #5) by Stephenie Meyer 
Amber: Greythorne (Bloodleaf #2) by Crystal Smith




Jessica: The Project by Courtney Summers
Amber: 
The Protect by Courtney Summers


  
 

Jessica: They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman
Amber: The Outsider by Stephen King

 

Jessica: Imagine Me (Shatter Me, #6) by Tahereh Mafi
Amber: 
Escaping Eleven by Jerri Chisholm
   


 

Jessica: What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter 
Amber: Jane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz
 


 

Jessica: 
Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel by Jason Reynolds & Illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff


 

Jessica: Beach Read by Emily Henry
Amber: The Ex Talk by Rachel Solomon 
   

  

Jessica: The Roommate by Rosie Danan

 
 

Jessica: Majesty (American Royals, #2) by Katharine McGee
Amber: Imagine Me (Shatter Me #6) by Tahereh Mafi 


 
 

Jessica: A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey
Amber: 
Cinderella is Dead by Kaylnn Bayron




Jessica: 
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

 

Jessica: The Project by Courtney Summers
Amber: Throwaway Girls by Andrea Contos
  


 
 

Jessica: Imagine Me (Shatter Me, #6) by Tahereh Mafi
Amber: The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson




 

Jessica: A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey
Amber: The Gilded Ones (Deathless #1) by Namina Forna



 

Jessica: The Roommate by Rosie Danan
Amber: 
Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis 





Jessica: The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper



 

Jessica: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Amber: Chosen Ones (Chosen Ones #1) by Veronica Roth

We hope you all enjoyed this year's showcase - now comment down below and let us know what books YOU would choose to win each of these categories! Go forth and enjoy celebrating the coming 2021!

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