 I'm not still sick. Not at all. That's a lie. So, hello, hello, everyone. My name is Laura. This is my channel Laura's Little Library and welcome to today's video, which is my five star predictions for 2022. I almost said 2021. My five star predictions. Basically the books that I'm really excited to read next year. Hopefully I read them throughout the year. Yeah, so I have 10 books that I'm going to be sharing with you that I'm really excited to read this coming year. And I think that these have some of the most, they sound like they could be books that I would rate five stars. Not all these books are going to be 2022 releases, although some are. These are just books that I am excited to read this year that I think could be five stars. So the first one is Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant. I've been looking forward to reading this one. Like since I heard of it coming out last year, 2020, something like that. It is a contemporary and while I never think that I'm going to give contemporary five out of five stars, I have been finding quite a few of them that I've been enjoying. And so I, when I read synapses of them, I get more and more excited. So Happily Ever Afters follows this girl who loves to write romance and her mom, I think surprises her by getting her into like an art school or a writing program or something. But when she gets there, she gets writer's block and she doesn't know how she's going to write. And so she realizes that she needs to have a romance of her own to keep fueling her romance stories. So I think this is going to be five out of five stars because it's a book about books and it's writing and it's romance. It's just it's what I've been looking up to. I hope I'm not over hyping it for myself. But that could also be an issue with like all these books. So the next one that I'm looking forward to reading is Tokyo Ever After and this is by Amiko Jean. This book came out, I believe, in 2021 and I saw a Haley and Bookland raving about it and just the description of it being The Princess Diaries, but with Japan. That alone is like, this is probably going to be a five star read for me because I love The Princess Diaries. I thought they were amazing. And so making it with Japanese culture and finding out that she is the daughter of a Japanese prince, like I'm so here for it. So I do, there are a lot of elements of Japanese culture that I really like and want to learn more about. So I'm very interested how those will play into this kind of story. And yeah, I think I'm going to love it. I think it's going to be five stars. I'm so excited. The amount of times I'm going to say I'm so excited this video is going to be insane. So like if you want to keep a tally, if you want to take a shot and have a fun night, you're welcome to. The next contemporary that I think I'm going to give five stars is again one that came out this past year in 2020. I was hoping to read it, but I just never got to it. And that's Dial A for Anties and this is by Jesse Q. Sutanto. And this book sounds like it has everything. So I believe they're preparing for a wedding that our main character is like preparing for some wedding. And then there's an accidental murder. And so she calls all of her Asian aunties to come in and help her. And there's a little part of me that wants to say I think they were Indonesian. But I'm so sorry if that is wrong. But again, I have seen great reviews of this book and just the premise sounds hilarious. Like it I think it's going to be hilarious, as well as it being like a contemporary with a body that they have to hide and then a wedding that they have to get through. Like I am here for it and I am ready to pick this book up. All right, the next book that I'm going to talk about is Love Boat Reunion. And this is by Abigail Hing Wen. This is the sequel to Love Boat Taipei. Now I gave Love Boat Taipei four out of five stars. But now that I've like digested it really gotten to know the character, seen all the hype for the sequel, I am excited for this sequel. I think this sequel has the potential to be five out of five stars, which I'm one of those people where I will almost always love the first book in a series more because that's where the world building is. That's where the most learning about magic systems or like learning about characters and all like everything is so new. And it's always my favorite when everything is so new. But the fact that I am this excited for a sequel for a contemporary sequel, it blows my mind. And so that's why I think it has the potential to be five stars. So Love Boat Taipei is based on the author's actual experience to some degree. Basically, there is a program that sends kids, so like Chinese or Chinese American or wherever in the world, but kids from, you know, Taiwan or China to this program to learn about their culture and learn language skills and just arts and dance and, you know, whatever they want to do. So our main character lives in the States and she wants to be a professional like ballerina, like dancer. But her parents are like, no, we're going to send you to this camp so you can learn more about your heritage and your culture. And you're going to rethink that decision. And it was such a fun book to read. I really enjoyed it a lot. If you want more of my thoughts on it, you can see my dance themes reading vlog that I did this past spring. I'll have it linked up here, or here, or in the description, one or all of those. But yeah, so I'm really excited for this sequel to play they forgot another contemporary that I am super excited for is a 2022 release. It's Emily Henry's new book book lovers. So I read Emily Henry's book Beat Read. And I loved it. It was like one of my favorite books of the year. And I haven't read her other book, People We Meet on Vacation. I think I'm gonna love that one a little bit less just because it's like a more of a friends to lover or second chance romance. I'm not completely sure. But I think book lovers is going to be one that I love very much like Beat Read, which was a five star obviously. And so book lover follows a literary agent and a book editor. And I believe it's enemies to lovers in a small town. And every part of that sounds perfect. And like I said, I love book about books. I love that both of our main characters are in the publishing kind of bookish world. I love enemies to lovers. So this just sounds amazing. Also, I'm really sorry for like the strips of sun. My husband's trying to like block the sun for me. But the sun was getting to a point it's three o'clock and the sun is right above a really tall apartment building right outside our windows. So it's just shining through perfectly. But I have nowhere else for my bookshelves. And this is the best place. Anyway, so just I'm sorry. Anyway, I'm really excited to read her new book book lovers and I will be picking up as soon as I read people we meet on vacation or even before that because like I want to read people we meet on vacation during the summer. But I want to pick a book lover so bad because I think it's going to be a five stars. So I do have a historical fiction on this list. It's not a new release by any means. But it's actually the henna artist and this is by Alka Joshi. I'm so sorry if I said that name wrong. But this it takes place in 1950s in I believe India and we follow this woman who's kind of run away from her marriage. It was not a good situation for her. So she moves to Jaipur and she becomes a henna artist to a bunch of like rich wealthy ladies and she learns like of their drama and their secrets because she is their henna artist. And this just it sounds amazing on every level. I think it has the potential to make me cry. It has the potential to make me so happy. I think I'm going to learn so much from it and it's going to be such a great experience. And I think it's going to really motivate me to read historical fiction again. I recently released a video of historical fiction that I want to read again. I'll link it somewhere if you want to watch that. But I've been thinking in the back of my mind that I want to read more historical fiction but I haven't been doing it. But I think the henna artist could be a five star read and it could be the kick I need to like actually motivate myself to read more historical fiction and especially more diverse historical fiction because I keep finding recommendations for just World War two and I'm like no I don't want that. I don't want to read World War two right now. So I think the henna artist is going to be amazing. All right so the last four books that I would like to talk about are going to be much more on the fantasy side of things. So the first one is one that actually came out November of 2021 but I won't be able to pick it up until 2022. And that is The Last Graduate. This is the second book in the Scholar Man series and this is by Naomi Novik. I gave the first book A Deadly Education five stars. It was one of my favorite reads of 2021. So it would just make sense that the second book would have potential four or five stars. Now again I know I said that I like the first books more generally which is which is true. But I think this series is another exception in that I just love the world itself. So even if we aren't learning too much more about it I still think I'm going to enjoy it just as much. Maybe it may be not as much as the first one but because like the first book was like a 5.5. Like it was amazing. It was one of my best. So I think the second one has the potential to still be a five point still be a five star read even if it's not like as good as the first one. It still makes it to a five star read. I think it has that potential. So again I have another sequel in A series. But this is the Deathless series by Namina Forna. The first book is the Gilded Ones. Again five star read. So the Merciless Ones which is coming out in 2022. Again I think could be a five star read. This one I again saying it's a five star prediction seems a little hopeful for me. Like I think the cliffhanger at the end of the first book was really good but I just I don't know with this author. I haven't read anything else by Namina Forna. I think this was her debut. So I'm putting it on here as a five star prediction because I think it could be but it's not quite as strong as a prediction as I have the other books on this list I think. The next book is actually a book that I own finally. So again it's not going to be like a new release but it is Carrival by Stephanie Garver. I have not read this series yet. I have a bookmark in at like page one literally yeah literally like in the first chapter. This is the first in a trilogy and I know so many people that love this trilogy. There was a good friend of mine on here who this was like her favorite series or her favorite trilogy and so again it's the first in a series. So this I definitely think this has potential of being a five star read. It follows a girl and her sister and there's this big event Carrival that they've always wanted to go to and then one year they actually get invited to go and then the younger sister you know kind of maybe gets a little kidnapped and it's all part of the game that they have to then find her before something bad happens or something I don't know but she needs to find her sister at this big circus event parade whatever thing. Like I said this has the potential to be five stars. I know a lot of other people who loved it. It's the first in a trilogy so I'm gonna predict this is five stars and I'm finally going to encourage myself and be excited to pick it up this next year in 2022. All right the last book that I have on this list is a I think it's a standalone. It's a fantasy. It is The Blade of Secrets by Trisha Levinseller. I haven't read anything by Trisha Levinseller before but I think that this book could be a five stars so this book follows a bladesmith already I'm super excited about it because you don't see a lot of fantasy books where you follow like bladesmiths or people who make the weapons you just follow the people who use them. Anyway so we follow a female bladesmith with anxiety and I've heard lots of good things about the anxiety rep in this book which I'm excited about as someone who also has anxiety so it's great in a life great. So to see that in a main character of a book who like makes weapons I'm so thrilled. New word thrilled. And so she and her sister and I believe some guy have to go on the run because she made this all powerful blade and then this bad person wants it and she's like maybe you shouldn't have this all powerful blade that I made. So they have to take the blade and they go on the run and I I just want to read this so bad. Again I think it came out either this past year or even in 2020 it could be but it's a book I want to read in 2022. I think it could be five stars just the representation the story plot as well as like a unique main character for fantasy. I'm here for it. I'm excited. I am thrilled looking forward to it. So there we go. Alright thank you all so much for watching this video. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know in the comments what some of your five star predictions for 2022 are whether they are books coming out in 2022 or books that you're hoping to read in 2022. Like this video give it a thumbs up if you like actually liked it. Otherwise feel free to subscribe. In January I will go back to my Sunday Wednesday schedule so you will be getting videos from me twice a week and the best way to be notified of those is by hitting the bell when you subscribe. So I think you should totally do that. Otherwise I also have bookish social media down below in the description for you to check out and we can be friends. If you follow me I will follow you back. I love getting recommendations from you guys as always so yeah we can totally be friends and until I see you all in the next video I wish you happy reading.