January Reading Wrap-Up 2022

Hi friends! Does anyone else feel like January was 10 months long and over in 1o seconds at the same time? What is time even? Anyhow, January was a good reading month for me. I had two 5-star books, but unfortunately two DNFs.

DNFing books always make me feel bad, but in this instance, I just had to. I want to read better this year, and that means putting books down. Let’s get into my January reading wrap-up!

5 Reasons to Read Beautiful World Where Are You by Sally Rooney

January Reading Stats

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers (5 Stars)

This book is probably one of the best sci-fi books I’ve read. It hit me square in the feels and I am still recovering. Record of a Spaceborn Few might even be on my best books of 2022 list, it was so good. In this instalment of the Wayfarers series, we follow Ashby’s (?) sister and various other characters from the Exodus fleet. We watch them go through trauma, learn, grow, fail, and question their place in the universe. This book is character-driven, so there’s not much plot, but I didn’t hate it. I was so wrapped up in all of their stories. This book was a warm hug and a punch to the gut. I honestly wish it was 100 pages longer. I need more.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (4 Stars)

It took me a while to get into The Hating Game. I wanted to read this book before watching the movie, and I’m glad I got to it in Jan. Firstly, I didn’t like the start of this book because Lucy is essentially a toddler. She acts like one, dresses like one, and is constantly compared to one. It made me feel a little sick tbh, because the infantilisation of her reeks of underlying misogyny and “guys only find women sexually attractive when they are basically children”. Put that into contrast with Josh, who is supposed to be Superman in terms of muscle and height, it’s a little gross.

It kept nagging at me the whole way through the book, even though their banter was great and I loved the avoidance of a third act conflict. It’s a nice book, but can we please stop infantilising women?

Master of Sorrows by Justin Call (1 Star – DNF)

I feel bad about DNFing this book, but I just could not continue any longer. Master of Sorrows was just not the book for me. The main character, Annev, annoyed the snot out of me. I hated every decision he made, and he seemed the be extra childish in the first part of the book. I skipped ahead to the end to see if anything of note happened, but was also disappointed. This book was way too long, and way too slow. This book was supposed to be a villain origin story, but it felt really cartoonish. Annev would have “dark thoughts and urges”, and some of the other characters (Tosan) were literal moustache-twirling, one-dimensional villains. This was not it for me.

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey (3 Stars)

This audiobook frequently comes up on my suggestions tab on Scribd, so I thought I would give it a go. In this book, we follow Ivy Gamble, a private investigator and non-magical human as she investigates a murder at her magical sister’s school. I usually enjoy urban magical stories (like The Magicians and An Unkindness of Magicians) and I’m glad I gave this book a go. The story was really intriguing and I got caught up in this magical world alongside Ivy.

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len (4 Stars)

This book really surprised me. I knew it was on the younger end of YA, and I told myself I wouldn’t hold that against it. The premise sounded really cool, I love time travel stories. I inhaled this book in two days. I loved the worldbuilding and magic, even though the characters could have used some work. It lacked some depth, but we are getting two more books and that excites me.

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire (5 Stars)

It’s no surprise that I loved this book. More so than the last few. Cora is one of my favourite characters, especially because I know exactly how she feels. We were both swimmers, and both were (are) plus size. In a world with magic, I could have been her. Her story resonated with me more than the others, and I loved that we got to see some of the Whitethorn Institute. The ending felt a little rushed, and I hope we return to this particular storyline in the future. I need Kade’s book, and I need them all to defeat the evil we encountered in this book. I’m counting down the days until the release of the next book.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth (1 Star – DNF)

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I gave it a good shot (I got to about 54%), and then decided to put it down. It’s hard to DNF books because I want to give every book a fair chance. Plain Bad Heroines was just not for me. I didn’t enjoy the writing style, and the story moved at a glacial pace. Part horror, part romance, part Hollywood commentary, I’m sure people who love films and the stories behind those films will love this one. However, most of the references were lost on me, and I hated the characters (Merrit in particular). We also get bashed over the head with the yellow jackets (and I do mean this literally, dear Reader). Overall, I didn’t enjoy it.

February Possibility Pile

This is a new addition to my wrap-up posts. I thought I would mention some of the books I’m hoping to read in Feb. I don’t want to commit to any TBRs this year (since I am a mood reader of note). Thus, I’m calling them possibility piles.

• The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
• The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
• Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
• Far From the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson

Posts I Loved

Go give these amazing bloggers some love!

• My Favourite Reads of 2021 by Moonchild Lexicons
• Most Disappointing Reads of 2021 by Let Me in the Library
• Daughter of the Moon Goddess Review by Luminosity Library

Chat with me about your January reads!

Did you have a good reading month?

If you enjoy my content, please consider supporting me!

Support Me!

Pin This!

0

0