January 2019 Reading Wrap Up

Hey friends, can you believe it’sFebruary already? On one hand I’m shocked, on the other I’m excited as it’s my BIRTHDAY MONTH YAY. Let’s pretend that doesn’t mean I’m getting older, m’kay? I didn’t manage to read a whole bunch in Jan! Well I read but I didn’t finish… but I’ll include them all here anyway!

First a little bit about why I wasn’t reading as much. I got a new job! Whoop! I’m a Digital Marketing Manager. This obviously cut my free time down dramatically. You also may have heard that my shop, Literary Galaxy, is one of the supplies for Book Box Club’s February box! I’m SO excited to be in this awesome box, and have been working hard on making the perfect gifts for you. I answered a Q&A about my shop on their blog which you should definitely check out!

January Finished Reads

It began on New Year's Eve.

The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed--and more than half of the world's population was decimated.

Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magic rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river--or in the ones you know and love the most.

As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, and with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arlys, a journalist who has lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possessed of burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. And Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive.

In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a savior, none of them knows exactly where they are heading, or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remain.

The end has come. The beginning comes next.

I really enjoyed Year One, it took me a bit by surprise when I go to the fantasy elements at first but I soon got on board! It’s an interesting take on a post apocalyptic story, as you may know I love virus narratives so this was a joy.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré
Published by Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic Inc. on June 2nd 1999
Narrator: Stephen Fry
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 341
Goodreads

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone -- or something -- starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects . . . Harry Potter himself?

--jacket description

Harry Potter needs no discussion, I’ve been rereading them by listening to them on audible with my other half. It’s been so fun!

The Wicked King by Holly Black
Series: The Folk of the Air #2
on January 8th 2019
Narrator: Caitlin Kelly
Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 336
Goodreads

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

I reread The Wicked King by listening to it on audible. Honestly, I HIGHLY recommend the audibooks for this series. The narrator is AMAZING. Trust me you wont regret it. I reviewed it here. 

The Girl King by Mimi Yu
Published by Bloomsbury YA on January 8th 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 432
Goodreads

Two sisters become unwitting rivals in a war to claim the title of Emperor in this sweeping tale of ambition, sacrifice and betrayal for readers of Sabaa Tahir and Alwyn Hamilton.

All hail the Girl King.

Sisters Lu and Min have always understood their places as princesses of the Empire. Lu knows she is destined to become the dynasty's first female ruler, while Min is resigned to a life in her shadow. Then their father declares their male cousin Set the heir instead—a betrayal that sends the sisters down two very different paths.

Determined to reclaim her birthright, Lu goes on the run. She needs an ally—and an army—if she is to succeed. Her quest leads her to Nokhai, the last surviving wolf shapeshifter. Nok wants to keep his identity secret, but finds himself forced into an uneasy alliance with the girl whose family killed everyone he ever loved…

Alone in the volatile court, Min's hidden power awakens—a forbidden, deadly magic that could secure Set's reign…or allow Min to claim the throne herself. But there can only be one Emperor, and the sisters' greatest enemy could turn out to be each other.

I was sent a review copy and was on the blog tour for The Girl King, so if you want to read all my thoughts on it, go and check it out there. I really enjoyed this book, though towards the end I started to lose a bit of interest which is why it’s rating dropped a little.

January Started Reads

I started a lot of books in January, even if I didn’t finish many! Here are a few I started.

Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta, Cori McCarthy
Published by jimmy patterson on March 26th 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Pages: 368
Goodreads

I’ve been chased my whole life. As a fugitive refugee in the territory controlled by the tyrannical Mercer corporation, I’ve always had to hide who I am. Until I found Excalibur.

Now I’m done hiding.

My name is Ari Helix. I have a magic sword, a cranky wizard, and a revolution to start.

When Ari crash-lands on Old Earth and pulls a magic sword from its ancient resting place, she is revealed to be the newest reincarnation of King Arthur. Then she meets Merlin, who has aged backward over the centuries into a teenager, and together they must break the curse that keeps Arthur coming back. Their quest? Defeat the cruel, oppressive government and bring peace and equality to all humankind.

No pressure.

I was sent Once and Future for an honest review and am enjoying it already! It’s the gender-bent Merlin retelling that I didn’t know I needed!

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons
Published by Tor Books on February 5th 2019
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 560
Goodreads

There are the old stories. And then there’s what actually happens.

Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn't what the storybooks promised.

Far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family's power plays and ambitions. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins.

Then again, maybe he’s not the hero, for Kihrin isn’t destined to save the empire.

He’s destined to destroy it . . .

Uniting the worldbuilding of a Brandon Sanderson with the storytelling verve of a Patrick Rothfuss, debut author Jenn Lyons delivers an entirely new and captivating fantasy epic. Prepare to meet the genre’s next star.

Ahhh I’m loving Ruin of Kings! I was sent a review copy and I cannot wait to finish this one.

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
Published by Tor Teen on January 5th 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 415
Goodreads

On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery,” a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

I was sent Bloodwitch to review so I bought Truthwitch so I can read the entire series! I haven’t read much yet but I’m enjoying it so far!

King of Scars (Nikolai Duology, #1) by Leigh Bardugo
Published by Imprint on January 29th 2019
Narrator: Lauren Fortgang
Length: 16 hrs and 13 mins
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 528
Goodreads

Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.

Ahhh… King of Scars. I had to DNF this actually. I didn’t realise you had to read Six of Crows first so I did not enjoy Nina’s POV at all. I had no interest. Also, the synopsis is so Nikolai centric but he only has a small portion of the story? So sadly, I DNF this book and probably won’t pick it back up.

Have you read any of these? What did you read in January? I’m hoping I manage to read some more in February!

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