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Hello Hello! How are you?
Today, and for my final post of 2022, Iβm back with a monthly TBR post.
I didnβt have the best reading year in 2022, but Iβm really excited for a new year and Iβve got lots of reading challenges and goals set out to help me find motivation and keep reading the books I want and that bring me joy. Iβve got a big TBR for January, but some of these are short reads, so Iβm sure it will be fine!Β
Keep on reading to find out what Iβll be reading in the first month of 2023.
Under the Whispering Door by T. J. KluneΒ
Iβm quite ashamed to admit that Iβve had this book on my NetGalley backlog list for a while now, but it was my first NetGalley TBR Jar pick, so Iβm really happy with it. I have a good feeling about this book and since itβs release Iβve heard a lot of really good things, so Iβm very excited. I also have The House in the Cerulean Sea by the same author on my 23 in 2023 TBR, so hopefully if this book is a success, itβll give me the incentive to read the previous one!Β
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
I signed up for a blog tour with Algonquin Books for this book for November, but it was quite a free tour with no particular date, and I think thatβs my downfall, because I totally forgot about it. Iβve put it in my calendar for a certain date in January I want to finish this by though, and Iβm hoping I can get to it quite quickly. I might pick it up on audio for my drive into work. Iβm hopeful this is going to be a really cosy and sweet romance, so fingers crossed I like it!Β
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
Starting up with the TWR buddies book club again in January and the first pick was a thriller that I actually nominated, and Iβm so chuffed it won the poll because Iβve wanted to read it since it was published. I even got my library to order a copy, mouahahah! Iβm thinking this is going to be a really tense and unputdownable locked room mystery and I have high hopes for it.Β I reread the blurb when it was delivered a few days ago, and it made me want to jump in right then and there, I think it’s going to be really good!
Spellslinger (#1) by Sebastian de Castell
Candyce from The Book Dutchesses and I are starting our buddy reads again this month and Iβm so so so so happy our random title generator picked this book because it was a gift from one of my lovely buddies this Christmas (you know who you are and I love you!!). Iβve wanted to start this series for so long but never got around to buying myself a copy, but now I finally have one, I have a feeling Iβm going to be hooked really fast. If we both love it, Candyce and I will continue the series during the year, so stay tuned to find out what we think of it!Β I also wanted to say how GORGEOUS this cover is, wow, I’m already in love with this world and I know there are a few books in this series and in another one as well I think, so we won’t be bored this year with our reading, haha!
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
As part of the TWR book club chat, we decided to open another chat just for romance reads as many of us fancy this genre and want to step out of our comfort zones a bit. Iβve heard a lot of good things about Christina Lauren but I havenβt really heard about this book. However, I have a feeling it is going to be a really cute and really enjoyable read and Iβm so eager to get started with it!Β I usually gravitate towards romances when I’m a bit down and in a reading slump, so reading a new romance every month will be really fun I think. I’m looking forward to it.
A Good Girlβs Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson
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The TWR gang have also decided to read the YA mystery series, A Good Girlβs Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson in January, and that works fine for me since I loved the first book, that I’ll reread with them to remind myself of everything that happened. I loved it when I read it the first time, so it’ll be really good to dive back in and this time continue with the other books straight away. I also already had the second book on my 23 in 2023 TBR, son I’ll hopefully be able to cross that one off the list quite quickly. As I said, I loved the first instalment of this series so much and I donβt know why it has taken me so long to get to it, but I know Iβm going to enjoy these books so much.Β
Cards on the Table (#14) by Agatha Christie
Last year, we started reading the Hercule Poirot series by Agatha Christie and I was so hooked until life got in the way. I was going to read this book a few months ago, but never got around to it (I think I only managed 3 pagesβ¦). I love these characters and I love Christieβs writing style, so I know Iβm going to enjoy it. This plot with the game of bridge sounds intriguing though, so Iβm looking forward to discovering that, even though I have no idea how bridge works, I might need to ask my grandparents to clarify, lol!
The Hatmakers by Tamzin MerchantΒ
In January, the Middle Grade Marvels book club is back after a little hiatus, with a monthly reading choice. This month, the poll decided on this book which has such a beautiful cover, Iβm in love!! I really, really think Iβm going to love this book, and it makes no sense to me that I’ve been putting off buying myself.a copy for so long. I’ve seen it everywhere, both in French and English and my library have a copy in French already, so I really need to jump on this bandwagon. This is going to be fun and adventurous and possibly funny and sweet. Hopefully it will also fill one of my Popsugar Challenge prompts! I canβt wait!Β
La Carte des confins (#2) by Marie Reppelin
I started this series a few months ago and itβs been very slow going. It isnβt bad but itβs just a bit slow, not really what I was expecting and itβs a very chunky series. I donβt know if this is going to be a trilogy or remain a duology, but I think once Iβve finished this second book, I wonβt continue reading from this series. Itβs just not cutting it for me, but I donβt want to DNF it because Iβm at 50% and I want to give this world and these characters a last chance.Β And the writing style isn’t bad, it’s just a bit… I don’t even have the words to describe it, but it bugs me, if that makes sense. anyway, I’ll give it a last shot.
FΓ©lines by StΓ©phane ServantΒ
I used to see this all the time when I worked at my old library, and my new library didnβt have it, so I went back and borrowed it. Iβve already prolonged it a few times, so Iβm really going to have to read it in January. I really like the premise though, and itβs a YA fantasy/science fiction about a mutation that happens in some people, I think mainly in girls and women that turned them into some kind of feline. I think this is a kind of βfight for our rightsβ story, and the mutation into felines is a metaphor, but in any case I think itβs going to be really good!Β it’s just a very chunky book, so it might be a bit of a longer read, I ‘ll start it sooner in the month I think.
Sauvagines by Gabrielle Filteau-ChibaΒ
I picked up this book a while ago because I saw one of my colleagueβs read it and really enjoyed it, so that was all I needed to want to read it. Itβs about a woman who lives in a very desolate place and one day turns from the hunter to the hunted and itβs some kind of fight between trappers. It sounds like an end of world kind of narrative, and I think it mostly centres around the question of being a woman out in the wild, which intrigued me. The cover also really called to me as soon as I saw it, so Iβm going to give it a try.Β
Blacksad (#3-6) by Juan DΓaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido
I started this comic series a few days ago and I loved the first one in the series and Iβm just about to read the second one to complete my GoodReads goal for 2022. So in January, Iβm hoping to read the rest of the series and Iβm sure it will be a good palate cleanser between all the chunky tomes. Iβm excited to see where this series takes us, and Iβm especially intrigued by the main characterβs development. If you like mysteries and police stuff in books/comics and complex characters, I really recommend it!Β
Disney Reading Challenge: Mulan β A book read in one sitting
Hearstopper Volume 3 by Alice Oseman
My fiancΓ© did the honours of picking my very first TBR JAR pick and he pulled out Mulan which is a prompt from the Disney Reading Challenge Iβm taking part in this year! The prompt was to read a book in one sitting and I know that I read the two previous volumes of Alice Osemanβs Hearstopper series, which is an LGBTQIA+ graphic novel series. I loved the first two books in this series, and I know Iβll love this one, and then I can continue on with the fourth volume while I wait for the fifth volume to be published!!Β I also got the Nick and Charlie Novella at Christmas, so I have lots of Hearstopper vibes to look forward to this year!
Thatβs all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Tell me about all the books you’ll be reading in January!
See you soon, stay safe,
Ellie xx
Daisy Darker sounds great! I’ve been looking for a change of pace book club choice and this might be the winner! We meet this week and I’m going to pitch it (thanks!). It’s not often we get to read a good thriller. I just finished a fabulous crime fiction thriller book called “Assumed” by MHR Geer. It had me hooked from start to finish and it had some real surprises along the way that I did not expect. It did not feel like your typical murder mystery. The book follows Anne who travels to the island of Saint Martin to help her best friend Sandy who sent her a very vague text saying she needs help. Unfortunately, the two do not connect in person when she first arrives and soon after Sandy is found murdered. Turns out Sandy has left a bunch of clues for Anne “beyond the grave” and Anne is left to pick up the pieces annnd clear her name (she is the #1 suspect of Sandy’s death). Throw in two very charming men and a picturesque landscape and you have yourself a real page-turner, lol. If you want to check it out here is the author’s website – https://mhrgeer.com/
Happy Reading!
Oh thank you for your comment Deborah! I really loved Daisy Darker, I highly recommend it for your book club and hope you enjoy it! Let me know. And thank you so much for that recommendation, that sounds like such a great book, I’ll have to check it out!