Burn, Rewrite, Reread Tag 2022
As I’ve done for the last few years, I’m doing this tag as part of my annual wrap-up traditions. I just love doing it! It’s great to highlight some of the titles I read this year that wouldn’t necessarily make my Year’s Reads in Review list. I always find it interesting to see if my thoughts about a book have changed much since I read it.
Here’s a recap of what you are supposed to do:
The Rules:
-Randomly choose 3 books.
-For each group, decide which book to burn, which one to rewrite, and which to reread.
-Repeat until you completed
three(I do 5) rounds
To get the books for each round, I used a random number generator to pull titles from my “Books Read in 2022” excel file. This includes any DNF’d titles for the year; and if a number repeated itself (or landed on a heading), I reran the generator until I got a fresh title.
Round 1
Burn: I’m going to be a little cheeky about picking Captive Bride as my burn title because I honestly really loved this book. I actually enjoyed all of these romances in this grouping; I’d say that they were my most anticipated in all their respective series! Which is why I have to say the chemistry between our leads is what creates these burning sparks 😉
Rewrite: Like I said above, Twisted Lies was probably my most anticipated book in the Twisted Series. And while I really enjoyed the novel, I did struggle with the pacing sometimes so that would be the only thing I would tidy up for this great book.
Reread: Dark Reign is a standout read for me in the Midnight Dynasty Universe. It was such a refreshing romance for me to read and I would definitely reread it in the future!
Round 2
Burn: I haven’t finished the Spy Girl series yet but I’m enjoying watching this lighter romantic espionage story. It isn’t the greatest series I’ve ever read–albeit entertaining–which is why I would burn it in this grouping.
Rewrite: I actually had no plans to continue reading the Hellfire Club Series (or at least finish it right away) after I finished the first novel, Wicked Idol (it was a spinoff character from the Midnight Dynasty Universe). But I really wanted to see this romance unfold in Callous Prince! However, there are a few things I would tweak, like the Veronica Mars angle as well as the somewhat rushed ending.
Reread: I feel like I just need a refresher of what happened in Kingdom of the Cursed before I pick up book #3 to remember those finer details.
Round 3
Burn: Unfortunately, for every Ella Miles novel I love, there are a few that just don’t work for me. Pretend I’m Her which is only available in the boxset for the Pretend Series was a book that just didn’t work for me.
Rewrite: I honestly don’t know what I would rewrite about Stone Cold. I gave it a 5 stars, read it in one-sitting and loved every moment of reading it. I wouldn’t burn it but I don’t think I would reread it either. It just feels like one of those books that you savor the first time you read it because you don’t know what will happen next. But maybe I’d rewrite it so that the characters could have more answers (though I think that is part of the charm of this novel and its story).
Reread: I forget so much of what happened in Defy the Night so I should brush up before I read the sequel. But I also think that it would be interesting to reread to catch some of the twists earlier now that I know they are there.
Round 4
Burn: Prince Charming falls into the typical book-2-of-a-trilogy-slump for me. It wasn’t overly exciting, especially compared to the first novel. It sets up some stuff for the finale but I also think this series could have easily been a duet by omitting this novel.
Rewrite: I feel like the romance between the two leads in Exposed has been building throughout all the other novels in this series. So maybe my expectations were too high? This story was just missing something for me–though I can’t pinpoint what that is exactly. But if I could figure it out, that is what I would rewrite into the story.
Reread: Clearly I had a thing for dark romances this year (I did binge read most of the Midnight Dynasty Universe novels in a two month span). Dangerous Temptation was another highlight for me. It was a great forbidden, taboo romance and I just loved these two so much!
Round 5
Burn: I’m sure I’m the minority for picking King of Scars. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely things I really enjoyed about this series, but at the same time, there are some things I could have done without. Getting through this series became a chore for me near the end as I didn’t love a lot of the things that happened along the way. So perhaps I’m just bitter with the turn of events but I did feel let down by this series.
Rewrite: I love a good slow burn romance which is what A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime is at its core. I just felt like it took me a long time to get into the story, so I would add a few little sparks at the start to get the momentum going earlier.
Reread: When I want a feel good story that is sweet and charming, Cookie O’Gorman’s books do the trick. I was so happy that we got to spend more time with the Southern U O’Briens in The Sweetest Game and I can’t wait to go back!
What would you Burn, Rewrite and Reread from 2022?
