January was a pretty good month for keeping up with my goals. Well…most of them, anyway. I did keep up with my writing and reading goals, so I’m calling it a win. I read 12 books for the month.
- The Fifth Petal, by Brunonia Barry. (Read to review.) I liked this book a lot: elements of the supernatural, a mystery, and a town so vibrant that I want to visit.
- A Mad Zombie Party, by Gena Showalter. (Read just because.) Loved this series. Loved these characters. Loved this book.
- The Road to Enchantment, by Kaya McLaren. (Read to review.) The New Mexico landscape is as much of a character as the actual characters. Deals with difficult times in an almost-lyrical way. Well-worth reading.
- Dawn Study, by Maria V. Snyder. (Read to review, and because I love this series.) Very sad to see this series end. The wold, characters, magic system…everything is fantastic! Highly recommended. (But please, start with the very first book, Poison Study.)
- Firstlife, by Gena Showalter. (Read just because.) It occurs to me that I had a thing for Gena Showalter this month…Fair enough. Unique concept, compelling characters, and awesome worldbuilding. I want to be Gene Showalter when I grow up (as a writer)!
- Ink and Bone, by Rachel Caine. (Read just because.) I’m a huge Rachel Caine fan, and when she did an event nearby, I was so there! This first book was so good I had to hide the second one from myself (or I’d never get anything else done)!
- Unpunished, by Lisa Black. (Read to review.) Not a bad book, but I would have been better off reading the first novel in the series…first.
- The Sky Between You and Me, by Catherine Alene. (Forthcoming review.) So…I didn’t realize this is written in a sort of free-form/free-verse, stream-of-consciousness style. At first, I was off-put by this, but then the story really drew me in, and I enjoyed it a lot.
- The Edge, by Fleur Camacho. (Read just because.) This has been hanging out on my Kindle for a while. I liked the premise, but the delivery felt a little bit patchy and underdeveloped. Plus, the world is based on something that I have a fundamental problem with—which is my problem—but did give me some reservations about the story when I realized it.
- Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad. (Classic book of the month.) Um…this pretty much made no impression on me.
- Behold the Dreamers, by Imbolo Mbue. (My different-culture book for the month.) I’d heard some good things about this novel, and, for personal reasons, wanted to read it. I found it both inspiring and a bit sad, but very evocative. The dialect is so well-done and musical, that I could almost hear it! In my experience, it captures the Cameroonian mindset extremely well (Makes sense, since the author is from Limbe.).
- Uninvited, by Lysa TerKeurst. (Spiritual book of the month.) Really fantastic book, about dealing with all sorts of rejection.
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