Hi friends! I hope you had a great reading month. Mine was pretty chaotic! I almost got into a reading slump. But before we get into this, let’s go through every book I read in January.
January Reading Wrap-up
Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington
Synopsis
After her Ivy League acceptance is revoked due to a scandal, scholarship student Adina Walker enters « The Finish », a high-stakes and secretive competition hosted by a powerful elite family, only to discover that the prize of a restored future comes with a deadly tournament.
Review
Rating: 4.20 stars
A really fun read with some great social commentary, power dynamics, and a relatable main character. It was also nice to see that the author wasn't afraid to kill off their characters.
Perfect read for fans of The Inheritance Games and Hunger Games.
God of Malice by Rina Kent
Synopsis
God of Malice is the first book in the Legacy of Gods series by Rina Kent. This dark romance follows Glyndon King, a shy art student trying to escape her traumatic past, and Killian Carson, a ruthless sociopath who becomes obsessed with her after a chance encounter.
Review
Rating: 1.55 stars
My full review is available here.
Overall, I found it repetitive, problematic, and boring with a lot of overexplaining. Exactly what I said about God of Fury basically… I only enjoyed the chapters with their families (2 chapters).
Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino
Synopsis
A woman pushed to the brink by a cutthroat real estate market becomes obsessed with securing a dream home before anyone else can bid on it. What begins as harmless research quickly spirals into unhinged stalking and manipulation as she infiltrates the owners' lives, proving there is no boundary she won't cross to claim the life she feels she’s owed.
Review
Rating: 2.35 stars
That wasn't at all what I expected when I read the synopsis. It had the same effect on me as when I read Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. There's no connection between the two, but I had the same feeling of having signed up for something completely different.
We're supposed to relate to Margo, but she and her husband are the epitome of privilege ($1.3 million, a coat closet, etc.)
Margo is also quite unbearable. This isn't helped by the narration, which constantly info dumps. Absolutely everything that happens is told rather than shown. It's not thrilling; I'd say it's barely a thriller.
Finally, the few twists and turns were fairly predictable or just not impactful enough.
I love the premise and I would have loved the book just as much.
Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood
Synopsis
Andromeda is a young, unlicensed debtera—an exorcist trained to cleanse homes of the malevolent Evil Eye. Desperate for work, she accepts a job at a cursed isolated mansion belonging to the handsome but eccentric young heir, Magnus Rochester.
Review
Rating: DNF at 25%
The synopsis really appealed to me and I was eager to read it. However, I immediately found the worldbuilding very vague and what was happening failed to capture my attention, as did the characters. I do intend to try reading it again, though. Maybe it wasn't the right time and it wasn't bad enough for me to give up on it altogether.
On the other hand, it put me in a reading slump for over a week. I never picked it up and didn't have the courage to start anything else. That's why my month of reading didn't go at all as planned.
When The Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen
Synopsis
After fleeing her small segregated Southern hometown years earlier, Mira returns for her friend’s wedding at a renovated plantation haunted by its racist past, forcing her to confront old friendships, and the horrific events that shaped her life.
Review
Rating: 3.5 stars
Beautifully written and quite relatable. However, the horror part came quite late and the flashbacks were long and killed the pace in my opinion. Not only that but they were over-explaining everything. The setting is horrific for sure but I wouldn’t recommend it if you want to read a scary book.
Not In My Book by Katie Holt
Synopsis
Two rival authors at NYU, Rosie Maxwell and Aiden Huntington, are forced to co-write a novel together despite hating each other.
Review
Rating: 4.20 stars
This was simply lovely! It had been a long time since I had read such a good romance novel. The only criticism I could make is that the scenes are sometimes repetitive, and there are many declarations since they write a novel about themselves in parallel.
February TBR
The first four are the leftovers from January I couldn’t get to with my unexpected reading slump.
When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole
Sydney Green returns to her Brooklyn neighborhood to find it rapidly gentrifying, only to realize that her neighbors aren't just moving away—they're disappearing under suspicious circumstances. Partnering with her new neighbor Theo, she investigates.
The House On Needless Street by Catriona Ward
In a boarded-up house at the end of a dead-end street, a reclusive man lives with his daughter and a very unusual cat. Their fragile existence is threatened when a new neighbor moves in next door, determined to uncover the truth about a local child's disappearance years ago.
The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
Amber Patterson is a master manipulator who thinks she deserves a life of luxury. She targets Daphne Parrish—a wealthy socialite and philanthropist—with the goal of befriending her, usurping her life, and becoming the next Mrs. Parrish. However, as Amber gets closer to Daphne’s husband and their glamorous world, she realizes that the "perfect" life she’s trying to steal contains secrets she didn't bargain for.
The Compound by Aisling Rawle
Lily competes on a cutthroat reality TV show set in a remote desert compound, where contestants must navigate increasingly dangerous tasks and blurred moral lines for the chance to win luxury rewards and a permanent escape from reality.
The September House by Carissa Orlando
A couple moves to an isolated historic house with a tragic legacy. As they restore it, they uncover unsettling secrets. But Margaret is determined to stay in her dream home, even though it turned into a nightmare.
The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife, and mother suspects something in the town of Stepford is changing the wives from intelligent women into compliant wives dedicated solely to homemaking as her friends slowly transform.
Foe by Iain Reid
Henrietta’s husband has been selected to travel far away from their farm. But she won’t be left alone: someone is coming to take his husband’s place.
I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea
Aspiring Black ballerina Laure Mesny, overlooked in this elite world makes a pact in the Catacombs to gain edge and stardom, but as her power grows it leads her deeper into revenge and the cost of validation.
Lastly, two romances because I feel like I’m gonna need it after all those dark stories.
Spiral by Bal Khabra
NHL rookie Elias Westbrook and ballerina Sage Beaumont start a fake relationship to salvage his reputation and make her noticed to get a high-profile job.
Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese
A frenemies-to-lovers college romance,. Soccer star Willa Sutter and classmate Ryder Bergman are forced to work together, turning pranks and mutual irritation into an unexpected connection.
And you, what’s your TBR for February ?
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