January 2025 Reads
January. January. January.
Somehow you manage to make one month feel like a full year lol.
Given everything happening in the world right now, it’s probably no surprise that my go-to escape this month was reading. Not that I totally disassociated from knowing the main headlines every day, but based on the chaotic nature of the atrocious man leading our country right now, it was always a toss up as to what I was muttering “what the actual fuck?” about while I sipped my morning coffee.
So I had a tendency to go immediately from NPR’s Up First Podcast to an audiobook everyday for a little bit of fictional reprieve.
With so many series releasing new installments in the coming months, I mainly stuck to fantasy/romantasy, but I also squeezed in a few historical fiction reads and one mystery thriller.
ALSO, I finally signed up for Storygraph! It’s a Black woman-owned platform that not only helps you track your reading, but gives you some solid insights and data related to the books you’ve been reading. (See a couple of examples below for my January reading!)
Storygraph Stats for January 2025
You have to do some manual entry to find the correct book format and what not, but I’m thoroughly enjoying it so far and recommend you check it out!
Anyway, let’s get into everything I read in January.
**All summaries are taken or paraphrased from Goodreads.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt
Rating: 5/5 stars
Summary: After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.
My Thoughts: It is absolutely BONKERS to me that this book is a debut novel. It is so beautifully written and really explores the human connection in a way that reminds me of Fredrik Backman’s style - where everyone’s lives end up perfectly intertwined. This book primarily follows two characters: Tova, a retired widow who works the night shift as a cleaning lady at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, and Cameron Cassmore, a bit of a burnout who blames everything that goes wrong in life on anything but his own actions. While working at the aquarium, Tova forms an unlikely friendship with a wily octopus named Marcellus, who manages to escape his tank every night. Meanwhile, after losing his job, Cameron decides to track down the father he’s never met and ends up in Sowell Bay, living in an RV parked in the driveway of the local grocer’s house. The book mainly switches POVs between Tova and Cameron, but you also get brief chapters from Marcellus’s perspective as he watches these two navigate their current season of life. He sees the obvious connection between them long before they do. This book was so freaking endearing and I totally get the hype behind it. Not to mention, Marin Ireland is the audiobook narrator, and I honestly couldn’t ask for a better voice to bring this story to life. If you haven’t experienced the magic of this book yet, it’s the perfect pick to uplift your spirit during these drab winter days.
Draco Malfoy & the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love by Brigitte Knightley
DRACO MALFOY AND THE MORTIFYING ORDEAL OF BEING IN LOVE by Brigitte Knightley
Rating: 5/5 stars
Summary: Hermione straddles the magical and non-magical worlds as a medical researcher and Healer about to make a Big Discovery. Draco is an Auror assigned to protect her from forces unknown -- to both of their displeasure.
My Thoughts: I am a 30-year-old woman officially in her Dramoine era and I don’t care who knows it! There is something inexplicably alluring about reading alternative storylines involving romance between Hermoine Granger and Draco Malfoy. Does it make sense why I’m so invested in this niche genre? Absolutely not. Did that stop me from finding a whole curated list of Dramoine fanfictions on Goodreads? Absolutely not. After getting emotionally wrecked by Manacled in December, one of my best friends recommended this title as my next venture into Draco/Hermoine fanfiction. Y’all. The banter alone was a work of art. In this Dramoine tale, Hermione is a highly successful medical researcher and doctor in the Muggle world, while in the wizarding world, she is a renowned healer. Draco, an incredibly talented Auror, is assigned to protect Hermione while she works on a top-secret project for the Ministry of Magic. Though they initially begrudge their forced partnership, subtle shifts in their dynamic begin to happen as emerging threats to Hermione and her work grow more dangerous. I was such a SIMP for this slow burn romance. It was so much fun watching them evolve from reluctant allies to friends—and then into something more. If you’re looking for a cure to your Manacled hangover and want a more lighthearted take on these characters, this is the perfect “book.” The writing was lovely, the plot solid, and the character development spot on. Honestly, you wouldn’t even know it’s fanfiction—especially when you’re giggling like a fool at their quick quips lol.
The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand
THE PERFECT COUPLE by Elin Hilderbrand
Rating: 4/5 stars
Summary: It's Nantucket wedding season, also known as summer - the sight of a bride racing down Main Street is as common as the sun setting at Madaket Beach. The Otis-Winbury wedding promises to be an event to remember: the groom's wealthy parents have spared no expense to host a lavish ceremony at their oceanfront estate. But it's going to be memorable for all the wrong reasons after tragedy strikes: a body is discovered in Nantucket Harbor just hours before the ceremony-and everyone in the wedding party is suddenly a suspect. As Chief of Police Ed Kapenash interviews the bride, the groom, the groom's famous mystery-novelist mother, and even a member of his own family, he discovers that every wedding is a minefield-and no couple is perfect.
My Thoughts: The only Elin Hilderbrand books I’ve read were part of her Winter series and, to me, those exuded more of a romance genre feeling than anything else. I also never looked into what the Netflix adaptation of this book was about, I just knew I wanted to read it before watching that. So imagine my surprise when, within the first few minutes of this audiobook, I realize it’s more of a murder mystery than anything else lol. This book had a slow start, but once I got into it, I was hooked. In the early morning hours of a lavish Nantucket wedding, the maid of honor is found floating facedown in the harbor. Cue an ongoing investigation into how she died. The story alternates between multiple POVs, shifting between the present—where police are interviewing everyone involved in the wedding—and the months leading up to the big event. All of these characters are a little morally gray, if you ask me. So it was hard to pinpoint who had the strongest motive for killing the maid of honor. On the surface, they seem polished and put together, but as the story progresses, you quickly realize their lives are anything but perfect. This wasn’t a mind-blowing premise, but I did thoroughly appreciate how seamlessly everyone’s stories wove together leading up to this tragedy. If you’re looking for a beachy murder mystery with a touch of romance and a heavy helping of family dysfunction, this book is a must!
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
IRON FLAME by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #2) (REREAD)
Rating: 5/5 stars (but objectively 4/5 stars)
Summary: Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky. Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves. Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules. But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year. Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.
My Thoughts: Listen, listen, listen, listen lol. I eyeball read this book the first time through last year and wanted to reread it again before Onyx Storm dropped on January 21st. However, I wanted to listen to it this time around and one of my friends recommended the dramatized audiobook… Y’ALL LOL. I wish you could see the fucking CHEESE dripping from my smile right now as I type. This version of this audiobook was soooo dRAmaTiC and I fucking loved every minute of it lmfao. It felt as though I was watching one of my mom’s weekday 12:30PM soap operas (Young & the Restless, anyone? IYKYK). It’s also FULL CAST *chef’s kiss*. Anyway, if I thought I couldn’t be anymore OBSESSED with the dragons in this series, give those scaly suckers an actual voice. Adolescent Andarna still served a full helping of sass while Tairn’s voice was lowkey giving James Earl Jones (RIP) Darth Vader. I have to say, reading this through a second time, I definitely picked up on a few things a little bit quicker than I did my first time through. Even some parts of the plot that I originally thought were a little messy were definitely brought up earlier in the book than I realized. That being said, knowledge is power, so I’m not sure if I found it easier to see those things because I already knew they were coming or if I was paying better attention to the details instead of INHALING the book as a whole. My biggest recommendation if you’ve never read this book and are a visual learner is to eyeball-read it first. Then try out the graphic audiobook afterwards. If you’re more of an auditory learner, then starting with the audiobook will be perf. As a side note, more so that you don’t judge me than anything I actually need to point out, some of the sounds the voice actor of Xaden makes during the salacious scenes are SO FUCKING CRINGE OMG LOL. So just be aware that you may want to tap that “skip forward 15 seconds” button until you’re on the other side of it lmao. At one point he literally sounded like he was chowing down on some hella good food but they were supposed to be making out and I simply could not. Otherwise, I’m ready to make Onyx Storm my entire personality once that book comes out. 🙂
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
THE BERRY PICKERS by Amanda Peters
Rating: 3.25/5 stars
Summary: July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister’s disappearance for years to come. In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret.
My Thoughts: This book was a lot slower and darker than I anticipated. When they were kids, Norma (then Ruthie) went missing, and her brother, Joe, was the last person to see her. The story follows each sibling, showing how their lives unfold after that tragic event, with both facing their own types of adversity. Joe struggles with deep self-loathing rooted in the trauma of his sister’s disappearance. That pain manifests in self-destructive behavior—alcoholism, domestic violence, decades of estrangement from his family, and more. I have to be honest, I didn’t really like Joe’s character. I understood that he had a lot of healing to do after everything he’d been through, but he had a frustrating habit of telling others what they needed from him instead of actually listening to what they were saying. Norma, on the other hand, was a much more likable character, though her life ended up being incredibly sheltered and saturated in secondhand grief from her mother’s struggles with infertility. She eventually managed to break free from her overprotective parents, but I hated that they gaslit her her entire life—especially in childhood. It was no surprise that she developed a habit of second-guessing herself. This book was definitely impactful and explores how the bonds of family can remain strong, even after unimaginable tragedy.Overall, it was a good book, but it may have been a victim of its own hype for me.
West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge
WEST WITH GIRAFFES by Lynda Rutledge
Rating: 4/5 stars
Summary: Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave. It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.
My Thoughts: I originally heard about this book through my mom and although I was intrigued when she told me about it last summer, I didn’t have a desire to pick it up right away. However, now that this gem is on Kindle Unlimited, I couldn’t help myself. There was something so endearing about it that made it easy to return to each night. Woody Nickel is currently 105, living his last years in a nursing home. He knows his days are numbered when he starts seeing a giraffe at his window—a sign that it’s time to finally write down a story he hasn’t told anyone in full for decades. Switch to 1938 and Woody has just made his way to New York from rural Texas after losing his family in the Dust Bowl. During his first week there, a hurricane hits, destroying most of the harbor and tragically killing his cousin—his last known relative. As he struggles to figure out where to go next, a freighter glides into the harbor carrying two giraffes. Woody has never seen anything like them and, on impulse, decides to follow them on their cross-country journey to the San Diego Zoo. Through a series of unexpected events, he ends up driving the truck carrying these majestic animals, forming a bond not just with the giraffes but also with a few unforgettable characters along the way. Between Woody’s innocence and naivety, the Old Man’s deep love for animals, and Red’s whimsical appearances, my empathy cup had runneth over. This crew of misfits had me hanging on every mile of their once-in-a-lifetime voyage across the country. I haven’t felt this cozy with a book in a while, and I highly recommend it as your next historical fiction read!
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn (REREAD) (The Legendborn Cycle, #1)
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Summary: After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down. And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw. The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates. She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
My Thoughts: The third book in this series, Oathbound, comes out in March. When the second book was released, I made the mistake of not rereading the first one and felt absolutely fucking LOST while trying to keep up. So, I promised myself I’d reread both Legendborn and Bloodmarked before the third book drops—and what better way to do that than with the audiobook? :) I didn’t LOVE this narrator tho. She kept pronouncing it “King AUTHOR” instead of “ARTHUR,” and it drove me up a wall—but I liked her enough to stick with it. It’s been a few years since I eyeball-read this book back in 2022 (OG review here). However, its excellence stood the test of time and I am still gobsmacked at how amazing this story is. SO MUCH HAPPENS. As an urban fantasy set at UNC, there isn’t a ton of time needed for world-building. Instead, Tracy Deonn puts all her energy into crafting a full roster of incredibly well-developed characters and a multi-layered plot, which results in nothing less than an all-consuming book. Between the secret society recruitment process, the mystery of who keeps opening gates to let demons through, and Bree uncovering more about her magic, this story straps you in and does not let go. If you’re looking for a fantasy series that will not disappoint, I highly recommend getting your hands on this one!
Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli
HEARTLESS HUNTER by Kristen Ciccarelli (The Crimson Moth, #1) (REREAD)
Rating: 5/5 stars
Summary: On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is. Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe – a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution – who she can't help but find herself falling for. Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?
My Thoughts: I realized in mid-January that the second book in this duology comes out on February 18th and when I tell you I gasped because HOW DID I NOT KNOW THAT?? This was one of my absolute favorite fantasies from last year and I think about it all the time because it now lives rent free in my brain (see the OG review here). So, per my usual move, I decided to listen to the audiobook this time around for my reread, and y’all, it did not disappoint. The narrator’s voice was PERFECT for this book—it completely engrossed me in the story. I still love how the format switches between Rune and Gideon as they play this high-stakes cat-and-mouse game with each other. Rune is a vigilante known as the Crimson Moth, smuggling witches to the mainland—where magic is still accepted—before the Red Guard can capture and kill them. Gideon, captain of the Red Guard, has one priority: figuring out who the Crimson Moth is. Cue Rune and Gideon courting each other with ulterior motives—Rune, to rescue a recently captured, highly powerful witch; Gideon, to unmask the Crimson Moth. Watching them dance around each other as their dynamics shift was everything. As I said in my original review, the tension between them is THICC, and that DEFINITELY translated through the audiobook, too. If you’re looking for a fantasy that’s fast paced and has a jaw-dropping plot twist, I cannot recommend this book enough!
Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
BEAUTIFUL UGLY by Alice Feeney
Rating: 3/5 stars
Summary: Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life. Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared. A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible – a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.
My Thoughts: This book started off strong and had me hooked for the most part. There was a creepy undertone to everything happening to Grady on this remote Scottish island that had me second-guessing everything. But around the middle, things started to feel repetitive—to the point where I kept hoping there was still a purpose behind all these so-called "new" developments. So, I stuck it out. There’s a strong unreliable narrator element here, as Grady begins losing his sanity due to intense insomnia and the way the island’s residents treat him. You feel like they’re gaslighting him, but at the same time, you’re not sure if those passive fronts are real or just in his head. One thing Alice Feeney does exceptionally well? Slapping you in the face with a plot twist—and holy hell, if I didn’t have a metaphorical handprint on my face after this one hit. I literally went, WAIT, WHAT?? Despite that banger of a twist, though, the book as a whole was just fine. You don’t really get to build a connection with any of the other characters enough to form an opinion on who’s the lesser of two evils. The premise is clever, but I think it could’ve been fleshed out a little more.
These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi
THESE INFINITE THREADS by Tahereh Mafi (This Woven Kingdom #2)
Rating: 3/5 stars
Summary: With the heat of a kiss, the walls between Alizeh, the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom, and Kamran, the crown prince of the Ardunian empire, have crumbled. And so have both of their lives. Alizeh, the heir to the Jinn throne, is destined to free her people from the half-lives they’ve been forced to live under human rule. When Kamran, the heir to the human throne, falls in love with her, he’s forced to question everything he’s been taught about Jinn. Kamran’s grandfather lays dead at the hand of Cyrus, ruler of the neighboring kingdom of Tulan. Cyrus has stolen Alizeh away to his homeland and plans to marry her there, giving her everything she needs to become the Jinn queen—and when she assumes the throne he will have fulfilled his own bargain with the devil. Alizeh wants nothing to do with Cyrus’s deal or the devil. But without a way to escape Tulan, and with the fulfillment of her own destiny tantalizingly close, she’ll have to decide whether she can set aside her emotions to become the queen her people need. Kamran, meanwhile, is picking up the pieces in Ardunia. Facing betrayal at every turn, all he knows is that he must go to Tulan to avenge his grandfather. He can only hope that Alizeh will be waiting for him there—and that she hasn’t yet become the queen of Tulan.
My Thoughts: The way this book was no plot, just vibes… lol. Like actually, the meter barely moved in terms of progressing the story or giving us a clear idea of what’s next. The book mainly focused on Alizeh and Cyrus now that they’re in the kingdom of Tulan. He kidnapped her with the intent of convincing her to marry him and use his kingdom as a launch point to reclaim her throne. She knows she can’t trust him, but the tension between them? THICC. After witnessing him in an extremely vulnerable situation, Alizeh finds herself battling some serious inner turmoil—because this morally gray boy is absolutely GONE for her. While these two dance around each other in Tulan, Kamran is dealing with the aftermath of his grandfather’s death and the appearance of Cyrus back in Ardunia. This side of the story was a mess lol. He’s apparently disfigured from some bad kickback from magic, there are people doubting he’s the true heir to the throne, and he doesn’t know who he can trust anymore after everything that went down with Alizeh. All the while, the most random rag-tag group of misfit toys including a former street urchin, the local apothecarist, an air-headed debutante, and his best friend are all determined to help him find Alizeh and bring her back. Y’all. There really wasn’t any clear purpose to this book lmao, but I did enjoy it overall - if only for the Cyrus content. <3
The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church
THE GIRLS WE SENT AWAY by Meagan Church
Rating: 3.75/5 stars
Summary: It's the 1960s and Lorraine Delford has it all – an upstanding family, a perfect boyfriend, and a white picket fence home in North Carolina. Yet every time she looks through her father's telescope, she dreams of the stars. It's ambitious, but Lorraine has always been exceptional. But when this darling girl-next-door gets pregnant, she's forced to learn firsthand the realities that keep women grounded. To hide their daughter's secret shame, the Delfords send Lorraine to a maternity home for wayward girls. But this is no safe haven – it's a house with dark secrets and suffocating rules. And as Lorraine begins to piece together a new vision for her life, she must decide if she can fight against the powers that aim to take her child or submit to the rules of a society she once admired.
My Thoughts: This book was truly beautiful, heart-breaking, and thought-provoking. Through a fictional lens, it sheds light on the Baby Scoop Era when young, unwed women were coerced or gaslit into giving their babies up for adoption. This story follows Lorraine, a high school senior on her way to becoming valedictorian with dreams of going to college. However, all of that comes crashing down when she gets pregnant from her boyfriend. He decides he “just can’t deal” with all of it because he’s a freshman in college and “has more important things to focus on”, which leaves her picking up the pieces. It was gut-wrenching to watch the challenges faced by the young women at the home Lorraine was sent to. They were alone with no guidance or emotional support, and their choices were ripped away from them by people they should have been able to trust. The amount of character development we witnessed Lorraine experience within those nine months is heartbreaking as she goes from that innocent girl next door to a young woman forced to face the reality of her situation. It would be a missed opportunity not to mention that the Baby Scoop Era began to decline in the 1970s with the rise of the women’s rights movement, better access to contraception, and the legalization of abortion… Just some important issues our society still feels the need to debate these days…???? Anyway, if you’re looking for a historical fiction novel that will light your fire as a woman or put yourself in a woman’s shoes as a man, this one will do it lol.
Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare
SWORD CATCHER by Cassandra Clare
Rating: 4/5 stars
Summary: In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power, and the next hedonistic thrill. Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword Catcher—the body double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are as close as brothers, but Kel knows that his destiny is to die for Conor. No other future is possible. Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a small community whose members still possess magical abilities. By law, they must live behind walls within the city, but Lin, a physician, ventures out to tend to the sick and dying of Castellane. Despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend without access to forbidden knowledge. After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each what they want most; but as they descend into his world of intrigue and shadow, they discover a conspiracy of corruption that reaches from the darkest gutters of Castellane to the highest tower of its palaces. As long-kept secrets begin to unravel, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? Can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?
My Thoughts: Who am I and why did I not realize Cassandra Clare wrote a brand new regency-era fantasy series?? I devoured every inch of her Shadow Hunters world and could not wait to see what this one is about. The first thing I have to say about this book is, Cassie Clare woke up and chose chaos the day she sat down to write a 70-page prologue lol. I listened to the audiobook and saw that the prologue was NINETY minutes long and when I tell you I did a double take. Everything explained in the prologue is definitely necessary, but I’ve just never run into one as long as that. The story itself was nothing groundbreaking but still managed to suck me in. Kel was plucked from an orphanage when he was just 10-years-old to become the Sword Catcher for Prince Conor Aurelian. The Sword Catcher’s life purpose is to be a body double and protect the prince at all costs. Which means he can’t really plan for any sort of future. Lin Caster is an Ashkari physician which is the only community left able to do lesser magic. Her best friend is very sick and Lin’s main focus is to find a cure. Kel and Lin are both given offers they can’t refuse from the city’s main criminal lord. However, once they start getting deeper into his underworld of crooks and liars, things start going sideways. This book was definitely a little slower than I anticipated, but I can’t say I wasn’t invested in each and every scene. It helped that the format switched between Lin’s and Kel’s POVs and that they aren’t each other’s love interest. At first, I was hoping they would be, but their lack of romance actually gave the plot more room to breathe and allowed for additional subplots and side characters. The second book in this series comes out in February and I’ve already set a notification in Libby to alert me when the audiobook is available lol. If you’re a fan of Cassandra Clare’s writing, I definitely recommend giving her new venture a try!
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
ONYX STORM by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #3)
Rating: 5/5 stars
Summary: After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty. Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust. Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him. Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything. They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth. But a storm is coming...and not everyone can survive its wrath.
My Thoughts: Y’ALLLLLLLL. I gave it all of exactly one hour before I sat down to write this review because OH MY GOD. I’d like to start by making a bold statement that this is my favorite book of the series by far. Onyx Storm makes Iron Flame look like a MESSY 2-star read, okay? Rebecca Yarros said, “give me time to write,” and my friends, she WROTE. You had a well developed, complex plot that served to answer multiple questions we’ve all been asking. You had some refreshing, vivid world building as the quest squad traveled from isle to isle looking for Andarna’s kind. The character arcs were a thing of beauty and quenched the thirst we were all feeling after Iron Flame. Although complicated politics were still prevalent in this book, I appreciated that there wasn’t SUCH a frustrating focus on it. Similarly, the angsty romance line that plagued our ever-waking thoughts throughout the last book was finally put to rest in this one, and I honestly couldn’t have asked for anything else. Romance definitely maintained a presence, but instead of driving the car, it took somewhat of a back seat to the endless action and adventure we experienced in this war-simmering world. I already know I’m going to have to reread it again later this year because THAT ENDING? Left me with more questions than I can even begin to express which is just RUDE. Anyway, if you need me, I’ll be chest deep in some Onyx Storm theories and threads lol. Closing thoughts: the boys whose names end with c’s need awards for being absolute scene stealers in this one - aka Aaric and Ridoc. <3
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
THE BRIAR CLUB by Kate Quinn
Rating: 4/5 stars
Summary: Washington, D.C., 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boarding house in the heart of the nation’s capital, where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; police officer’s daughter Nora, who is entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Bea, whose career has ended along with the women’s baseball league of WWII; and poisonous, gung-ho Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy’s Red Scare. Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears apart the house, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: Who is the true enemy in their midst?
My Thoughts: Kate Quinn is an “auto-read” author for me. I cannot say enough good things about her historical fiction books, and when I heard there was a mystery/thriller twist to this story, I couldn’t wait to dive in. The beginning takes place on Thanksgiving in 1954 at the Briarwood House - an all-female boarding house in Washington D.C. There’s been a murder and the cops are trying to figure out what’s happened while the tenants and their guests quietly try to process the events of the day. From there, the book’s chapters focus on each individual tenant. I absolutely loved this format. It was impossible not to develop a connection with each character, and you really get a clear sense of the role they play in the house’s dynamics. One woman, in particular, acted as the glue holding everyone together and started what they called "The Briar Club"—a weekly Thursday dinner gathering. After their nosy and overbearing landlady left to play bridge each week, the tenants would crowd into the fourth-floor apartment, taking turns cooking dinner. A few of their recipes are sprinkled throughout the book, which was such a fun touch. The theme of found family was felt so viscerally throughout this group. Even the landlady’s kids were a part of this hodge podge bunch where they all looked out for each other. Although I definitely should have seen the plot twist coming lol, I appreciated that it didn’t quite give everything away that happened on Thanksgiving in 1954. It gave room for the last few chapters to suss out the mystery and what came after. This novel will probably live rent free (pun not intended) in my brain for a while and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for an unconventional historical fiction book.
That’s it for January!
I’ve already got a few books on my radar for February, but we shall see what my mood pushes me towards.
2025 Book Count: 14
Add me on Goodreads if you haven’t already.
YOUR TURN! What was your favorite book in January? OR if you read Onyx Storm, what are some of the best theories you’ve encountered?
