Another January Reading Wrap-Up
It’s the end of the month and I cannot believe January is finally over, just in time for another reading wrap-up.
I started the month by rereading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I reread this every New Year as it is one of my all-time favourites. You can read my review in last year’s post; The Books I Read This January.
This year, I created my own Bookopoly game. Being a mood reader, I sometimes find it hard to get out of my comfort zone. I also wanted a way to help clear my ever-growing TBR. Rolling 5 times, my prompts and choices were;
- The last book bought – Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
- The next book in a current series – As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson
- Preorder a new book – The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers
- Read the book before the movie – Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
- Book with ‘new’ in the title – New Beginnings At Glendale Hall by Victoria Walters
I managed to read 3 of the 5 prompts. With 4 books read this month let’s talk about the 3 new ones.
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
The anticipated sequel to Divine Rivals, I was so happy when this came a few weeks early in the post!
This (of course) picks up where Divine Rivals left off and without spoiling too much, I will give a general synopsis.
Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt are two people from entirely different backgrounds but they are both in a world where the gods are at war. In Divine Rivals we discover a magical connection between the two characters, They’re story was just beginning when they are ripped apart by the war. But as the tagline says, “Torn apart by war, reunited by love.”
I couldn’t put this down once I started reading. It has this old-school enchantment to romance that seeps into your bones. In terms of plot direction, I did find it a little predictable at times. But, there are twists and surprises I didn’t see coming. I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamics in the relationship between Iris and Attie and Iris and Forest. It was great to read a story where there was depth to friendships and familial relationships. We didn’t just feel the woman’s emotional connections with the love interest. I did come to find that Rebecca Ross is not one for a completely happy ending. The amount of times I had to close the book to reflect, to wipe the tears or to go back and reread. As if I couldn’t believe that was what happened. It is 4.5 stars from me. I actually cannot wait to reread the series.
The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers
This is a debut novel for Georgia Summers and I was very interested when reading the synopsis. I was so glad to have ‘pre-order a new book’ as a prompt.
Curses are made to be broken. That line took me in. A standalone fantasy novel, we meet the Everlys. A family where the brightest and best disappear. A punishment that has been going on for centuries.
Violet Everly’s mother left Violet and her family to try and break the curse. But never returned. Now, it’s Violet’s turn. But she’s tied to a non-negotiable deadline. Will Violet break the curse? Will she find the City of Stardust?
This is one of those books I enjoyed reading but when finished, it didn’t spark as much emotion from me as others have. For a debut novel, I liked Georgia’s writing style, her way of world-building and her character development. But, I feel as though there were many questions and many other characters we could have heard more from to help thicken the plot. Especially for this kind of unique storyline. In the synopsis, we read that Violet’s mother leaves and as Violet travels she hears more and more about her. However, we never experience her mother as a full character. I’d have liked to have heard these stories of her mother from her mother, like a flashback. Intending to be a standalone, I think this book could have been executed better as a duology. 3.5 stars.
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
This has sat on my TBR since last summer. I bought this because I had heard good things. I still have not seen the movie, but after hearing that my Poppa has read this and enjoyed it. It had to be the choice for my “book before the film” prompt.
The ‘Marsh Girl’ has been the subject of many rumours. But Kya Clark is a young woman, who was abandoned as a little girl.
She survived for years alone or with very little support. There are a few whom she comes to call friends, that stay in her life.
But in 1969, Chase Andrews the quiet town’s star alumni athlete, is found dead. Locals immediately suspect “the marsh girl”, as rumours of her and Chase had circled for a few years prior. Charged with murder, did Kya kill Chase?
Trigger warning; this book contains mentions of physical and mental abuse, hunger, bullying, isolation and sexual assault.
There is so much to this story. We flick between the murder trial, and Kya’s life growing up on the marsh. For most, a marsh is like a swamp. It’s part of the land where unwanted creatures live. It is an almost villainised piece of nature that you mainly read about or watch as part of the horror, mystery or crime genre. It made me think differently about the beauty of America’s “outback” lands.
How Delia entwines it all with Kya’s story, which on its own is so incredibly written. It’s the perfect setting for the different emotions this pulled from me. And the parallels I could draw on my own life. Many will tell you, that having a disability can be incredibly lonely. To read someone else’s loneliness…I loved this. This was a 5-star read for me.
And that was another reading wrap-up for January. Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? I’d love to know what you read over January. Comment below or find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.
As always, thanks for reading…