January Wrap-Up

Hello and happy new year, everyone!

I hope everyone has had a fantastic start to 2022 so far. It’s been a bit of a slow month for me, so it’s really weird to believe we’re in a new year now.

I would like to say I started the year off slow, but I have strangely been quite busy between books and friends. I started planning a readathon with my friend Cossette (more on that later), read a total of 11 books and 4 graphic novels, and started a new hobby!

contents:

★ reading wrap-up ★
☆ romance
☆ graphic novels
☆ non-fiction
☆ fantasy
☆ mystery

★ posts I loved ★
★ updates and goals ★

★ romance ★

Like a Love Song by Gabriela Martins
What a cute novel! This book got me out of my reading slump, and was a fun read and adorable romance. I’m not usually one to read YA romances so I was surprised by how much I liked it!

One Last Stop by Casey Mcquiston
I had been putting off reading OLS for a while, until my lovely friend Cossette offered to buddy read it with me. I immensely enjoyed reading it – I quickly fell in love with August and related to her so much, and I loved reading her fall for Jane. It was such an intriguing novel, with a focus on romance but some sci-fi mixed in, and I could hardly put it down once I started.

★ graphic novels ★

Night Cry by Borja Gonzales
I received an ARC for this graphic novel and I adored the spooky setting and vibes to it. While the characters weren’t drawn in detail, the background was so vivid and really added to the eerie atmosphere. I liked the storyline about finding out what you really want out of life, but my only qualm is that it resulted in a confusing open-for-interpretation ending.

Bloom by Kevin Panetta
The 15 week wait for my library hold to come through was so worth it. This graphic novel was so beautiful. I thought the blue tint of the illustrations was so pretty, and the art of the baking especially was gorgeous and made me crave all the baked goods.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Vol 1 by Brian Michael Bendis
Into the Spiderverse is one of m comfort movies I’ve watched multiple times, so I knew I had to read Miles’ comics when I got the chance. Volume 1 really jumped into the story with no hesitation, and with vivid illustrations and a fun storyline, it was great to read.

Champions Vol 1: Change the World by Mark Waid
I didn’t know much going into this, other than my faves Miles Morales and Kamala Khan would be in it. I was pleasantly surprised by how refreshing and interesting the storyline was – about young superheroes who were tired of the way of the older Avengers and how they dealt with things, so set out on their own path. It touched on some profound topics that I had thought about while watching Marvel movies, specifically about how heroes swoop in to save the day but don’t do anything to clean the mess they leave for civilians.

★ non-fiction ★

The Bling Ring by Nancy Jo Sales
I decided to start my non-fiction goal with reading about a subject that fascinated me when I was younger.
I remember reading/hearing about the Bling Ring, the name of a group of teenagers who decide to go a robbing spree of celebrity homes.

I was so curious about how they got away with it for so long. The Bling Ring delves into that, as well as discussing the effects of celebrity culture and fame and wealth. It was a riveting read the entire way through.

★ fantasy ★

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
I’m sorry to say that this did not live up to my expectations. The world building was beautiful but there was just too much going on and so many plot points it jumped across. I think personally it just wasn’t for me.

Heroes by Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry continues with his series on greek mythology by delving into the stories of demigods and heroes. I did enjoy hearing about the lesser known heroes in greek myth, such as Altatia, some of the stories did go on for too long for my taste. I preferred his first book Mythos, but I still think this was a decent follow up and I look forward to reading the last installment, Troy.

Bright Ruined Thing by Samantha Cohoe
I was so fascinated when I saw this on Netgalley – I had seen/read retellings for other Shakespearian plays like Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth, but never one for The Tempest. It certainly gave a refreshing and fascinating spin on the play.

★ mystery/thriller ★

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher
Unnerving and frightening are the words I would use to describe this. This thriller was wonderfully atmospheric and creepy, even if it did drag on a little too long at the end.

The Red Palace by June Hur
What can I say about this novel other than that I loved it? It was just so good and my favourite novel to read this January. I loved the mystery and the setting, and the romance oh gosh that was so wonderful. Be on the look out for my review on it soon!

★ misc. ★

I also read a few other books – The Tempest, An Amish Tale of Pride and Prejudice, and he Alchemist, though none of them were anything to write home about.

• Amanda @ Bookish Brews did a whole revamp of her blog and it looks absolutely amazing!
  
• Maddie @ Inking & Thinking wrote a wonderful review for Queen of The Tiles, which has me even more excited for its release.
  
• Maria @ The Character Study made a really introspective post about what makes a book a favourite, which I adored reading (and all the comments too were great to read different perspectives too!)
  
• Aro @ ohnobooks interviewed the author of To Break A Covenant, Alison Ames, and she seems so sweet and has me intrigued about her next novel being released this year.
  
• Caro @ bookcheshirecat shared her anticipated releases of the first half of 2022 and wow is my tbr for this year getting even bigger now because of all the amazing books listed.
  
• Gauri @ A Book and Chai did an amazing interview with June Hur, the author of The Red Palace, and it somehow made me love the book even more than I already do !

I’m happy with the number of books I’ve read so far, but I know the inevitable slump is coming. I’ve taken up crocheting so I’m spending more of my free time doing that than reading (except for the times I’m listening to an audiobook in the meanwhile).

But, I’m also planning to get through as much of my backlist of books that I can this year, so hopefully I can shill down my tbr on goodreads from 225 to 200 (fingers crossed!).

I’m also planning a readathon with my wonderful friend cossette ! 

.@saima_reads and i have teamed up to bring you an ANIMAL CROSSING READATHON, coming soon to an island near you! follow @acnh_readathon to stay updated 🤍 pic.twitter.com/ZfKEsRTz4i

— cossette (she/her) 💛💛 (@cossettereads) January 28, 2022

Watch this space (and coco’s blog @ teatimelit) for more information on it soon!

Thank you for reading!
How was your January?