I really ended 2022 on a low note as far as reading went. I read maybe a handful of books between October and December because nothing could hold my attention, no matter how many books I tried. January, though—January is when I got my enthusiasm back. (Okay, well, tail end of December if you want to be really technical, but that’s neither here nor there.)
One thing I’m hoping to do with this here little blog is keep up with a monthly recap of what I read, including short (re: 100 words or less) reviews of each.
Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman // Satanic Panic inspired horror? Yes please. The Satanic Panic is one of those periods in time that really pisses me off yet I can’t stop being fascinated by, so I was really interested in this one when I found it at the bookstore. It was a bit slow at times, but I loved the way the story was told from past and present perspectives. I did guess the ending somewhat, but I still enjoyed the aspect of the unreliable narrator to how the story ended as well. 7/10
Seance Tea Party by Reimena Yee // This one was on my list for about a year, and I finally grabbed it the day I saw it on display at the library. This one was so cute! It was just long enough that it took me two nights to read, which I enjoyed because I didn’t necessarily want it to end too quickly. It was a bittersweet and quite honestly made me want to have my own séance tea party one day. The illustrations were beautiful as well, and it was a great book to start my little graphic novel binge with. 8/10
Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol // This was so much spookier than I was expecting, especially after Seance Tea party! I really loved the main character Anya. She was beautifully drawn and somewhat relatable to my teenage self (though I wasn’t born in Russia and I’ve never been a smoker). Since I was unprepared for the macabre factor of this one, I was pleasantly surprised by the turn it took towards the end of the book. It wasn’t terrifying or anything, but it gave me a good reason to shudder. 7.5/10
Just Roll With It by Veronica Agarwal and Lee Durfey-Lavoie // Another excellent middle-grade graphic novel to round out my little binge. This one was also super cute, and it absolutely appealed to my new interests in Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons. It was a really interesting exploration of anxiety and OCD in the main character, and I was absolutely rooting for her the whole book. The art style was a little quirky and cute, and it was a great heartfelt story. 8/10
The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson // This is spin-off of the Truly Devious series, which I read last summer and enjoyed. For some reason, I considered skipping this one—probably because it wasn’t a part of the original mystery—but grabbed it on a whim at the library to give it a go. I’m so glad I did! I love a good mystery, and I enjoyed all the characters in the first three books, so I don’t know why I ever second guessed this one. The murder mystery set up was a bit more brutal than in the first three, but to be honest that was a little more up my alley with the summer camp horror vibes. 7/10
Carmilla by J. Sheridan LeFanu // A horror classic that I added to my list after a friend spoke about it on a podcast, I grabbed this one on a whim at Barnes & Noble back in the fall because I adored the cover design. I was impressed with how well this book flowed in such a short number of pages without feeling rushed. At the same time, it did leave me wanting more. I wanted to know more about just about everyone involved, but especially Laura and Carmilla. I also don’t think I would classify it as romantic on quite the same level as others do, but I see the appeal there, and I could possibly be persuaded had it once again been a longer book. 6/10
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree // Was this the cutest book I read this month? I don’t know. A lot of them were cute, but this one is definitely up there. The cover says “high fantasy & low stakes,” and if that’s not a way directly to my heart I don’t know what is. This was the perfect cozy book for the middle of winter. It was heartwarming, I loved the characters, and it made me squeal with delight more than once. Even when the disaster of the story struck, the promise of “low stakes” kept me from feeling too worried. Sometimes it’s nice not to be on an emotional roller coaster while reading a book and instead just to feel good throughout the entire reading experience. 7/10
I’m also excited to report that with January coming to a close, I’ve managed to already finish three of the books from my 23 in ‘23 list. I don’t expect to keep this momentum steady all year, but I’m feeling good nonetheless.
What did you read in January?
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