Okay so, January was set to be a really productive month of reading. Especially given that it felt about a thousand years long. But I got rather waylaid by some very exciting book post, which changed all my reading plans for the month.
I began January with the world’s most enormous book hangover about Crooked Kingdom (which, frankly, I was barely getting over before the Shadow and Bone pics dropped and then I just degenerated in to internal yelling about the Crows again). So when I chose my reads this month, I wanted some light but really great books. Also January saw the release of The Mask Falling which I had to give priority the second it dropped.
First up, I read Felix After Ever by Kacen Callender, and my full review is here. It’s a contemporary novel, set the USA, about Felix as he tries to figure himself out all while trying to find out who it was who made Felix subject to a transphobic attack.
Then I raced through This Winter by Alice Oseman, which I meant to read over the Christmas holidays. And I was glad that I read it when I did, as it happened to coincide perfectly in terms of the story chronology with the Heartstopper update! (Speaking of which, I’m so excited about Heartstopper being optioned for Netflix. Can’t wait to see Nick and Charlie on my tv!!). I love the Spring family, and I think seeing that family Christmas that is never as perfect as you somehow think it might be rang very true here.
I wanted to read some middle grade after this, and so I went straight for Dragon Mountain by Katie and Kevin Tsang. Spoiler: I loved it. I say more in my full review here.
And then The Mask Falling arrived. I am still reading it, because I both want to savour every wonderfully written word, and also because I hear the ending rips your heart out so much, I’m legitimately terrified of what awaits me if I keep turning the pages.
Alongside TMF, I also started The Ship of Shadows by Maria Kuzniar. It’s a middle grade adventure story involving a ship and, so far, what seem to be feminist pirates. It’s going well!
This month has been stressful all round, I think, and so I also found myself retreating in to comfort re-reads - not escapist ones like RWRB or Carry On, but childhood favourites - for me, I grew up reading all the Old Kingdom books by Garth Nix. I’ve dipped back in to Lirael and love every word. I may well re-read more of the series, as I think it’s really helped calm my brain down when things have been frazzling this month.
So not the biggest wrap-up in the world (only three books!) but I’m CR three more, and I’ve got hardly any books pre-ordered for February, so hopefully that backlist will get dented a bit more successfully in February!
What have you read this January? Are any of these books on your February TBRs?
