I hope this finds you safe and well.
A month into the New Year already! Have you made any reading-related resolutions/plans for 2022? I have several reading-related intentions this year.
- As is customary, my lovely friends and I have created a reading challenge, this year using the hashtag #42for22 (which I posted about in more detail here).
- I stumbled across the PopSugar reading challenge, which looks interesting. It also looks like it might be challenging to keep up with alongside #42for22, so I’m going to keep notes on progress, but not stress too much if I don’t do too well, since #42for22 is my priority.
- I’m hoping to find time to post book reviews more frequently, and much sooner after I’ve finished reading them. I do take notes for a review when I’ve finished a book, but it is still a lot easier to review a novel when details are fresh as well.
- I’m not going to worry about posting which novel I have assigned to which challenge prompt. That way I might actually keep up a twitter thread of 2022 reads without stressing if I move a book to a different category.
- I will however aim to assign a rating to each book within my reading recap posts instead.
We’ll see how these intentions go. Wish me luck?!
Books I read in January:
You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen McManus
Until I discovered Karen McManus I hadn’t really come across any whodunnits within YA. YA is my favourite reading genre, and I spent my teen years reading and rereading Agatha Christie novels, so whodunnits remain a great pleasure of mine, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to find McManus’ debut novel at YALC (Young Adult Literature Convention) a few years ago.
I absolutely love McManus’ work. She’s one of the authors that I will autobuy as soon as a new novel comes out, confident that I will enjoy it without needing to know a thing about it. McManus seems to be an absolute writing machine at the moment, which is exciting. Hopefully I shall fulfill my plan to review novels more quickly and get a full review out in the near future. Hopefully.
A 5 star read.
Hot Secrets by Lisa Renee Jones
I picked this up wanting a short and easy read, and thought it would nicely fulfill the ‘secrets’ prompt. Which was an unecessary concern since literally every book I read in January would have worked beautifully for that prompt!
It’s definitely an easy read, and I do have a soft-spot for FBI-shaped lead characters. The plot built tension quite well, but the denouement was somewhat rushed. The author tried a little too hard with the chemistry between leads, with every single touch and glance causing overdescribed sensations.
There was a scene in which a character did not consent and the other character overrode any objections, and this failed to have ramifications or consequences that I was satisfied with. This is a huge red flag for me in any novel, but I would grant 3 stars to this novella.
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
I read this only a couple of months ago but then my edition of the finale, Aurora’s End, was delayed and I found myself wanting to reread the series. It’s one of my favourite series of all time, so I decided to indulge myself. You can read my full review here. Still a 5 star read.
Dangerous Secrets by Lisa Renee Jones
This is a sequel of sorts to Hot Secrets, in that it occurs a few months after the first novella, but concerns the story of two different characters who appear briefly in the original. I’d found both characters intriguing and thought I would enjoy their own story. I was mistaken. Very mistaken. I’m just going to award a solitary star and move on swiftly.
What the Bride Didn’t Know by Kelly Hunter
January was the month of secrets, it seems! This is another novella, but it manages to pack in special ops intrigue, romance and a character dealing with physical limitations following debilitaating injury. The characters were interesting and engaging. A solid 4 stars.
Books read this month: 5
#42for22 Challenge progress: 5/42
Total books read in 2022: 5
If you’d like to take part in or see more details on the reading challenges, there is a challenge page with details of all challenges, past and present.
Hey, good bookin'! 