January is probably my least favourite month of the year because it is cold, Christmas is over, and I’m just waiting for summer to come and help me out of this wet wintery hole. Although I did read 14 books! That is slightly on the lower side for the amount of books that I generally read, but I’m still happy with that because with school and everything, I anticipate that this year I will not be able to read nearly as much as last year.
I did not have any five star reads this month…which is kind of unusual for me? I normally have about two or three to a month, so I am kind of sad that this month was a little on the mediocre side, but I still read some really great books and I can now share a little bit of my thoughts on them. I will list them from my least favourite to my favourite – and let’s go!
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
This book is quite hard for me to talk about, because I am in NO way criticising the message that this book has. It is about a young black boy who is shot and killed by a white police officer because he was playing with a toy gun. Books like these are so, so important for our world, but unfortunately, the writing and characterisation in this one was so terrible that I could not enjoy it.
Mrs Jeffries Rocks the Boat by Emily Brightwell
This was just a little victorian mystery that I thought might be kind of in the same vein as Agatha Christie, but it was nowhere near as sophisticated and it was SO cringe worthy! There is a series of like 20 books, but I don’t think I will be returning back to them.
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
This was exactly what I expected it to be…just so boring? Think a vampire school with lots of gossip and scandal. It wasn’t even enjoyable, because nothing happened. I also really hated the writing style and the flippancy about Lissa’s mental health.
Ash by Malinda Lo
Despite having a really cute female/female romance, this was just too simplistic and unoriginal – it barely deviated from the original tale of Cinderella, which it was trying to retell. I appreciated it, but it wasn’t the best.
Beyond A Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake
I thought that I would really love this one, but unfortunately the writing style was so bland and unemotional that I didn’t connect to the characters…and then I didn’t care about the plot. I loved the Celtic and Viking mythology, but the rest of the book was really dry.
To Best The Boys by Mary Weber
I feel like this was written for a slightly younger audience, which I think would love this book. It is a really lighthearted, fun read and I did enjoy reading it – I just found the plot quite straight forward and I didn’t love anything about it. The premise is really cool – its about this girl who wants to be a scientist and attend a university…but unfortunately the university is only open to boys. So said girl disguises herself and enters a competition in a magical labyrinth to try and get in. Someone else will love this, and I’m so glad it exists!
The Sleeping Prince by Melinda Salisbury
I read the first in this series, The Sin Eater’s Daughter, two years ago, and I never felt compelled to continue the series. I didn’t love the first book and I didn’t care about the characters. But this was told from a different point of view and I enjoyed it so much more than book one. I wanted to read it after loving State of Sorrow so much, and while I definitely prefer State of Sorrow to this series, I enjoyed this one.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
I love the actual stories of Shakespeare and I want to read all the retellings. I had to reread Macbeth for school, but I actually really like this one, and I would totally love to see a retelling….maybe about Lady Macbeth? But some of Shakespeare’s language is really beautiful, if a little hard to understand.
The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory
I have made it my mission to try and read all the Philippa Gregory books that I have left to read this year, because she is one of my all time favourite authors and her books have been such an influential part of my life! This one was really good – not an absolute favourite, but I did really enjoy it and there was a lot of things that I loved about it. This one follows a fictional character in the time of Mary I and Elizabeth I, and I think I would have liked it even more if it was about a real historical figure.
Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl
I loved this one a lot more than I was expecting and it turned out to be a really solid read. I definitely recommend if you like your books slightly different and unexpected. This one has a very overcomplicated premise, but essentially it is about a group of friends who get stuck in a splinter of time…and only one of them will be able to survive. Sounds great, right? Plus the writing is beautiful!
Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake
I really liked this continuation of this pretty popular series, although I have to admit, I think I have grown out of them a little. But I still think the premise is amazing and this one expanded the world and history so much! I cannot wait to see how the story of these triplet queens concludes!
A Dance With Dragons II: After the Feast by George R R Martin
Confession time…its nearly two years since I finished part one. But I am really happy that I am more or less up to date on this series (apart from the numerous spin offs, of course). I really want to find out how this series will end though, and the world needs the next book soon!
The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson
I really loved this one! I read an arc that I received in my December fairyloot box and it was so good! It is about elemental crows, and a girl with depression. The writing is gorgeous, and you should all keep an eye out for this one. I think potential sequels could be amazing.
The Wicked King by Holly Black
Although this is my favourite book of the month, I will admit I was not as blown away by this book as I thought I might be. It was good, but it never quite took off into that level of mind-blowing awesomeness that favourites always do. But there is so many things to love about this series and I can’t wait for the last book!
January was a bit average, but I hope you all enjoyed the books you read! Hopefully I will find some new favourites in February…even though I have to do so much revision *sob*.
I wish you all amazing reading!
The Bookish Courtier 