January Recap and February TBR!!

What's up, my lovely readers? So happy you're here! (And I just want you to know that no matter what happened today, you are wonderful and you deserve to be loved.) 

Can you believe January's over? 

I actually had a pretty awesome month as far as reading is concerned. I was able to finish 9 books, which I'll talk about down below. The month wasn't that bad in terms of non-readerly things, either!! I discovered two new podcasts, invented. a new recipe, met the most adorable puppy, and finished Sherlock. So yeah. Definitely not bad. 

I also have been working on a blog post concerning writing and inner fears, so definitely keep an eye out for that one. ;) 

Some of the books I read this book are re-reads, some of them are re-tries, and some of them are books I read for the first time! What were your January reads? Also, do you guys set goals every year for reading? That's a new thing for me. I've never set a reading goal before but I tried it this year, and so far I've been really enjoying the push to keep reading, even when I'm in the middle of a reading slump. 

Scythe by Neal Shusterman 

I'm not gonna lie, this book caught me entirely off-guard. It was pretty much my fault, though, because I thought I was getting into an epic fantasy. Lol. Turns out I was reading a utopian almost-thriller. After a painfully slow start that got me worried, the story picked up extremely quickly and suddenly I realized I couldn't put the book down. 

Scythe is set in a utopian world where all inconveniences, discomforts, and negativities are thought to be eradicated. What we know of today as "the cloud" has evolved into an enormous, all-knowing AI program called the Thunderhead. Death is considered an archaic disease, and people can successfully live life at a peak age for centuries. The only way to die is to be "gleaned" by a professional Scythe. Scythes are trained as apprentices in the ways of death and killing: poisoning, weapons, hand-to-hand combat, you name it. They can "glean" (kill) you in any way they see fit, and for any reason they deem necessary. Maybe you have an unfavorable health history or are statistically predisposed to committing a crime. 

The story follows Citra and Rowan, two sixteen-year-olds who are apprenticed to a level-headed and just Scythe. Initially, their master's request to train two apprentices at once is approved, but unrest in the Scythedom makes their leader second-guess his decision and a sort of compromise is reached. Both Citra and Rowan may be allowed to train as Scythes, but at the end of a year's training period, only one will be allowed to continue and the other will be gleaned. 

I gave this book four stars on Goodreads, mostly because the beginning of the book was kind of slow (which may be because I was expecting it to be an epic fantasy), but the rest of it was enthralling. It makes you think in the same sort of way that most utopian books make you think. Books like The Giver by Lois Lowry or Matched by Ally Condie force us to re-evaluate the meaning of life and love and the necessity of pain in order to experience true joy. It's definitely not a fluffy, low-stress book. It's one that exercises your brain. But if you're ready for a mental workout and a full evaluation of your life (I promise it's very worth it at the end), then Scythe is definitely for you! 

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

This book is a lot simpler to explain. Sanderson has often called this book his "dragon-rider" series, except it's told in a sci-fi world. This book follows Spensa, a young pilot's daughter who grows up as an outcast after her father openly betrays their budding outer-planet civilization. Spensa's only dream in life is to become a pilot like her father and prove to everyone in her community that she isn't destined to be a coward like he was. She consequently grows up with a skewed idea of what it really means to be courageous, which was a sub-plot and character arc I both adored and personally needed. 

I gave this book five stars on Goodreads. Spensa was sooooo annoying throughout the entire book, but her character was written so well that she came off as an overzealous child you shake your head at, rather than someone you wish would trip off a roof. She's bossy, she's arrogant, she thinks she's always right, and she has a hard time seeing the value in other people. But her arc throughout the book really speaks to her growth, and the relationships she fosters among her peers is really special and feels realistic. This is one of my new favorite books and I will be re-reading it. If you like Ender's Game or Eragon (or both!) then this is the book for you. 

Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry

This book was loaned to me by my boss at work and it is fantastic. It follows the story of a girl with Tourrette's Syndrome as she begins her life over again at a new junior high. She's been told her entire life by her mother and her doctors that she is under no circumstances to mention her condition. So she keeps it quiet, suffering the bullying and misunderstandings as she struggles to come to terms with her "quirks." Meanwhile, she attracts the attention of the most popular boy in school, who tries to figure out how to be friends with Calliope while also maintaining his popularity in the halls. 

This book made me sob. It's not very long. Most of the book is told in poem form, from Calliope's perspective, so I finished the whole thing in about ninety minutes. I didn't know much about Tourette's Syndrome going into the book. I didn't even know how to spell it. But even though I still don't understand what it would be like to have Tourette's myself, my empathy and compassion for other people grew so much. I was cheering so hard for Calliope at the end. I wanted her to make friends, to learn to love herself, to have a Valentine. 

This book is very middle-grade, which made me hesitate at first, but boy oh boy I was proved wrong. I will forever be recommending this book to anyone and everyone who even looks at me. It takes place in St. George, Utah and featured a lot of Utahn quirks, which made me smile. Absolutely five stars. I would have given it six if Goodreads allowed for such a thing. 

An Ember in the Ashes/A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

*sigh*

Okay, these books deserve a whole blog post when I finish the series. I need a little space, I think, to process things that happened in A Torch Against the Night. Which I will explain when I actually get to make a whole blog post. But...anyway. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. 

Sabaa Tahir's writing is marvelous. Her characterization for each POV is so unique and so well-blended that I feel like I know each character individually, despite never having met them. She has constructed a beautiful world and a beautiful plot, with a great magic system and culture. I think that's what kept me reading the whole time. 

An Ember in the Ashes has strong Roman/Greek roots. The main two civilizations are the Martials and the Scholars, who are exactly what they sound like. The Martials are the militant dictators and the Scholars are the poor, studious sheep who have been enslaved by the former. Laia is a Scholar girl who is offered a chance to save her captured brother, if she'll only agree to become a spy at Serra's top military academy, Blackcliff. Meanwhile, Elias is Blackcliff's top student and expected to graduate with full honors--but he wants nothing more than to desert. He wants nothing to do with Blackcliff or the Martial empire. The two collide at the academy and are drawn together in an inescapable angsty desire, which leads to them falling in love. 

I gave both books four stars. I loved everything about the books...except the love triangles. I'm not one for love triangles anyway, but these love triangles in particular put me over the edge. You know how in most love triangles the girl (or the guy) is looking at her two options and thinking, "This one would be better because x, y, and z, and this other one would be better because of a, b, and c. Oh, no. I can't possibly choose." We usually have a bad boy and the quiet book nerd, or the golden child and the outcast, etc. 

Basically, I couldn't get myself to root for Elias and Laia, because the whole time I was rooting for Elias and Helene. Even at the end of A Torch Against the Night, I'm still 100% team Helene. Laia's whole reason for choosing Elias over her other potential suitor is because they're more of an "even match" but I genuinely don't see it. ESPECIALLY when Elias and Helene are so deliciously perfect for each other. I'm still hoping that by the end of the fourth book Elias will figure out that his true love is actually Helene, but if and when he ends up with Laia, it won't ruin my life. 

Maybe a little. But I'll be brave. 

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie 

I found this awesome Spotify podcast called Phoebe Reads a Mystery and this was the first book in the series. I love Phoebe's slight Canadian accent and the way her voice sounds as she reads. I also am really glad I chose to listen to this book. I gave it three stars on Goodreads. 

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is Christie's first novel, and it shows. That's really all. It's a classic whodunit novel that she eventually becomes wildly famous for. In this first novel, there's still the thrill and suspense of a good mystery, but it's very clear that a) she had an obsession with Sherlock Holmes (and girl, I can't blame you whatsoever but this book is essentially a Sherlock Holmes fanfiction) and b) it's definitely her first novel. And there's nothing wrong with that. I didn't feel especially connected to any of the characters. Poirot was entertaining at best, but all of the characters were just kind of...there for me. 

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab 

I read this book in spurts, which skewed my perspective of it a bit, I believe. The next time I read it (and I'm definitely going to re-read it) I'm going to read it all in one go, without pausing to read other books in between. 

The worldbuilding is so creative and I love the idea of the magic system. The way the magic system itself is actually explained and used in the world is a little...vague, but I did appreciate the uniqueness of it. Essentially there are four alternate universes, all centered around the staple city of London. There is Gray London, which is our world and has no magic, Red London, which is thriving with healthy and beautiful magic, White London, which is slowly being strangled with unbalanced and chaotic magic use, and Black London, which was destroyed and so no one talks about it anymore. 

The main characters are Kell, a special type of magician who can travel between Londons (and who has a freaking fabulous red coat that I WANT), and Lila, a wannabe pirate with an attitude and not much common sense. You gotta love her. 

I gave this book four stars. The writing was amazing and the worldbuilding was awesome, but Lila's character came off as more annoying than spunky and Kell's character couldn't settle between quirky and brooding. I want to read the rest of the series but will likely be checking it out from the library. 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab 

My second Schwab book of the month, definitely not complaining. This book was a phenomenal five stars, and I loved it enough that I'm giving it its own review on my blog, so stay tuned for that tomorrow. In the meantime, here is my February TBR that I am suuuuper excited about: 

February TBR: 

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson 

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

Beautiful Creatures (I've always wanted to try this book) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

The Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo 

We'll see how it goes but I want to know: how did your January go? What's on your TBR for February? What did you think about any of the books mentioned? Tell me all the tea! 

Until next time, happy reading!