Weekly Wrap Up (only I'm late so it's more than a week)- January 1st to 17th
Hello, all dragons,
I am trying something new. I will post weekly reading wrap-ups from now on in hopes of keeping on track with all the things I’m reading. This is different for me because I am usually so very behind. Now the goal is to post these on Mondays normally, but I am running late per usual so. This wrap up will cover January 1st to the 17th. I can forgive myself for that because I read the majority of the books about to be listed below over the long weekend. This will not fly anymore after this.
So here are the books I read so far in January.
Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas- Rating 10/10- I forgot how good this book is. I know I say that every time I reread a book. But it is genuinely true. I always forget. This is the fourth published novel in the Throne of Glass series. This time around I cried reading it. I did not sob fully, but I teared up in a few places, and one time I had actual tears fall. I think I am getting old. I don’t like this old age thing. The story picks up a few weeks after the previous book wraps up. A good chunk of the story deals with the emotional fallout of the previous books, but it also sets up storylines for the future. This book is where the scope of the world expands so much. It’s wonderful. We also get new characters. Among them is Manon a witch who I want to be, Rowan, a Fae warrior with great tattoos, and Aedion, a certain someone’s cousin. I loved this book for the character journeys it took us on. Celeana goes so far in her personal growth and her healing process after all the things that have happened to her. Dorian grows a lot in this one too. He starts to figure out who he wants to be and what kind of person he wants to become for himself and his kingdom. Chaol frustrated me quite a bit in this book. He is truly the only character who is refusing to grow. I don’t think that makes him a bad person, I think that makes him a deluded one. Dorian sums up Chaol’s conflict for him but CHaol truly thinks that he knows best. I felt bad for him. The ending of this book broke me. In some ways, it gave me hope, but in other ways, it broke me. I’m trying to keep these Wrap-Ups spoiler-free so I will not discuss it but just be prepared for devastation.
Halfway to the Grave by Jeanine Frost- Rating 8/10- There is a lot of talk in the book community about “spicy” books. No one is talking about these. And I think they are truly doing themselves a disservice if they are indeed after “spicy”. I’m sorry I keep putting quotation marks around the word spicy but it just makes me laugh. These books deal with some seriously badass vampires. I love them. I first read them at way too young an age (story of my life) and they are just as amazing the third time around. Our heroine, Cat is a half-vampire and her mission in life is to eradicate as many vampires as she can. Until she gets captured by one hot Vampire named Bones who offers her a deal she can’t refuse. Oh, the enemies to lovers are what I am about. Please, do yourselves a favor and go read this book and this series.
The Yoga Store Murder by Dan Morse- Rating 9/10- This is a true-crime novel. It covers the LuLuLemon Murder that took place in 2011 in Bafezda. I originally heard about this case on a multitude of true crime podcasts that I like to listen to, and something about it just stuck with me. I could not stop thinking about it. So I got this book. I devoured it in two days, and am just as fascinated with this case as ever. The author does an amazing job pulling together a cohesive picture of all the players involved in this messed-up citation and explores all the aspects of the case. I always find nonfiction difficult to rate but this book truly deserves a high rating. It’s so engaging. I only wish it was not true because it’s truly tragic what happened to all the people involved because of one person's selfishness.
Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi- Rating 10/10- I am so glad I finally picked up this book. I had it on my shelf since 2018 and was afraid to pick it up. I don’t know why I was scared of it exactly. This is a middle grade based on Indian/Hindu mythology. It follows twelve-year-old Aru Shah on her journey to save the world from the apocalypse she accidentally started. There is also a talking pigeon. Aru lights the Lamp of Apocalypse releases a demon and finds out she is one of the five legendary Pandavas (there is a giant epic poem about this if you want to look into it) and it’s her job to figure out how to stop the end of the world. Oh and also she discovers she has potential spirit sisters. I love that. We get spirit sisters and b. That the legendary brothers of mythology are now sisters. We all know that girls do things better. I’m here for it. I had so much fun. Also, Hindu mythology is so underappreciated. There is such complexity to it. Seriously go read this book.
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore- Rating 10/10- Okay so I am trying to read as many variants of the book as possible this year. I have had this on my shelf since 2019 and I just felt it calling my name now. So I picked it up thinking I would just read a few chapters. The joke’s on me. I read the whole thing in one sitting. I truly could not put this book down. I love that Anableele is so passionate about her education, and becomes equally passionate about women’s rights. She is such an amazing character. She is not ashamed of who she is. There is no Victorian immorality talk being thrown around. It makes sense. She studies the classics which are not exactly shy about the human body and what people do together. She knows there is no shame. Sebastian is such a complicated character. He is trying to take everything on himself to prevent anyone else from having to shoulder the burden. I love how those two people compliment each other. I also love that they admit to themselves that they are perfect for each other, and it’s outside forces keeping them apart more so than anything else.
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan- Rating 8/10- Hello reread. I love rereads. This book did things to me once again, because I knew certain things that happen in the future. I wonder if Uncle Rick did some serious foreshadowing or if it just worked out that way. This is the next series after Percy Jackson and I love it just as much. I love the multiple POVs because I like getting into as many heads as possible. It lets me understand the characters better. Granted, an author does a good job will still let the reader understand the characters even if we are not in their heads, but I love having the privilege of actually hearing their thoughts. I am using the word love a lot but you know what? I’m going to go with it. It was a good weekend of reading. I liked everything. I’m allowed to gush. I took the star away because of Jason. I know that he has amnesia but amnesia takes a lot away from a character. It becomes their whole personality.
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal- Rating 10/10- I treated myself to a reread of this one in preparation for the sequel coming out. I am so excited for the sequel. If you haven't read the book you have no idea how high the hype is. This book is inspired by Ancient Arabia and Arabic mythology. I loved everything about it. The characters were so interesting. They each had something about them that pulled you in. Zafira is amazing. The scene (and this is a baby spoiler but I can’t help myself) where she throws her cloak off as a big fuck you to the Kalif gives me life. I cried during this book, again. The characters just go to such dark places and I felt for them. Once again we had some amazing character growth and relationship building. Even characters who disappear pretty early on from the story are there the whole time. Zafira never forgets her best friend, and Nasir never forgets his father. Someone help me make that man suffer because he deserves it. The ending is nerve-wracking, so it’s a good thing I have the second book in my hands now. Finally. It’s only been forever. Go read this book. There are the quests. There are enemies to lovers. There are secret relationships. There is everything we could ask for.
Alrighty lovelies, how are we doing? Still, hanging on? Does anyone need anything? A comforting beverage? A cozy sweater? More book recommendations? Please let me know. I had fun writing this, It was good to get some thoughts out before they became stale in my head. I take notes as I read of course but notes only do so much for me.
Next week will hopefully be as good of a reading week as this one. I will have some school reading thrown in there as well. That’s what I’m reading between rounds of writing this. But I also hope to get a good chunk of my TBR done. I have an ambitious TBR for January. It’s because my Goodreads Challenge is super ambitious this year as well. Follow me on Goodreads Here We can chant all things books!
This is it for today! I hope you enjoyed this little post!
Anna
