After reading zero books in October, I got back into reading and powered through to meet my annual goal of 100 books on December 31st. I read 17 books between November and December which included quite a few graphic novels to fit them all in while traveling for the holidays. In the holiday craziness, I totally forgot to write a wrap up for November. So here is my combined November and December wrap up as well as a look at what I plan to read in January.
Reading Stats
- Books Read: 17
- Pages Read: 4,725
- Average Rating: 3.76
- 5 stars – 2
- 4 stars – 9
- 3 stars – 6
- Genre Breakdown:
- Fantasy – 5
- Contemporary – 4
- Sci-Fi – 3
- Romance – 2
- Dystopia – 1
- Paranormal – 1
- Mythology – 1
- Book Format:
- Novel – 9
- Graphic Novel – 7
- Novella – 1
- Reading Format:
- Physical Books – 14
- eBooks – 2
- Audiobook – 1
The Books
Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
3 stars – Full Review
I liked this novella mostly for being short and being the first book I had finished in forever. But it was pretty middle of the road and at this point, I barely remember it.
Saga Vol 8 and 9 by Brian K Vaughn and Fiona Staples
Volume 8 – 3 stars
Volume 9 – 4 stars
I read volume 8 in November and volume 9 in December. This series continues to be 3 or 4 stars for me depending on the volume. But the end of volume 9 got me close to tears. I’ve heard volume 10 feels like a totally different story so I might decide to just leave it where I am, I can’t decide.
Black Powder War by Naomi Novik
4 stars
I really enjoyed the 3rd installment in the Temeraire series. This dragon is so much fun to spend time with. The middle of this one was a little slow but the ending hooked me again. Book 4 is already sitting on my shelf.
Defend the Dawn by Brigid Kemmerer
4 stars
I was a little afraid to jump into this one. I absolutely loved Defy the Night and Kemmerer’s history with sequels is not good. Defend the Dawn was definitely not as good as Defy the Night but I do love these characters and the ending has me wanting to read more.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
4 stars
This was my first book by this author and now I want to read more. It was very different but in a good way. I do think it had a bit of a pacing issue but the ideas and overall story were intriguing.
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
3 stars
I’m a little bewildered by the love for this book. It’s cute but the plot with the stone was not interesting at all. In such a short book that I really just wanted cozy vibes from, I didn’t care at all and the author didn’t explain it enough to sway my opinion. A novella with just the coffee shop plot would have been much more to my liking.
A Turn of the Tide by Kelley Armstrong
3 stars – Full Review
I was so excited to get this ARC after loving the first two books in this series but this one fell a little flat. It turned into a pirate adventure instead of the ghost-filled time travel romance plots of the other books. It wasn’t bad, just not for me.
Shipped by Angie Hockman
5 stars
This was adorable. I loved it and gave it 5 stars which I hardly ever do for romance. I loved the setting and although I’ve never been to the Galapagos, I have been to the South Pacific on a cruise and so many things reminded me of that wonderful trip. A great little book.
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
5 stars
I dipped my toe into the Cosmere and works of Brandon Sanderson and I had the best time. The characters, world, writing, I totally get the Sanderson hype. This was one of my best reads in 2022 and definitely my favorite of the epic fantasy I’ve picked up. I look forward to reading more by Sanderson in 2023.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
3 stars
Oh Emily Henry, you did it again. You gave me a cute romance with characters I liked and then you ruined it with melodrama. Sigh, I think after three of her books I just need to give up, they aren’t for me.
Lore Olympus Vol 1 by Rachel Smythe
3 stars
I decided to give this graphic novel a go given the praise it has been getting and the fact that I needed some quick reads to meet my annual book goal. This wasn’t bad but I just don’t know enough of the Greek myths to keep up and enjoy it. I probably won’t be continuing.
Fence Volumes 1 to 4 by CS Pacat
4 stars each
Then I read the first four volumes of Fence. These were really fun. I’d probably continue if my library had the next volume. They don’t though and I’m not really excited enough to try elsewhere or spend money. It was a fun afternoon reading all 4 volumes though.
Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
4 stars
My last book of the year was Aurora Burning, the second book in the Aurora Cycle. The beginning/middle of this book was very slow. I kept putting it down and not really caring. But eventually the characters won me back over and the plot picked up. The end was so good and I definitely will be picking up the next one before too long.
January Plans
For the first time, I am using my TBR Cards from Bowties and Books to choose two books to read in January. The cards I picked were:
Battle Ballgown – A book where fashion is crucial to the story
For this, I plan to read The Fifth Timekeeper by Jon and Dayna McConnell. This is the sequel to The Time Trials and a YA sci-fi series about a time travel competition. The contestants wear these body suits that they can use to project whatever clothes they need to blend into the time they traveled to. So fashion and clothing plays a pretty crucial role both in the body suits and then there are lots of discussions about all of the period dress. I also got this book for Christmas and I’m anxious to read it so I say it counts.
Spoonie – Mentally and/or physically disabled protagonist
I thought about trying to stretch this to fit a book I was planning to read anyway but I decided to go with the spirit of the goal I set to do this and pick a more diverse read. I’ve decided to read A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll which I think is middle grade and has a neurodivergent main character. I’ve heard good things about this one so when I was searching for possibilities, it jumped out.
In addition to those two, I think I’m going to pick up Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb as one of my 23 books in 2023 and then I’m leaning towards Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft also on that list. But there are some wintery books on there (Beartown and Shadow of the Gods in particular) so I could change my mind. I would like to read at least two so I don’t start off already behind on that goal.
I’m hoping to start off the year with a good reading month, we’ll see how it goes. Here are the top books I think I’ll pick up in January including those mentioned above.
Happy Reading!
Susan Lyn Knits and Reads 