It’s so wild to think that the first month of 2017 is already over – before I know it, I’ll be graduating, and things will be so, so different.
Returning to the book blogging community has been amazing! I’ve loved being able to reconnect with old blogger friends, and establish new friendships. I’m really looking forward to all the conversations we’ll be having throughout the rest of this year.
Speaking of conversations, 2017 looks like it’s going to be a great year for diversity in books. I’ve added so many new #ownvoices reads to my TBR, and I’m beyond excited and grateful for this representation.
Books I Read
January was a great reading month! I read a total of 9 books, which I’m pleased with. I had hoped to read more, but I ended up really disliking one of the books that I read, and it sent me into a mini reading slump. I’ve already written and posted reviews for a few of the books that I’ve finished this month; I’ll be reviewing the rest of the books I’ve read soon!
A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir (An Ember in the Ashes #2) – ★★★★★
This was an incredible sequel – I’ve linked my full review of this book, but it’s basically more than I could have ever expected. I absolutely loved it, and opening 2017 with a 5-star read was really great.
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows #2) – ★★★★★
I foresee this being one of my favorite books of all time, and not just of 2017 – its characters were phenomenal, as per usual (seriously, though, they’re some of my all time favorite characters), and its plot was absolutely gripping and captivating.
Voices From the March On Washington by J. Patrick Lewis & George Ella Lyon – ★★★★☆
This was an extremely personal, insightful, and powerful read – this book did an amazing job of telling the stories and pain and hopes of individual people who were part of the Civil Rights Movement and marched in the March on Washington.
Pandemic by Yvonne Ventresca – ★★★½☆☆
Pandemic was an entertaining read that I really enjoyed! It definitely left me a little paranoid about plagues, though, HAHAH.
Blood For Blood by Ryan Graudin (Wolf by Wolf #2) – ★★★★½☆
Blood For Blood was absolutely fantastic. I was a bit apprehensive about it, because Wolf By Wolf was just so dynamic and brilliant that I couldn’t imagine its sequel topping it. But honestly, Blood For Blood came really close. It was an ideal sequel, and was full of twists and turns and would make my heart race.
Dreadnought by April Daniels (Nemesis #1) – ★★★½☆☆
Like I say in my review, Dreadnought was a good book that had the capacity to be great. The plot was inventive, and I adored the amount of representation the book provided (it’s an #ownvoices read!). There were just some flaws in its pacing and the execution of the plotting that prevented me from giving it a higher rating.
Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken (Passenger #2) – ★★★★☆
Wayfarer was yet another impressive sequel that I read this month! It had strong development for its wonderfully diverse cast of characters, and was extremely insightful and thoughtful, and handled themes of racism and discrimination extremely well. It also included some beautiful historical scenes – I felt as if I was travelling the world throughout different time periods alongside the characters!
Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman – ★★★½☆☆
Girl Out of Water was a really cute, light read, that still managed to be substantial and touch upon important themes. I would recommend it to contemporary-lovers as a summertime read! Definitely expect a review of this book to go up soon 🙂
The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti – ★☆☆☆☆
Jesus, I really, really disliked this book. I had so many problems with it, and found it to be… poorly plotted, with an unbearable cast of characters. I also found that it contained racial slurs, trivialized (multiple) cultural practices, and had an extremely damaging and offensive narrative about mental illnesses. I just wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. I almost want to write a review on it, because I’ve seen it on so many people’s TBRs, but I’m afraid it would end up being an angry rant rather than constructive.
Posts in January
Reviews
- An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (An Ember in the Ashes #1)
- A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir (An Ember in the Ashes #2)
- Pandemic by Yvonne Ventresca
- Dreadnought by April Daniels (Nemesis #1)
Discussion Posts
- Why don’t any of these characters look like me? Otherwise known as, we need Asian representation
- Can there ever be too much of a good thing?
Blogger Awards
- The Mystery Blogger Award (thanks, Lauren!)
- The Blogger Aesthetic Award (thanks, Liam!)
Misc.
Looking back on January, it was definitely a productive blogging month for me! I hope everyone had a great start to the year – let me know about your favorite book that you read this month in the comments!
Fabled Haven 
I’m so excited to read A Torch Against the Night. I read An Ember in the Ashes this month and I really liked it and I really want to know what happens next. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Some great read there luv!
I’m glad to see that you gave good reviews to A Torch Against the Night and Blood for Blood! I really loved BFB and thought it was pretty much as good as WBW, which was also a very rare five-star read from me, haha. Kind of glad it’s a duology – I’m not sure a third book would be able to measure up!
And so sorry to hear about The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett. I haven’t read a lot of reviews for it but it sounds very, very bad on the representation front.