Wrap-up is the perfect word for this January. One, it is COLD here in Seattle. Flannel sheets cold which makes for cozy reading. Two, for the first time in a very long time a month has felt like it lasted a year. I went from my normal head shake over “where did this month go” to holding my head in my hands and asking “how can this still be January?’. From a friend who lost everything in the CA fires to the travesty that is the new presidential administration January tested my nerves in the most unpleasant way. And there are 24 more months until the midterms. Sigh.
As for books, the year is starting out strong with lots of interesting reading. Hopefully, I’ll be getting more reviews out soon.
The Grey Wolf (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #19) by Louise Penny
Published by Minotaur Books
Publication date: October 29, 2024
Bookshop
The Grey Wolf is the next installment in Penny’s wildly popular Chief Inspector Gamache series. This time several small, but unsettling events, lead to murder, lead to a conspiracy that goes far beyond anything Gamache and his team have worked on before.
Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom: My review
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis: Review to follow
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
Published by Random House
Publication date: January 14, 2025
Bookshop
If you love sports related novels and DRAMA then The Favorites is a must read. Set in the insular world of ice dancing it captures both the high intensity of training and competing amidst the emotional landmines of two skaters passionately in love. I was fine with it until the 1,000th twist at 85% and then I was out. Soap opera levels of drama.
All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffell: My review
Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl: Review to follow
The Voyage Home (The Women of Troy Series, #3) by Pat Barker
Published by Doubleday
Publication date: December 3, 2024
Bookshop
This is the final book in Barker’s Troy trilogy and chronicles Cassandra’s arrival in Mycenae and Clytemnestra’s plans to kill her husband Agamemnon. With a timeline of just a week Barker managed to convey all of the attendant emotions these women were feeling. One of the narrators is Cassandra’s servant making for an interesting perspective, but I’ve read this story so often that I’m ready to bid farewell to novels about Troy.
From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keogh: My review
Penitence by Kristin Koval: Review to follow
Heir (Heir Duology, #1) by Sabaa Tahir
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date: October 1, 2024
Bookshop
Set in the Martial Empire three unlikely protagonists fight back against the lives they’ve been forced to lead. Two live on the edges of society while the third is a crown prince of the empire. With a timeline that loops each has their own battles to fight. Where they unite is in tracking down a vicious killer who steals his victim’s hearts. Literally. I listened to this on audio and loved every minute of it. It’s the first in a new fantasy duology from Tahir and I can’t wait for the next one.
That’s it for my January reading. How are you doing? Did you read anything great I need to know about?
This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org which means if you click on a link and make a purchase of any kind, I get a small commission (at no cost to you).
*I received free copies of The Favorites and The Voyage Home from Random House and Doubleday Books respectively in exchange for an honest review.*
I read Murakami’s “The City and Its Uncertain Walls” – masterpiece and a book to be savored.
I’ve wondered about that book. Are you a Murakami fan? I tried one of his books and while I thought his writing was extraordinary I had trouble following the story. Maybe I should try this one.
It is a story within a story within a story and magical realism but there is one constant narrator so that helps.
I was so excited for The Favorites as I love figure skating, but I have to say I’m really struggling with finishing it. The characters are boring and the writing, imho, is very so so. I know this was a hugely anticipated book but I don’t think it’s for me – at least not right now.
Thanks for your review. I always appreciate your insights.
I completely agree! I found the writing very basic and the plot went too far over the edge.
I hope the weather warms up for you. I fear that means more cold weather is heading our way in MN. We had some horrifically cold weather earlier this month and now it’s unseasonably warm (4os). I am enjoying the reprieve from bitterly cold temps.
I plan to read The Favorites next but will keep in mind that it’s melodramatic! I had a really great reading month in January as I was recovering from hand surgery (which I needed because of my gd RA… but was more extensive than hoped). Since I had more downtime, I read The Covenant of Water which I ended up really enjoying. I didn’t like it as much as Cutting for Stone, but I still liked it. I really liked The Story of a Heart (non-fiction about a pediatric heart transplant so a very sad but interesting read as there was a lot of info about the history/science of organ transplants) and Sipsworth. For light reading, I liked Summer Friday because it was set in NYC in the late 1990s/early 2000s. There was a very strong sense of place so I loved the book as NYC is one of my fave cities.
Oh no!Chronic diseases are the worst. Hopefully, you at least had a good outcome?
I feel like I need to read Cutting for Stone again, but I’m almost afraid I won’t love it as much as I did. Covenant was so evocative, about a part of India I didn’t know about.
Summer Friday sounds great- I need light reading!
Hello. It’s been a brutal week on the news front. The new admin is surely making life hell for so many. And now he’s after Canada, what a scourge he is. Well to hell with that. I’d rather starve than have Canada cave into his threats. Do I sound revved up? I am and so is this country. Earlier in the week, my husband sent me this Insta video and it made me laugh — so I’m forwarding it onto you (link below). You got listen to it with the volume on and make it to the very end of the video. It still makes me laugh every time. Keep up your reading!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DEvBn6_REvK/
And the hits just keep coming. I’m glad to hear you all are riled up because aside from wringing their hands and asking me for $$$ the Dems aren’t doing shit.
The video is awesome!
Loved what happened to the McCrays? By Tracey Lange. It was so good!! Marrying the ketchups by Jennifer close was a favourite backlist thus far for 2025 🙂 stay warm!!
Sounds like you had a great January!
We’ve got snow now and it’s supposed to drop into the 20s, but hey, it’s winter, right?!