January Reading Wrap-Up

Thoughts on my January reads:

15 books read, 3 DNFs.

1. The Taker by Alma Katsu

2. The Reckoning by Alma Katsu

3. The Descent by Alma Katsu

I originally gave these three books 4 stars each, but I'm having second thoughts about that now. I really wanted to love this trilogy, because although it wasn't really full fantasy, it still felt like my first time dipping my toe into that kind of genre. The MMC was not a good person though, and I don't think he's even 'morally grey' - he raped and murdered people. I can't get past that.

4. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

This was bleak and emotional, and left the reader with more questions than answers, yet there were moments of love, hope and warmth too. I can't really say that it was an enjoyable story, but I'm glad I've read it.

5. The Spell Shop by Sarah Beth Durst

Cosy cottage-core fantasy. The FMC was blue, there were characters who were half human(ish) and half animal, there was a sentient spider plant. It was a lot to get my head around, but it was perfectly fine and a nice light read.

6. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

7. Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

This was The Shepherd King Duology, and it was brilliant. Really had me hooked. The main 'love interest' couple from book 1 seemed to take a back seat in book 2 for a new couple to come forward, but if you accept that it was always going to be about that new couple, then it works. Good world-building, interesting magic system.

8. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Heard so many good things about this that I just had to try it, and I wasn't disappointed. The science and maths mostly went over my head, but I still understood enough to know what was going on, and it turned out to be so much more than just a sci-fi story.

9. A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J. Maas

10. A Court Of Mist And Fury by Sarah J. Maas

11. A Court Of Wings And Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

12. A Court Of Frost And Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

First three, brilliant, fourth one, not so much. Chunky books, felt like I needed a break after them.

13. The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore. 

First DNF of the month, this was over the top cutesy romance which I thought I'd be ok with, but it was just too Hallmark Movie for me.

14. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

Loads of good reviews for this LitRPG series, so I thought I'd give it a try, despite it not really being my cup of tea, and it was quite a pleasant surprise! Interesting plot, funny with a lot of heart too. I think there are 8 books in the series so I wasn't sure if I was going to read any more, but I've already downloaded the second one. If they stay on Kindle Unlimited, I might give them a whirl.

15. Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson

Another DNF, and the second book of short stories by her that I've given up on. Just because I enjoyed The Haunting Of Hill House, I have to accept that I might not like any of her other work.

16. Deity by Matt Wesolowski

The fifth in the Six Stories series. I wasn't feeling too enthusiastic to read this, but as with the others, it drew me in and it turned out to be pretty good.

17. Disappearance At Devil's Rock by Paul Tremblay.

A story about a teenage boy who goes missing and is eventually found dead. Every parent's worst nightmare. This was good, but I can't really say that I enjoyed it.

18. Affinity by Sarah Waters

DNF, couldn't get into the writing style at all. Read some spoilers afterwards and I'm glad I didn't struggle through it as I don't think I would've enjoyed it anyway.

If I was going to pick a favourite book of the month, I'd probably go for A Court Of Thorns and Roses as my introduction to that series, although books 2 and 3 are arguably better in terms of character development.

Affinity by Sarah Waters

Started: 30.1.26

DNF: 31.1.26 

Paperback

Couldn't get into this at all.

New Reading Plan... Maybe...

I've decided to try and read some of my oldest books first, the ones I've had on my Kindle for ages, and some of the ones I bought last year, pre-December.

I'm currently reading two newer books (one paperback, one Kindle), but I've also decided to read Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson, which is a collection of short stories. I was thinking I might do one or two a day. That's been on my Kindle since 2021!

And then I've got about 11 more books to get through, until I get to ones that I bought in December onwards, including Christmas and birthday presents too.

Not sure whether I'll stick to it, but I'm going to give it a try, otherwise I'll just keep putting them off in favour of newer acquisitions.

Edit: 31.1.26 - I DNF'd Dark Tales, and I've decided to not even bother reading a couple of others. I've also just DNF'd Affinity by Sarah Waters. There aren't that many left now from the 'oldest' ones, so I'm just going to go back to reading whatever I feel like, or using a random number generator to choose.

Disappearance At Devil's Rock by Paul Tremblay

Started: 26.1.26

Finished: 30.1.26

Paperback

Every parents nightmare - a 13 year old boy vanishes without trace in a local park, plunging his family into a desperate search for the shocking truth about his disappearance. I don't think I like books involving kids, when some kind of crime or terrible event has occurred, because it drives me mad that they lie to adults, or keep things to themselves because they think they know best. But I suppose if they told the police everything, right at the start, it'd be a pretty short book, wouldn't it?

Deity by Matt Wesolowski

Started: 28.1.26

Finished: 30.1.26

Kindle

This is the fifth in the Six Stories series. It's been on my Kindle since 2022. Again, I enjoyed the podcast format. This time Scott King was investigating the life and death of Zach Crystal, a popular but enigmatic global pop superstar who was the only victim of a devastating fire which roared through his remote Scottish home. Rumour and suspicion surrounded Crystal due to his unusual and possibly unhealthy interest in young girls, especially those from difficult backgrounds. He claimed to be just helping them; his staunchest supporters believed his every word, his critics doubted him. This book was written in 2020 - there were mentions of the #metoo movement, and I'll be honest, aspects of Zach Crystal's personality and lifestyle brought to mind a certain disgraced and denounced British eccentric known for his charity work (whose victims were only believed after his death), and also another global US popstar who allegedly had dubious relationships with children at his sprawling, very private home. Whilst there was a supernatural / folklore element to the story, it played a relatively small part compared to the more 'human' horrors that were discovered.

Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson

Started: 27.1.26

DNF: 28.1.26

Kindle

I've had this on my kindle since 2021 so I obviously haven't been in a rush to read it. I've decided to try and work through my oldest TBR books though, so I gave it a go, but I just wasn't in the mood for it at all. I've got so many other books that I'd much rather be reading, so this is a DNF.

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

Started: 24.1.26

Finished: 27.1.26

Kindle Unlimited / Audible

I'd heard lots of good things about this, and I found it to be a unique and enjoyable read. Although I understood the RPG element - I'm aware of things like achievements and equipment inventories in games etc - as a non-gamer it probably didn't appeal to me as much as it would to someone who regularly plays RPGs. It was very entertaining, but I also liked that it reflected on the unfairness and brutality of the game; there was a seriousness underneath the humour. I'm not sure if I'll read any more books in the series, I don't feel in a hurry to pick up the next one.

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore

Started: 24.1.26

DNF: 26.1.26

Paperback

I wanted a kind of 'palate cleanser' after reading the first four ACOTAR books - I had 'fantasy fatigue' - but this was just a bit too cute, cosy and convenient for me, I'm afraid. Made it to about 31% but I just wasn't warming to the characters at all. DNF.

Also, it seems to be very inspired by (or aimed at fans of) Gilmore Girls, but I've never seen a single episode of that, so any similarity was lost on me.

(Bit worried about the next four books in the series that are on my TBR, which Chris bought me for Christmas...)

A Court Of Wings And Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Started: 21.1.26

Finished: 24.1.26

Paperback

On the whole, really enjoyable, but a bit of a slog at times (699 pages). Pretty much all geared up towards the battle with the King Of Hybern. All the main characters survived, which is good but also a bit too convenient; there were a couple of lesser/side character deaths, some of which were sad, others richly deserved. I'm looking forwards to having a much smaller book to hold in my hands for the next one!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Chris went a bit crazy with the book buying, but I'm very grateful for all these! Really excited to get stuck into them!

A Court Of Frost And Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

Started: 24.1.26

Finished (skipped): 24.1.26

Paperback

Somewhat surprisingly, I didn't really enjoy this book, to the point that I skipped the second half of it. I'd read up to the end of Chapter 14 but I was finding it a bit boring, if I'm honest. This was more like a novella, and not a lot was happening. I read some reviews, a lot of which likened it to a Hallmark Christmas Special - it mainly revolved around the 'inner circle' buying gifts for each other for the Winter Solstice. There was still tension between Nesta and Cassian (and everyone, really). Feyre opened up an art studio, and Rhysand bought her an estate so that she could build them a bigger house. Mor was preparing to travel to the continent. Everyone was still recovering from the war and learning how to live with the fragile peace that had been achieved. It was really just a bit of a bridging book to the next one, and it made me think that it might be a good place to take a break. I'd intended to go straight into A Court Of Silver Flames, but as there may be a book 6 release in 2026, I think I might pause here and pick up book 5 later in the year. I've enjoyed the first three books, but I think I was starting to get a bit of 'fantasy fatigue' and I feel like I want to read something completely different next.

A Court Of Mist And Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Started: 18.1.26

Finished: 21.1.26

Paperback

Really good! Feyre had great character development, and I really enjoyed her bond with Rhysand, and the rest of her 'found family'. Apparently it always 'kicks off' in the last 100 pages or so of these books, and that was definitely true for this one, excited to move onto book 3.

A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Started: 16.1.26

Finished: 18.1.26

Paperback

16.1.26 - I'm going in - wish me luck!

18.1.26 Well, finished the first one, and ordered the rest of the series yesterday from Amazon so can dive straight in to book 2.

I don't think there's anything I can say about this that hasn't already been said. I've tried to avoid spoilers, but I've seen so many reviews on Instagram, for example, that I felt like I had this sense of anticipation all the way through it, like I was always waiting for something to happen. Apparently it gets A LOT better in book 2 (not that this wasn't good) so I feel the same about the rest of the series - there's more to look forward to. I enjoyed this book a lot, but it didn't blow me away, but it seems as though the next ones might?? I don't know, I'm excited to read them. I definitely have questions from this one, like is Tamlin too good to be true? Rhysand seemed like the bad guy for a while, but kind of redeemed himself a bit at the end, and I know there's a lot more to come from him. So yes, book 2 here we come! 

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Started: 12.1.26

Finished: 16.1.26

Paperback / Audiobook

I've seen loads of positive reviews for this book, but I still wasn't sure that I was going to like it, as I'm not really into sci-fi. However it was a very pleasant surprise! A space survival story, chock-full of science and maths which I didn't even try to understand (but, to be fair, all explained in an as easily digestible way as possible), and which didn't deter me from enjoying it all the same. It was funny and moving in equal measure, and the ending was perfect.

I listened to some chapters in the audiobook, which helped with some of the pronunciations.

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig (The Shepherd King Duology)

Started: 11.1.26

Finished: 12.1.26

Kindle Unlimited

Well this duology was absolutely brilliant! A perilous race against time into the mist-cloaked forest in search of the missing Providence Card. A royal battle between good and evil. A fitting end and a new beginning 500 years in the making. Great well-written characters and a gripping plot. It seemed like Ravyn and Elspeth were meant to be the main romance pairing in the first book, but in this one it was definitely Elm and Ione. Elspeth was there, but her body was kind of overtaken by Nightmare/The Shepherd King for most of it, which was hard to remember sometimes. Happy that this was one of my first forays into fantasy, it was a really good start!

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig (The Shepherd King Duology)

Started: 9.1.26

Finished: 11.1.26

Kindle Unlimited

First book read on my new Kindle Paperwhite!

This really had me gripped! A gothic fantasy involving a deck of cards imbued with magic, a young woman tormented by a nightmare and a group of highwaymen trying to rid their kingdom of a centuries-old curse. Immediately going to start book 2...

Pagebound

A few days ago I was watching a random Booktuber (Gavin Reads It All) and he mentioned Pagebound, so I had a look and now I'm obsessed! It's got a website and an app, like Storygraph, and it's good for tracking, but it also has the more social aspects of Fable. I'd only just started using Fable again, but now I think I'll stick with Storygraph and Pagebound.

The Spell Shop by Sarah Beth Durst

Started: 4.1.26

Finished: 10.1.26

Paperback

Cosy cottagecore fantasy with sweet romance and found family

Kindle Paperwhite

I caved in!

Even though my Kindle Fire works perfectly fine (apart from being a bit slow to charge, and quick to drain), I decided to treat myself to a Kindle Paperwhite. I got a screen protector, a really nice case, and even a remote page turner, which is the height of laziness but so cool!

Currently reading One Dark Window on it - very happy!

Magical Midlife Madness by K. F. Breene

Paused... to come back to...

I started this yesterday I think, and although it was ok, I feel like I have other books that I'm in more of a hurry to read, so I've put this back on the TBR pile for now. I didn't want to make it a DNF because I would still like to read this series, just not yet...

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Started: 5.1.26

Finished: 8.1.26

Kindle

Whew! It's hard to know what to say about this book. It's sad, but uplifting too. It's about friendship and love. It deals with resilience and loneliness. There's a certain lack of meaning to the plot, yet it's so meaningful too. It's heartbreakingly beautiful.

The Descent by Alma Katsu (The Immortal Trilogy)

Started: 3.1.26

Finished: 4.1.26

Paperback

Hmmm. Hmmm. 

I wanted to love this book as much as the first two. But it just seemed to go in a weird direction. 

It begins a few months after Luke has died from cancer. (He and Lanore had spent 4 years together, after Adair had let her go). I'm not sure what the point of Luke was really. I know he played a role in her life, but I'm not sure how necessary it was.

Lanny is having nightmares about Jonathan being tortured in the underworld. Yes, she's still obsessed with him, which I found increasingly frustrating.

Although he did redeem himself towards the end of his life, he was never really very good to her, but she couldn't let him go. She decides that she must go to the underworld to rescue him, and the only person who can help her with that is Adair.

He has been living in exile on a mystery island, although when Lanny arrives she finds that he is enjoying the company of two young women. He later confesses to her that he thinks they may be possessed by / reincarnations of two witch sisters who he'd wronged in a previous lifetime. That was a bit random and out of the blue.

Adair is now a changed man, and just as he agrees to help Lanny go to the underworld, she finally realises that she loves him. At last!!

He doesn't need to kill her, he just casts a spell to send her spirit there to look for Jonathan. What feels like just minutes and hours for her, are months passing for Adair while he keeps vigil over her sleeping body. The sections in the underworld also felt like months passing for me, to be honest, it really slowed things down.

At one point, Adair is drugged by the two women (who are the witches, as he suspected) and they throw Lanny's body into the sea. He summons huge waves which wash her back to him, but wash away the two women. So that's that. 

He has no way of knowing what is happening to Lanny in the underworld, and realises that the only thing he can do is join her there, which he does.

It transpires that Adair is actually the King Of The Underworld, but he'd escaped and had all his memories erased, and new ones implanted, to allow him to survive in the real world. The Queen is actually his sister; he didn't want to marry her though, because, ew, incest! (Nevermind all the other stuff he's done). In the end, they have to ask The Big Man (God - long white hair, toga style outfit) for permission to be allowed to return to the real world and live as mortals, which he allows. Meanwhile, Jonathan is promoted to Queen Consort / new King Of The Underworld.

The whole underworld section is just where it fell down for me. It turned out that the Queen had sent those nightmares to Lanny, and that actually Jonathan was quite happy and didn't need rescuing, so once again she'd screwed things up chasing after him. I'm glad that she finally realised that she loved Adair, and that it'd kind of been him all along, but when they returned from the underworld, it was practically on THE LAST PAGE! We never got to see them together, properly in love!

The Reckoning by Alma Katsu (The Immortal Trilogy)

Started: 1.1.26

Finished: 3.1.26

Paperback

3.1.26 - I'm 39% of the way through. After being 'buried alive' behind a brick wall for 200 years, Adair has been released (the mansion was being demolished). He goes to the house of Jude, another immortal, who has to teach him about modern life in 2010. Meanwhile, Lanore senses that he's free, and runs away from Luke, to protect him. 

Adair at first is filled with murderous rage at Lanore, but as time passes he realises that he is actually in love with her. He doesn't want to kill her, but he's still angry with her for leaving him, and he's scared of what his rage might make him do.

He has used a reincarnation spell to raise the badly decomposed body of Jonathan, with a view to moving his soul into Jonathan's body, in the hope that Lanore will love him.

I wish I had someone to talk to about this book! Adair is, I think, what they call 'morally grey'. He's done some horrific things, but he is capable of remorse, some of the time, and he's also capable of love, albeit quite a possessive love. I don't know how I feel about Lanore though. 

3.1.26, later - Just finished! Jonathan brought with him news of the 'Queen Of The Underworld' who Adair was quite afraid of, so he eventually sent him back. He found Lanore, and by then was completely in love with her (although raped her as soon as they met, so, hmmm). He let Luke survive, after removing all memories of Lanny, and then Adair and Lanore moved to a house in the mountains above Lake Garda. After two months of realising that she wasn't going to love him in the way that he wanted her to, he let her go. 

Bring on book 3!

The Taker by Alma Katsu (The Immortal Trilogy)

tarted: 28.12.25

Finished: 1.1.26

Paperback (large, sprayed edges!)

28.12.25 - This has been on the Want List for a long time, I really hope it lives up to expectations!

1.1.26 First finished book of 2026!

I'm not very familiar with all the new genres that seem to exist these days, but I think this might be described as 'magic realism'. It begins in the present day, where Dr Luke Findley meets Lanore McIlvrae. Lanore originally lived in the early 1800s, but was made immortal. Luke helps her escape the hospital, after she killed her (also immortal) friend and on/off lover Jonathan. As they flee to Canada, and eventually to Paris, Lanny tells Luke all about her past life, and how she was made immortal by an alchemist called Adair. He introduces her to a hedonistic lifestyle involving all kinds of sexual acts, but thankfully it didn't go into too much detail about these.

I think this trilogy might be a good introduction to the fantasy genre for me, easing me into it gently.