January was a pretty successful month, all things considered. I had two weeks off work to get some reading done and I'm glad to say that I enjoyed pretty much everything I read this month! I also completed the January Pages challenge on Storygraph which means I read every day in January, hooray! Here's my thoughts on all 10 books I read.
One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley
Told in alternating timelines, 1951 and 2018, we follow Edie has she tries to piece together the mystery of her best friend's disappearance when they were teenagers. I thought this was a really well told mystery. Edie was a great character to follow, in both time periods. We get to see her as a shy, reserved teenager desperate to escape her life and then older Edie who is grappling with dementia but knows she is the key to solving her best friend's disappearance but just can't quite remember what it is.
It was cleverly told, I liked how Edie's dementia was portrayed. It was really heartbreaking to read and must be incredibly frustrating for anyone living with it. The mystery itself was enjoyable and well plotted, I liked how everything wrapped up. Emily Critchley is definitely an author I want to pick up more from.
As someone who was obsessed with that era of late 90's/early 2000's music, there was a good chance I was going to love this book - and I did! This follows an up and coming pop star in the 2000s from the beginning of her career as we see her grapple with her newfound fame and all the challenges that come with it.
I loved how nostalgic this felt, it's very reminiscent of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, NSYNC and all the drama that was going on at that time. I liked how it explored Amber's growth in the music industry and how the media portrays young famous women. I do think that the pacing was off at times and also for some reason I hated reading the song lyrics in the book. Without the music, they just sound cringey!
Two Truths and a Lie by April Henry
My lowest rated read of the month... I really only read this for the Buzzwordathon as January was truth/lies and I wanted the extra brownie points for fitting in both! This is billed as a YA thriller about a group of teens on a school trip who get snowed in at a motel with some other teenagers and then obvs a murder happens! This suffered a lot because of the pace, it's super fast to read but the plot was just all over the place. These teenagers who hardly know each are super attached after less than 24 hours which was ridiculous. Some of the twists just felt lazy and far-fetched.
It was engaging, fun and quick but the execution wasn't my favourite.
Persuasion by Jane Austen
This is only my second Jane Austen after Pride and Prejudice and I'm still getting to grips with the slower pace of her books. I seem to only be able to read her novels in short chunks but once the story got going, I really enjoyed it. This is a sort of second chance romance as Anne is reintroduced to Wentworth who she rejected years ago on her family's insistence but has regretted it ever since. Austen has such beautiful prose and I loved Wentworth's letter to Anne! This was so soft, romantic and extremely comforting - I loved that Anne felt like a more mature heroine. I really do need to continue my Austen-a-long now, which should I read next?
The Hysterical Girl's of St. Bernadette's by Hanna Alkaf
Whilst this has some mixed reviews, I really enjoyed this YA horror/mystery. St. Bernadette's is a school with secrets. After a bought of screaming that spread amongst the students, one disappeared years ago and now it seems that history is repeating itself.
This was extremely atmospheric, I loved the Malaysian setting and the school itself felt appropriately ominous. It was also interesting to get the different POV's especially Khadijah's as she's the one piecing together the mystery whilst also grappling with an event that has left her non-verbal. I really liked the ending too, I think it worked well with the rest of the book and wasn't too obvious. I truly enjoy Hanna Alkaf's books and I'm eager to pick up more from her backlist.
I was still clearly in my regency era as the next thing I picked up was a Pride and Prejudice spin-off. This is a sequel to Pride and Premeditation which I read a few years ago on audio and remember enjoying so I was excited to pick this one up. In this version Lizzie works at her families solicitors as the only female in a man's job and teams up with Darcy to solve mysteries on the side.
This was an enjoyable historical mystery and I really enjoy Price's take on the famous characters particularly Lizzie who is just as stubborn but has a more modern attitude here. Characters from Price's other Jane Austen mysteries show up as well noticeably the Dashwood sisters from Sense and Second-Degree Murder (which I still need to read) plus a little cameo from one Emma Woodhouse which I liked. I will say that I think Darcy and Lizzie's relationship took the forefront over the mystery and therefore it didn't feel as well plotted as I would have liked.
As Good as Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #3) by Holly Jackson
How sad I am to have finally finished this series as I just adore these characters and Holly Jackson is a really great mystery writer. The final book in the trilogy opens with Pip convinced she has a stalker and then events escalate from there. I don't want to give too much away as it is the last book in a series. Jackson's writing is so entertaining that even though this might be my least favourite out of the three, I still enjoyed it immensely. My reservations with it is that I feel like Pip's character just changed direction so quickly and the plot went to a place I wasn't expecting at all! It was an interesting decision from Jackson but I'm not 100% sure that I loved it...
I did cry a little bit at the end though, Pip and Ravi have such a hold on my heart and it got very emotional that I had to put the book down and take a moment! I'm excited for the second series of the TV adaptation to come out so I can still get my fix of them!
Love & Other Human Errors by Bethany Clift
I think this is my favourite read of the month and it took me completely by surprise. I was shocked at how much I loved this considering I nearly DNF'd it at 60 pages in as I wasn't sure about the writing style. I'm so glad I persevered as this was such a heart-warming, unconventional romance. It had a bit of sci-fi in there as our main character Indiana (who clearly had some form of autism) has created a software that is guaranteed to find your soulmate but the owner of the company buying it insists she test it out herself to prove it works. I adored each of the characters we got POV's from - Indiana, Jack and Lina - and by the 200 page mark I was completely invested in their story. I loved watching Indiana go from this blunt, closed off character to someone who learns to let other people in and live more openly. A really underrated read that I would urge you to pick up if you like a quirky romance.
Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language by Amanda Montell
I've talked about this book a bit on other posts so I'll keep it short. This is a non-fiction book that explores how language is gendered, how that effects the way we use certain words and phrases and what this means for feminism.
I think Montell does a great job of making something that could be considered academic, very readable. She makes some interesting points about the language we use often unconsciously and the changes we could make that doesn't reflect how sexist language can be. A lot of people have pointed out though that it's very focused on the white American view point as well as lacking in diversity. I also think that a lot of conclusions made in the book are more the personal view of the author rather than having sources to back it up.
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
Whilst I wait for the next Thursday Murder Club book to be released, I decided to start Osman's newest series. This one being about a father/daughter in law duo who team up to solve a string of murders whilst evading a hitman on their trail. I just love Osman's writing, it's so witty and super British! I also like that the chapters are so short as it's easy to whizz through. I definitely enjoyed this one but I don't think it beats the Thursday Murder Club books for me, the characters are fun but don't have the same charm as Elizabeth and Co.
Reading Challenge Update
I managed to tick off some prompts for Beat the Backlist and PopSugar as well as reading Persuasion for the 100 Must Read Classics and Two Truths and a Lie for Buzzwordathon. I also ticked off Malaysia from the Reads the World challenge with The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette's.
What did you read in December? Have you read any of these? Leave a comment below. Happy Reading!
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