January wrap-up
I don’t always know how to kick off a new year of reading. I’m coming off of the holidays, craving simplicity and white space, and yet not quite ready to dive back into real life. This year I’m quite pleased with the books I chose to begin 2021: a reread of Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend (via audio) and Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell.
I dipped in and out of Elizabeth Holmes’s HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style and adored every beautiful, majestic page. These short essays on royalty and fashion were sprinkles throughout my day, just enough fluff to lighten my mind and the perfect amount of substance to satisfy.
Not all the books I read were satisfying, though. I sped through The Duke and I over the Christmas break, intrigued by all of the Bridgerton hype on Netflix. The first book was fine: fluffy, easy, sexy. So I thought I’d try out the second installment, The Viscount Who Loved Me. Alas. I wanted to like this, but I hated Anthony, wanted more from Kate, and finished even though I just wanted it to be over. I also had a hard time with one of the buzziest books of the year, The Push by Ashley Audrain.
The second half of the month held excellent reads for me. I savored an egalley of What Could Be Saved by Liese O’Halloran Schwartz, cozied up with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie for the #HeyAgatha readalong on Instagram, and flew through Autoboyography by Christina Lauren. My audiobooks were a mix: I fell in love with If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson, spent a day and a half listening to Afterlife by Julia Alvarez, and smiled my way through This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens. But I DNFed both First Comes Like by Alisha Rai and the third Bridgerton book, An Offer from a Gentleman.
The piece de resistance of January’s reading? A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Guys. I have seen these books fly around Instagram and figured they’d be up my alley. I love immersive fantasy in the depths of winter, and having an entire trilogy to devour at once? It’s a reader’s dream. ACOTAR has fantastic world-building, replete with a captivating magical system and solid politics. The writing wasn’t the best, but the storytelling and world-building made up for it. The first book is good, but the second? Chef’s kiss. A Court of Mist and Fury was enthralling and held everything I love in a fantasy novel: a heroine coming into her own magic, complex political intrigue, gasp-worthy surprises, and a male lead who is every definition of sexy. I went straight from Mist and Fury to the finale, A Court of Wings and Ruin. I finished it the last day of the month and am still in a massive book hangover. When I look back on my reading in January 2021, I’ll always think of the ACOTAR books.
How did your January reading pan out? Do you have favorite genres for different seasons? What was your favorite read of January?
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