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Hello Hello! How are you?
Today I’m back with my first ever reading update of 2023, and I’m going to do my best and keep on track with updating you all of my reading, as I’ve been slacking lately.
I’ve already started the year strong, finished 2 books and enjoying my current reads, so keep on reading to find out what my latest, and next reads for this week will be!
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over at Taking On A World of Words.
WWW Wednesday is based on 3 questions:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky
Yes, I know this is a Christmas romance, and yes I know Christmas has been and gone. But I started this book a few days before Christmas, and had so much to do that I hardly got any reading time leading up the the big day. I am enjoying this one and I know that when I fully get into it, I’ll be enjoying it a lot more and fly through it, so I just have to be patient and keep going. Hopefully by next week I’ll have this one wrapped up!
Spellslinger (#1) by Sebastien de Castell
I was gifted this book at Christmas and Candyce from The Book Dutchesses and I decided straight away that it would be our first buddy read of 2023, and so far, we are really enjoying it. I haven’t gotten very far and have only read about 100 pages as I’m writing this, but I really, really like the magic system. There are also a few characters who are really standing out for me and that I’m enjoying reading about, and one I absolutely loathe, but I’m very excited to keep reading it and we will hopefully have it done by the end of next week!
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
I also just started this book and haven’t read the first quarter in time for our chat this weekend yet, but I also already really like where this is going. The first line drew me in, like my eyes saw it and stayed stuck on it, haha! What a fantastic first line!! And I like how dark and atmospheric it seems and wow. I think this is going to be a really great book, the writing style is very enjoyable and I can feel the secrets bubbling under the surface. As soon as I’ve finished writing this post, I’m diving straight back in!
Éliott et la bibliothèque fabuleuse by Pascaline Nolot
I started this book a few hours before midnight on New Years Eve and got too tired to finish it, but it was my first book finished in 2023, whouhou!! This is a French, Middle-Grade fantasy story about libraries, secret societies in libraries, the power of words and it was very sweet and I read it very quickly. Sometimes with children’s books, I’m a bit of a picky audience especially if a book feels like it’s acting too childish, I’m sure you know what I mean. Like trying too hard to appeal to the right audience. Children are so clever and very adaptable, so had this book been a tiny bit more complex and the author had written not in a “baby-ish” way, it would have been a great success. But that’s just my opinion, it was still an enjoyable read and I gave it 3.5 stars.
Hearstopper: Volume 3 by Alice Oseman
I have wanted to pick this third Volume of the Hearstopper series up for such a long time but keep getting distracted by other books or never find the time. I’m glad I waited though, because I needed comfort and cuteness and it was such a worthwhile wait. Alice Oseman writes beautiful books, and I love the themes she goes into and the characters she has created. I’m excited to pick up the 4th volume soon, and continue this series and hopefully read her other books in 2023 too. A wholesome, cute and much needed beautiful graphic novel, I gave it 5 stars and loved it completely!
Ă‚me rouge and L’Enfer, le silence (#3-4 Blacksad) by Juan Dias Canales
I started this mystery comic series last week and let me tell you, I am already fully hooked. I’ve picked up the 3rd and 4th instalments from my library and will read those over the next days. I think I’ll be able to complete this series by the end of the week, which is exciting but I also don’t want it to end, lol. I’d always heard a lot of good things about this series but never truly fancied it until I really got into comics and graphic novels in 2022. I’m really looking forward to continuing this series and watching how the main character evolves throughout his cases.
Peau d’homme by Hubert
I saw this book in my library on Monday during my shift, and it’s not on my TBR for January, or even at all, but it called to me and I gave into temptation, haha! I really like the cover and from the title (“Man/Men’s Skin”), I can already tell it’ll be a feminist tale, or some kind of story about breaking down the patriarchy. I’m 100% here for that and I’m sure I’m going to really enjoy it. Finger’s crossed I’ll get this one read before the week is over as well.
Le jardin secret (#2) by Maud Begon
I reread the novel for my thesis last year and found the adapted graphic novel in my previous library straight after, and I’ve had to wait this long to pick up the 2nd and last instalment. I already know this story by heart, but I really enjoyed the first part of this graphic novel duology, and I really enjoy seeing these characters evolve through beautiful and colourful illustrations. I won’t go into details about what I think of the ending and how far-fetched it gets, but I’m going to enjoy this one, at least for it’s illustrations if nothing else!!
Sauvagines by Gabrielle Filteau-Chiba
I’ve also had this book on my library TBR for an age, so this week is the week I will pick it up and start reading it. I keep prolonging my holds because I keep forgetting about it, but that won’t do. And it’s funny because I really want to read it and can’t wait to discover this world and these characters. I think I might start it tonight, so keep your eyes on my GoodReads to see if I’m true to my word!
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (#1) by Holly Jackson
This month, I’m rereading with some buddies from TWR, the first book in this series but then straight away continuing the rest of the series. I loved the first instalment when I read it 2 (or was it 3???) years ago, so I’m hyped to dive back into this world with these characters I adore, and then seeing what adventures they get up to next. I’ll also squeeze the novella into January on my Kindle if I can!
The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant
And the final book on my reading wrap-up for the week is the January pick for the Middle Grade Marvels book club. We haven’t read a book together since October I think, we were so busy and needed a break, but I’m excited to be reading middle grade books again now the new year is here! I have really good vibes about this book, I love the premise and the cover and I’m so excited to see where these characters take us. It seems like it will be a really fun adventure, so I’m here for it!!
Challenges Update
So far, I’ve very successfully managed to complete 3 prompts for various challenges thanks to the books I’ve read in January. Here they are:
- Popsugar Reading challenge, prompt 16: A book where the main character’s name is in the title — Eliot et la bibliothèque fabuleuse by Pascaline Nolot (3.5 stars)
- Popsugar Reading challenge, prompt 22: A book with a queer lead — Heartstopper, Volume 3 by Alice Oseman (5 stars)
- Disney Reading challenge, Mulan prompt: A book read in one sitting — Hearstopper, Volume 3 by Alice Oseman (5 stars)
- And I also managed to tick one book off of my physical TBR, taking the total number down to 608. Let’s see if we can get down to 600 by the end of the month!!
That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this post. let me know what you’ve been reading so far this year and your thoughts in the comments!
See you soon, stay safe,
Ellie xx