January 2018 Reading Wrap-Up + Book Haul

Why hello there February!  Ta-ta January!!!

I don’t know about you all, but I had a fantastic month.  Not only was I able to slay my January TBR and read a total of 10 books, but I was able to get back into my blogging groove.

Let’s see how I fared in January, shall we?

» After being on a hiatus from October – December 2017, I feel like I am finally back into the swing of things.  I really focused this month on writing book reviews to clear out my backlog of NetGalley reviews.   This will most likely continue through February until I am all caught up.

» Moving forward, I will only be writing full reviews for books I receive for review.  For all other books I read, I will be breaking them up into genres (historical fiction, fantasy, thriller, etc) & posting mini-reviews once I have about 5 books to review in each category.  I wish I had time to review every book I read, but it just isn’t realistic since I read much faster than I review.

*Book titles link to Goodreads

» The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• this book is a gem – I wish it had received more attention when it came out in 2016 ¤ set on an island off the coast of Italy – small island living where everyone is in everyone else’s business
• loved the inclusion of folklore & superstition (inspired by Sicilian & Italian folklore?
• this book follows one family over the span of the 20th century – you would think character development would suffer as the different descendants come to the forefront of the story, but the author somehow pulls it off so well
• family secrets & drama
• interesting seeing the progression of the island community throughout the course of the century

» The Girl in the Tower (Winternight #2) by Katherine Arden

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• Even BETTER than the first book!
• I love Vasya’s character.  I love that she is fierce, brave, independent, level-headed, and kind
• Political intrigue
• Sibling relationships – complicated, but at the end of the day they always have each other’s backs.
• Religious tones – not preachy.  Christianity vs. Paganism.
• I’m a sucker for books where women disguise themselves as men – Think Mulan
• The Bear and the Nightingale was a slower moving book for world building purposes – The Girl in the Tower is an action packed adventure.
• If you enjoy this series, I’d recommend the YA historical fiction (no fantasy) series The Conqueror’s Saga: And I Darken & Now I Rise by Kiersten White.  It is a gender swap retelling of Vlad the Impaler.

» Tumbledown Manor by Helen Brown

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• Same plotline as Under the Tuscan Sun – divorced woman moves to another country, buys old house, begins fixing up old house with goofy contractors, disasters along the way, and a wedding at the house at the end of the book… sound familiar?
• The romance was very awkward.
• Struggled with the writing at times: “But his pillow was as vacant as the wastelands of Antarctica” “It was her favorite pillow, so it probably harbored superbugs.” “The scar ran in a horizontal line across her torso like a ruler marking the end of a school essay.” “…row of suns yellow as egg yolks.” “Scott’s boots lay like a pair of drunken sailors under the step.”
• Best part about the book is that the MC is an author who writes a series of books based off the Brontë sisters, so there were lots of tidbits of information about the sisters and their lives.
• Love the cover

» May the Road Rise Up to Meet You by Peter Troy

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• This book is about 4 hours too long – because of the length & slower moving plot, this book took me a month to read.
• The convergence of the 2 love stories didn’t really work for me.  There wasn’t a significant enough connection between Ethan/Marcella and Micah/Mary.  They all just kind of met up at the end, which felt a little forced.
• This book needed to be separated into two books: Ethan & Marcella’s story, and Micah & Mary’s story.  I enjoyed both stories, but it was too much all together.
• This wasn’t a bad book by any means, just feel that the author was a little too ambitious.

» The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• The Handmaid’s Tale is timeless.  I cannot believe this book was written in the early 80’s.
• With the current situation in the U.S., this book felt very relevant.  It is also what makes it so terrifying, the fact that it isn’t so unbelievable as you would hope.
• This wasn’t exactly an enjoyable read.  It made me angry, which was Atwood’s intent.
• Loved the open-endness of this book and felt it was really fitting of the story for us to leave some things up to the reader’s imagination.
• The way THT is written took a little bit to get used to – switches from present to past frequently without clear indication.
• This book isn’t action packed, but it still packs a punch.

» Nora & Kettle by Lauren Nicolle Taylor

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• Content/Trigger Warning: child abuse.  This book ended up including a topic that I am very sensitive to: child abuse.  Generally I can handle books that do not go into graphic detail, but unfortunately this one did.  This was a hard book for me to get through.
• Going to leave this one unrated because it ended up include a topic I am sensitive to.  I don’t feel like it would be fair to rate this one because of this.
• This book would have been better as a single POV book.  I feel like it would have been better to tell this one through Kettle’s eyes alone.
• Loved that the characters in this story showed the aftermath of the interment of Japanese Americans during WWII, HOWEVER the author gave zero information about the actual event.   We only get small flashbacks of life in the camp through the characters’ eyes, but we don’t get any actual historical context.  If you are not familiar with this event in history, you would have to look it up to see what the author is talking about.
• Less a Peter Pan retelling, and more like the story was inspired by Peter Pan – this aspect was well done.

» The Queen of Blood (The Queens of Renthia #1) by Sarah Beth Durst

*4.5 stars*

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• I loved the world in The Queen of Blood: the idea that humans & spirits (water, earth, air, fire, etc.) have to coexist despite the fact that spirits desire the eradication of all humans.  The setting was also intriguing: people colonizing in trees together to form villages & cities… very whimsical
• Daleina was such an awesome main character.  I admired her level-headedness, cleverness, dedication, work ethic, and bravery.  I also really appreciated that she was not the best, in fact she struggled, with controlling the spirits.  It was refreshing to see someone who had to make up for things that do not come naturally with hard work and cleverness.
• I was worried at first that this book was going to be cliché, but it wasn’t like anything I had read before.  Some things were not a big shock, but I was still surprised a fair amount of times.
• Positive female friendship – zero girl hate!
• The ending was on point!

» The Hatching (The Hatching #1) by Ezekiel Boone

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• I stepped WAY outside of my comfort zone with this one… I tend to avoid books that have to do with things I am terrified of, like man-eating spiders.
• If I had no idea who the author was before reading this, I could have told you it was written by a man.  This book definitely feels like a book that would appeal to the “man’s man.”  This is not a criticism of the book, just that you should not expect “flowery writing.”
• I would describe this book as being a little “rough around the edges.”  It has foul language and is crude at times, which doesn’t bother me, but if you are easily offended this probably isn’t your book.
• Despite the fact that this book terrified me, it was very readable – I had to know what was going to happen next.
• Loved that Boone had so many female characters in positions of power in this story: the president, a marine squad leader, a leading scientist in the field of spiders…
• While I understand why the author chose to tell this story by introducing us to multiple characters, it was almost too much.  I would have preferred for the story to have been told through 3-4 main POVs, and leave the others off.  We were introduced to a new character every chapter up until the 30% mark before we cycled back around to some of the past characters.
• The Hatching leaves us with a HUGE cliffhanger, enough of one that I am throwing around the idea of reading the next book.

» Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• I would have adored this book when I was in high school.  This is such an appropriate YA romance.
• There isn’t much of a plotline – this is a very character driven story.
• Would recommend to fans of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe BUT I felt the pacing of this book was much better than Aristotle and Dante
• Positive family dynamics with parents that are actually involved with their children’s’ lives.  A teenager actually got grounded in a YA book?!  Thank you!  I don’t know about you all, but I spent much of my teen years grounded.
• Positive friendships for the most part – just a smidge of “girl hate” in Leah & Abby’s relationship, BUT there was at least a reasoning behind it.
• The author nailed Simon’s perspective – I really felt like I was in the head of a teenager.
• There were two parts in the plot that annoyed me a little – they both have to do with separate fights that Leah & Abby have with Simon… Really?  HOWEVER I try to keep in mind that these are teenagers.
• FYI: Simon’s last name (Spier) is pronounced “SP-EAR” – I just looked at the spelling and if I hadn’t listened to it via audiobook I would have been pronouncing it “SPY-ER”

» Binti (Binti #1) by Nnedi Okorafor

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• This world gave me Star Wars and The Fifth Element vibes.
• There were times where I had a difficult time following along & understanding the world & the concepts – this isn’t a criticism of the book per se, as it is probably more me not being able to wrap my head around everything.
• The writing is breathtaking.
• Themes: cultural diversity, peace, communication, customs & traditions, forging one’s own path, etc.
• Binti was an amazing female lead – smart, talented, brave, level-headed, etc.
• The audiobook is wonderfully narrated by Robin Miles,
• I really wish this had been a full length novel – how was the author able to pack in such a mind-blowing world in such a short novella?!?
• I think fans of The Fifth Season would enjoy this novella series.

 

2017 Reading Wrap-Up + Bookish Goals for 2018

January 2018 TBR

2017 New Releases I Wish I Had Read in 2017

Book Event: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Book Tour

Book Event: The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo Book Tour

Book Reviews:

Book Review: The Last Girl (The Dominion Trilogy #1) by Joe Hart

Book Review: North of Here by Laurel Saville

Book Review: Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend

Book Reiew: Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale by David Kudler

eBooks:

» As Good As True by Cheryl Reid

A powerful and haunting novel of a woman’s broken past and the painful choices she must make to keep her family and her home.

August 1956. After a night of rage and terror, Anna Nassad wakes to find her abusive husband dead and instinctively hides her bruises and her relief. As the daughter of Syrian immigrants living in segregated Alabama, Anna has never belonged, and now her world is about to erupt.

Days before, Anna set in motion an explosive chain of events by allowing the first black postman to deliver the mail to her house. But it’s her impulsive act of inviting him inside for a glass of water that raises doubts about Anna’s role in her husband’s death.

As threats and suspicions arise in the angry community, Anna must confront her secrets in the face of devastating turmoil and reconcile her anguished relationship with her daughter. Will she discover the strength to fight for those she loves most, even if it means losing all she’s ever known?

» Declaration: A Poetry Chapbook in Three Movements by Jeff Roush

This poetry chapbook constitutes the first collection published by Jeff Roush. Its inspiration and organizational structure come from Jefferson’s inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The chapbook focuses its linguistic eye and musical ear on quiet moments in everyday life that fall among and across these lofty concepts.

Physical Books:

» Beartown by Fredrik Backman

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove returns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream—and the price required to make it come true.

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world. 

Which books did you read this month?

Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month?  If so, what did you think?

Did you buy any books?  If so, which ones?

Comment below & let me know 🙂