What I Read in January 2024
Some serious books, a smutty paranormal romance, and a bit of comedic relief.
January Book Reviews
For once, January flew by for me. I read 8 books this month, a total of 1,518 pages and 38.05 listening hours (on at least 1.5x narration speed). Two of those books were non-fiction and have been on my TBR shelf for longer than a year. Using the Storygraph app has made it easier to track some of this data so I’m going to keep up my logging.
Not surprisingly, my highest-rated book was my reread of Bridge to Terabithia. Other must-reads from January: Ninth House and Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo. An unexpected delight: The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson.
Keep scrolling for my full reviews! Just a heads up, if you’re reading this in your email inbox, you can click on "view entire message" to read any of the text that may be truncated due to the length of this newsletter.
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Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 255
Format Read: Kindle
This was the perfect book to begin a new year with. May looks at winter as a period in life where struggle exists. Where she excels is her vignettes of nature. I enjoyed her beautiful reflections on difficult times in her life and how she weathered those seasons with grace.
Notable quotes:
“We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.”
“That’s what you learn in winter: there is a past, a present, and a future. There is a time after the aftermath.”
“In the cold, I find I can think straight; the air feels clean and uncluttered.”
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Thriller/Dark Academia/Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
Pages: 461
Format Read: Kindle
Synopsis: Alex is a 20-year-old HS dropout who gets plucked from her hospital bed as the sole survivor of a vicious murder to become a member of Lethe, a prestigious watchdog organization set up to keep Yale’s eight secret societies (houses of The Veil) in line. Most students at Yale are selected for their academic achievements. Alex can see ghosts (Grays) and the higher-ups have decided this particular gift is useful to exploit.
My Thoughts: If you strip back the dark academia setting, secret societies, occult, and paranormal, Ninth House is a murder mystery at its core. If you get wrapped up in conspiracy theories, you could have a lot of fun with this book. Or it might keep you up reading all night trying to put the pieces together and guess who’s to blame. It took me the first four chapters to figure out the structure of the novel but once I got used to the world-building and flashbacks, I found a good rhythm with the book. I don’t think it’s for everyone, though. Alex is an outsider and she’s the real highlight of the story. Her grit made so many aspects of the story feel raw. The entire story is dark and unsettling but in a way that you just can’t look away. You’ll be fighting for a resolution alongside the whole cast of characters. I did not see the twist at the end coming. I never do. I’m eager to pick up Hell Bent next!
Psst… Check the content warnings and be wary of any scene with a bathroom.
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Thriller/Dark Academia/Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
Pages: 484
Format Read: Kindle
Synopsis: Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can’t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies’ most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren’t just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she’ll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university’s very walls.
My Thoughts: This was a great follow-up to Ninth House. There are so many twists and reveals that I’d love to see fleshed out in a 3rd book. Every answer left me with more questions. Somehow Hell Bent is even darker than Ninth House (although, thankfully, with less S.A.). I got really sucked into the chapters on the descent into hell and all of the foreshadowing laced throughout the book.
To Have and to Hold: Motherhood, Marriage, and the Modern Dilemma by Molly Millwood
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 288
Format Read: Audiobook
Synopsis: In To Have and to Hold, Molly explores the complex terrain of new motherhood, illuminating the ways it affects women psychologically, emotionally, physically, and professionally--as well as how it impacts their partnership. Along with the arrival of a bundle of joy come thorny issues such as self-worth, control, autonomy, and dependency. And for most new mothers, these issues are experienced within the context of an intimate relationship, adding another layer of tension, conflict, and confusion to an already challenging time.
My Thoughts: “Our children show us what we like least about ourselves.” At least that has been much of my recent experience of motherhood. I’m so glad this book exists. Would I recommend it to a pregnant woman? Absolutely not (unless maybe she’s on the fence about having kids). The truth is there are a lot of us out there who have struggled to find our footing in motherhood and I think this book has some wonderful insight into what that feels like. I felt incredibly seen and understood after reading Millwood’s words. This book is for any parent who feels constantly confused by their messy emotions. If you’re tired, resentful, anxious, or feel stuck in fight or flight mode, please pick up this book. I promise you’ll feel less alone. This book is not light and fluffy but it will help you sit with some uncomfortable feelings.
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Genre: Middle-Grade Classic
Pages: 190
Format Read: Kindle
Synopsis: Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer so he can be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. And he almost is, until the new girl in school, Leslie Burke, outpaces him. The two become fast friends and spend most days in the woods behind Leslie's house, where they invent an enchanted land called Terabithia. One morning, Leslie goes to Terabithia without Jess and a tragedy occurs. It will take the love of his family and the strength that Leslie has given him for Jess to be able to deal with his grief.
My Thoughts: This is the first book I reread as part of my 2024 rereading project and it completely wrecked me. I think I cried even harder as an adult than I did as a kid. Katherine Paterson writes some of the most beautiful and vivid analogies. Bridge to Terabithia dives into some pretty heavy themes like war (post-Vietnam), religion, otherness, gender norms, societal expectations, fatphobia, and abuse in a way that is gentle enough for children to relate to and learn from. Rereading this book as an adult made me realize that kids can and need to process some of these difficult emotions and Bridge to Terabithia provides that escape.
Rereading this book there were so many small details I forgot and it’s no wonder that I connected to it as a kid like the fact that Jesse loves to draw. I also forgot all of the connections between Narnia and Terabithia, although I’m not sure I was introduced to the Chronicles of Narnia when I first read this book and wouldn’t have made the connection.
Moorewood Family Rules by Helenkay Dimon
Genre: Romance/Crime/Family Drama
Pages: 384
Format Read: Audiobook
In Moorewood Family Rules, you’re thrown into the action of a dysfunctional con family as one of their own returns from a prison sentence. Each chapter begins with a Moorewood Family “rule” and then explores the values through the text. I liked the exploration of roles we are assigned to play in a family. The main character and our primary narrator, Jillian, has been plotting her own revenge to trick her family into coming clean and finally leave their old ways behind. What she really needs is closure. The romance element with Beck, Jillian’s bodyguard, was a little unexpected but I think it added a nice layer to the story since it is fairly low in terms of mystery and drama. Overall this was a really fun read due to the quirky cast of characters. I pictured this as a movie the entire time I read it so I think the comparisons to Knives Out are accurate. This book appeals to a certain type of humor and it hit the mark for me.
The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson
Genre: Romance
Pages: 400
Format Read: Audiobook
Synopsis: Mackenzie, one year out of her residency, is pressured by her grandmother to find a partner. She introduces Noah, an interventional cardiologist, as her boyfriend to appease her grandmother, not realizing that Noah is an unmated alpha. Noah has kept his designation secret to avoid stigma, but an anonymous tip forces him to either reveal his status or find a mate. Mackenzie suggests they fake being in a relationship, but their act turns into a genuine friends-with-benefits arrangement, making them realize their true feelings for each other.
My Thoughts: The cover of this book did not prepare me for my first foray into the Omegaverse BUT this book was hot! It was so easy to get sucked into this rom-com and I devoured every moment of it. It was easy to follow the werewolf shifter romance without feeling lost on the mechanics of it all. If you read and enjoyed Twilight years ago, the wolf stuff isn’t any more complicated than Bella and Jacob. The audiobook narration was flawless. A fun, predictable, low-stakes, but very smutty read!
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
Genre: Cozy Fantasy
Pages: 352
Format Read: Audiobook
Synopsis: When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek. She's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk--so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it. Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine. Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.
My Thoughts: Unpopular opinion incoming... based on this book alone, I don’t think the cozy fantasy genre is me. I prefer more action from my fantasy and this fell flat. I struggled to connect with both the characters and the plot. Listening to this book felt like watching a “Day in the Life” vlog where nothing much happens in a bookshop aside from some random low-stakes dark subplot involving a mysterious outsider. I don’t think the descriptions immerse you in the work of Murk. I even had a difficult time visualizing the magical creatures as I read. I should have marked this book as DNF but the main reason I didn’t is because it was good enough as background noise while I was working on other projects.
What’s up next in February:
still making my way through The French Riviera by John Baxter
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle, my February Rereading Project selection
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid, a much-anticipated library hold
the first book in the Magnolia Parks series if I can squeeze it in
You can keep up with my reading journey in real time on Goodreads or The Storygraph!
Happy reading,
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You convinced me to give Ninth House another chance!
Bookshops & Bonedust has been on my TBR since last year, and based on your assessment it has been bumped down (again).