Hey y’all!
January was a pretty good reading month for me! I typically do a lot of reading over the holidays and I was able to keep that momentum going into January. While I didn’t uninstall TikTok until later in the month, I did manage redirect some of my scrolling time into reading time (and some Doctor Who bingeing).
Here's my January reads, lowest to highest:
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff (Hardcover, Library)
DNF
I didn’t get very far into this, so I won’t give a full review. I picked this up because I had heard a lot of hype but it gave me a bit of a weird vibe right off the bat. Then I noticed EmmaSkies 1-star review noting the misogyny (among other issues) and decided my life is too short to read 800 pages of that nonsense. This also reminded me why I rarely read high fantasy written by straight white men.
Untethered by Gloria Bottelman (ARC, E-Book)
2.75 Stars
I was excited to pick up Untethered because I love gothic fantasy - and it's not hard to sell me on a necromancer heroine! Add in sentient trees and I'm *intrigued* for sure.
I ended up really enjoying Lux and Shaw, as well as their relationship. I thought Shaw's little sister was also a fun side character and wish we'd seen more of her!
Knowing this is book 1 in a duology helps some of my critiques. I felt like the world-building was a bit weak at times and I sometimes found myself confused as to what was actually happening/what the explanation for certain things was. While some of that was the writing itself being unclear, I could also see some of those confusions being cleared up in book 2! I'm particularly interested in the ways Lux's necromancer powers might expand moving forward.
I also found myself wishing for more depth to some of the characters, which I can foresee being fleshed out more in book 2. Thank you to the author, Gloria Bottelman, for allowing me to be part of the ARC team in exchange for an honest review!
The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport (EmmaSkies book club, E-Book)
3 Stars
The Blood Trials had an incredibly exciting premise that hooked me from the start. Unfortunately, the execution kept it from achieving its promise.
From the start, I struggled with how immature Ikenna was. I will own that I don't relate to hot-tempered characters well, and that was a barrier to understanding Ikenna's character for me. However, for a character that is supposed to be quite smart given her grandfather's training, I found it frustrating how often she let her temper completely blind her. At no point did she truly seem mature enough to be handling 90% of the situations she was in.
There wasn't enough space given to certain emotional beats, which undercut any sense of character growth, and I found it especially unbelievable how quickly she shifts from "grief-stricken and self-destructing" to "mission-oriented" at the beginning of the book.
I can't decide if this book wants to be adult or young adult - a confusion the tags on Goodreads share. The content is decidedly adult at times (the violence, the open-door sex scene, etc) yet the writing style is very young adult (readers are really beat over the head with how misogynistic and racist this society is, the FMC acts much younger than she should given the stakes, etc). I felt like the writing couldn't deliver on the promises of the plot and, as a result, really held the book back.
As an example of not exploring certain beats enough, she has sex presumably while under the influence of her blood magic (and it seems to be implied that the MMC also loses control here), yet this is borderline non-consensual moment is never explored beyond her best friend ribbing her about it. It felt like there was a *lot* crammed into this first book and that some plot points could have been cut in order to focus on the biggest, most meaningful moments more.
Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy (Audiobook)
3.5 Stars
If I'm being honest, I came close to DNF'ing this several times. I didn't really start to truly enjoy this until 60 or 70% in. I found both main characters largely unlikeable for the first half of the book and Grimm's stiffness was not doing him any favors as the supposed love interest. However, the final 30% of the book really picked up, plot-wise, and we finally got to see more of the characters than just their worst attributes.
Several aspects felt underdeveloped or unaddressed, but since there seems to be a sequel planned, I can hope those loose strings will be dealt with in the future. I could see myself picking up book 2 because I did finally become fond of the characters by the end. Unfortunately, I think the pacing and characterization may make it difficult for some readers to push through to the end.
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley (Audiobook)
4 Stars
This isn't my usual genre, but I really enjoyed this! I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrators did a stellar job - their narration may have been part of why I was so into this even though it isn't my usual kind of read.
I love folk-inspired horror and while this thriller had all the grounded answers at the end that I appreciate when tying up loose ends, the folktales that weave into the narrative are really enjoyable.
This is my first Lucy Foley book and I'd definitely be open to reading more of her work since I enjoyed this so much!
Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Key Meija (Hardcover, Library)
4 Stars
A really enjoyable Latine sapphic fantasy! The pacing was a little off at times and the romance felt rushed/underdeveloped, but I'll definitely be interested to see how book 2 wraps things up.
The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games Class, E-Book)
5 Stars
Honestly, I don’t have much to add here that hasn’t already been said a million times in the almost 20 (!!) years since these were published. I will say that I think these have held up. I’m rereading them as part of a Hunger Games and Society course that my friend is running, and it’s interesting to be rereading them in today’s political climate. There are parts of these books that show their age, and there are parts that have become so foundational to the young adult/dystopian genre that it’s easy to underappreciate the impact these books had at the time. I have a lot of respect for Collins and love her writing – these are no exception.
Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao (Hardcover, Library)
4.5 Stars
I really enjoyed this! The writing was beautiful, the pacing kept me engaged while still letting me sit with the proper emotional beats, and the reveals were incredibly satisfying.
I've read several Asian-inspired fantasy books focused on colonialism lately, and I think this one handles it the best by far. The narrative doesn't explain colonialism like you're a child - it properly addresses the horrors and knows you will see how awful it is through the eyes of the characters without needing to overexplain or hand-hold.
I'm really looking forward to reading the sequel!
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen (Hardcover)
4.75 Stars
I devoured this in less than 24 hours because I just couldn’t put it down – especially once I got to the final hundred pages and everything started to come together. There were some plot aspects that I had guessed already, but it was still very satisfying to read how they were executed. A friend got me this for Christmas and I’m glad she encouraged me to move it up my TBR because it was a great read! I’m very excited for the second book to come out in May.
Homegrown Magic by Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos (ARC, E-Book)
5 Stars
This book delivered *exactly* what I wanted from it. Cozy fantasy with stakes, queer-normative world, plant magic, yearning, kissing, anti-capitalist themes, and a celebration of the power of community. I really needed something warm and wholesome to read and this was the right book to pick up.
Margot is a soft yet strong FMC, which I really enjoyed in contrast to the many stabby/sarcastic FMCs we get these days (which are also great! but variety is nice). And as someone who is of the softer personality myself, I really related to Margot and the pressure she put on herself to solve everything on her own.
Yael truly stole my heart. I found their character arc immensely satisfying and loved the way they grew from a sheltered, self-centered, privileged warlock into a hard-working, attentive partner. I wish we could've seen a little more of their early time working in the greenhouse but that's just a minor note, mostly rooted in how much I like Yael and want to dig into their story.
I think readers might enjoy this more if they go into it knowing it's cozy fantasy with more of a romance plot structure. The fantasy and challenges are there, but there's also a heavy focus on Margot and Yael's relationship - and some of my favorite story beats where the romance-focused ones!
I teared up at the end, so it's safe to say I got quite attached to the characters. I'm so happy there was a teaser for a second book at the end of this ARC - I'll definitely be picking up book 2 as soon as it's out! Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
(I forgot to log the audiobooks as audiobooks…gotta get better at tracking the right edition in Storygraph)
And that’s it!
My priority reads for February are:
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (reread)
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (reread)
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (in progress)
The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim (in progress)
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez (in progress)
These Vengeful Wishes by Vanessa Montalban (ARC)
The Moonlight Healers by Elizabeth Becker (ARC)
Hungerstone by Kat Dunn (ARC)
We’ll see what I get to! What’s something you’re looking forward to reading this month?
XOXO,
Rae
