The first wrap up of the year! And what a month! Last Jan, my focus was to read manga volumes and I ended up reading 18 books. This month where I had not real plan I ended up reading 16! That’s impressive!

• I read 16 books this month
• Genre: 8 fantasy, 3 murder mysteries, 3 sci-fi, 1 historical and 1 non-fiction
• Gender of authors: 7 women, 2 men and 1 various
• Race of authors: 10 white authors, 2 asian authors, 2 black authors and 1 Middle Eastern author
• Age range: 10 adult and 6 YA
• Format: 13 paperback, 2 audiobook and 1 hardback.

A Torch Agains the Night – Sabaa Tahir (4 stars)

I audio booked this story. I was meant to read it last year but never found the time. This was a great follow up to An Ember in the Ashes. Helen was my favourite character, I love how complicated she is. The narrators all did an amazing job. I would highly recommend the audiobook.

Cursed Bread – Sophie Mackintosh (4 stars)

This book was a whirlwind 184 pages. It felt like a fever dream. We follow a woman called Elodie who is reminiscing on a poignant moment in her life (based on a true historical event in 1950s France) when she meets a mysterious and beautiful woman called Violet. We aren’t given the full picture at first and as you turn the pages you sink deeper and deeper into Elodie’s mind both her present and her past. We look at her relationship with her husband, and her curiousness about Violet’s husband The Ambassador and also we talk a lot about bread. This book was alluring, enticing, and vague and Makintosh’s characterisation deserves a round of applause. I devoured this book in one day and most of it in a two-hour reading stint at my local cafe. Flicking between the past and the present with such short chapters had me craving for more. I loved the structuring of this book and the way the story is laid out. I must read more of Mackintosh’s work!

Meet Me at the Surface – Jodie Matthews (4 stars)

A beautiful and literary tale that feels like folklore crafted and forged from the depths of Cornwall itself. This book was a slow mover for me but I loved getting lost in the landscape of the Moor and the vastness of our main character, Merryn’s, childhood. As we flick between the past and present there is this heavy feeling that both Merryn and us as a reader are missing something. Nothing makes this more clear than the beautiful folklore chapters that pop up time and time again through the narrative. Like a puzzle to solve you stumble around trying to piece everything together as you have this feeling that it could be too late. This book is a perfect study of grief, complicated relationships, the intensity of young love, and the idea of not fitting in. I enjoyed watching this story slowly unfold taking in the beautiful writing and the beautiful imagery of the Cornish moors. You do truly feel like you are there standing at that farmhouse with Merryn and her mother and aunt. The writing was so visceral and real and I loved the different ways Matthews writing connected to nature and the area itself. Such a beautiful and magical read!

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins (4 stars)

I DNFd this book back in 2012 after not really getting into the story. Well I don’t know what 12 year old me was thinking because 23 year old me LOVED it. This was one of my book group books and we have 15 people show up which was my largest group ever! My favourite part of this book was the first half before the actual game because the movie adapted the actual games part pretty accurately but Katniss’ life before the games wasn’t adapted as faithfully so I learnt a lot more.

A Tempest of Tea – Hafsah Faizal (4 stars)

 have yet to be disappointed by Hafsah Faizal. This book was such a great read that had me on the edge of my seat not knowing what to expect. Her characters were exciting and memorable, their dynamics and flirty banter were so entertaining. The plot was so enticing and I loved watching the events unfold – I couldn’t keep up with all the information Faizal was sending our way. The setting was so atmospheric. Faizal did a great job blending fantasy and historical reality. While this isn’t set in our world you cannot miss the connections to British colonialism and how accurately Faizal depicted that time in history. I think she did a great job emulating that but adding a fantasy twist that blended so perfectly within the story. The vampires in this story felt fresh and exciting and I enjoyed how they were incorporated in the world and narrative.

The Last Murder at the End of the World – Stuart Turton (4.5 stars)

Some of the best moments in my life has been spending 48 hours devouring whatever masterpiece Stuart Turton has written in that point in time. Taking the crime genre and elevating it to heights I am surprised he manages to ascend. This book was no exception. As usual the plot is incredibly engaging and exciting taking you down roads you didn’t expect to go down or didn’t even see in the first place. But I wanted to highlight, in this book in particular, was the incredible characterisation and sense of place. I have never read a murder mystery which has cemented me so strongly in a location before. Through Turton’s writing I wasn’t only able to picture the island and its inhabitants but I truly felt that I was there with our characters experiencing life with them side by side. From the multiple POVs to the picturesque detail, I honestly would love to live there if they weren’t on the edge of succumbing to toxic fog. Another addition to this book is the multiple povs we follow throughout the story. While we do have a central ‘detective’, this story is packed with a variety of important characters who help make this story the most in depth and rich of the three novels Turton has published so far. Following them through the trials and tribulations of island life and then the subsequent murder made you feel connected to the island and the characters themselves as you see them in their natural day to day life and then in a crisis. This was my favourite set of characters in a Turton novel ever.

The List of Suspicious Things – Jennie Godfrey (5 stars)

This book has so many different facets and layers to it that trying to write it all down is a mammoth task. But I want to start with Miv. Miv is an amazing narrator in this story. We see the world through her eyes as she tries to make sense of the ever-changing world she lives in. She loves her best friend Sharon and would do anything to keep her and her family safe and together. Exploring Yorkshire through this book alongside Miv was like watching a tapestry unfold but something was missing. Miv for most of the book is 12 years old and she has a smaller view of the world compared to the adults around her so this tapestry while beautiful doesn’t feel finished. 

Alongside Miv’s chapters, dotted through, are chapters from the adults in her life such as her father and Omar, the man who runs the corner shop. They fill in the details we are missing from Miv’s POV and it makes for an incredibly rich reading experience. This tapestry that unfolds from Miv gets filled with rich colour and you get a greater scope of the lives lived in this story.

This book has a pretty big cast from all walks of life but it doesn’t feel overwhelming at all. Godfrey paces this story impeccably and I enjoyed meeting the variety of people that make up Miv’s life. My favourite character had to be Omar; his story as a widowed father struggling with the loss of his wife, doing right by his son, and managing the escalating harassment by members of the community, was a super impactful storyline that will stay with me for years. Godfrey does not hide behind the atrocities happening during the time from racist attacks, abuse, and bullying. And viewing this all through the eyes of a young girl who is coming to terms with the world not being as great as she originally thought it was adds to the level of heartbreak.

But it’s not all down and out because one of the biggest themes for me was community. How Miv and Sharon get taken under the wing of so many adults, their friendship with Ishtiaq, how they look out for each other, and people who don’t even realise they have their support. It’s a novel of duality. Of how humans can do horrible things for each other and also how humans can be supportive and kind.

How to Solve Your Own Murder – Kristen Perrin (5 stars)

I don’t think there are enough words to describe how exciting, tense, and emotional this book was. I went into this expecting a super easy-reading cosy murder mystery but this book ended up taking over my entire life for 2 whole days. That is how long it took me to finish this book. Every spare moment I got I spent reading this book. 

Covering both 1966 and our present day we flick between the two time periods trying to piece together Great Aunt Frances’ past as well as unravel her very recent murder with her grand niece Annie. We explore both time periods meeting a variety of characters whose young and old selves clash with both of the Adams women. Jumping from each different time period made for such exciting reading as it kept the story super fast-paced but added a richer layer to the story as as a reader we are divulged more information earlier on than our amateur sleuth, Annie. I spent ages trying to piece together the past and the present to make sense of this scandalous village history. 

Annie is an amazing character that you can’t help but root for but I spent most of my enjoyment absorbed into the world of 17 year old Frances and the ups and downs of her late teenage life. This book is truly half coming of age story, half murder mystery, and the use of the Frances’ diary (which allows the reader to understand what happened in her past) elevates this book from being lost amongst recent cosy crime stories. It has an extra edge to it that makes it unputdownable.

Books I Read but Don’t Have Enough Words to Review:

• Demons of the Shadow Realm, Vol. 1 – Hiromu Arakawa
• Sunbringer – Hannah Kaner
• Ghost Roast – Shawnelle Gibbs & Shawneé Gibbs
• Artificial Condition – Martha Wells
• The Heroic Legend of Arslan, Vol. 2 – Hiromu Arakawa
• The Eleventh Metal – Brandon Sanderson
• Binti – Nnedi Okorafor
• The Norse Myths That Shape the Way We Think – Carolyne Larrington