Review: JANUARY FIFTEENTH by Rachel Swirsky

 

Rating: 4/5 stars 

January fifteenth is UBI Day: the day that all citizens receive their universal basic income. This near-future dystopian novella contains four POVs, all from women in different paths of life, as they navigate yet another UBI Day:  

Hannah: a poor single mom in New York who leaves her two young kids at home while she treks out through the snow to collect her UBI payment, hoping they’ll be safe from her stalker ex-wife.

Janelle: a Chicago journalist who is going around interviewing different people on “windfall day” about their feelings regarding UBI.

Olivia: a rich college student in Colorado who is celebrating “waste day” with her friends, where they compete to see who can most ludicrously squander their UBI money. 

Sarah: a very pregnant teen girl in Utah walking to town with her sister-wives to collect their UBI payment. 

The novella is split into different segments of UBI Day: early, morning, midday, afternoon, evening, and late. Each part of the day contains one chapter from each of the four perspectives to follow how the four women’s lives vary during this specific day. 

The idea of universal basic income is very interesting and can be the grounds for both utopian and dystopian stories. January Fifteenth is kind of both.

I really like that the story goes into four very different women’s lives across the country and shows how UBI can be both a benefit and a hindrance. For one woman, it allowed her to escape an abusive relationship. For another, it is normal supplemental income. For one, it is completely extraneous and unnecessary money. And for the last, it is the means to realize a whole new life for herself. 

The one thing I didn’t like about this story was the misrepresentation of Mormon culture. Of course the cult group is located in Utah, and of course they are sister-wives, and of course they are an offshoot of the Mormon religion. It’s like the author knows nothing except for stereotypes about members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including the fact that calling us Mormons is disrespectful.  *sigh* I wish people would stop presenting the religion in such a derogatory way because it perpetuates incorrect stereotypes. The Church is not a cult and no one actually has sister-wives. I know the cult in this novella is supposed to be the FLDS religion instead of the LDS religion, but those unfamiliar with either of those churches and their vast differences would not understand that the author is not necessarily speaking badly about the LDS faith. The handling of the religion was my only real complaint about the story. 

Overall, I quite enjoyed January Fifteenth and would recommend it to those interested in dystopian stories that focus on alternate reality ideas for how we live in the present day. 

Review: BURN by Patrick Ness

 

Rating: 1/5 stars

DNF at 40%. 

This book was not at all what I expected or wanted it to be. I thought I was going to get a fantastical story about dragons. What I ended up getting was a historical fiction novel set in 1950s America about a poor family who hires a dragon to come work on their farm. 

Dragons were present in this novel, but only marginally; the story was not about them. Instead, this is a political novel about race relations between whites, Blacks, Japanese, and Russians in the 1950s when everyone was scared of Russia and there was a lot of tension between races. I have zero desire to read about any of that. I prefer my fiction lighthearted and fun and not focused on real-world politics and problems. 

I read quite a bit of the book hoping that it would get more enjoyable for me, but it honestly kept getting weirder and weirder, and not in a good way. The plot is . . . nonexistent? I really can't tell you what this book is supposed to be about or what the presumed goal of Ness was in writing this story. It was all just very weird and unenjoyable. 

Ultimately I just have no desire to continue reading Burn because it isn't the kind of story I want to read. This is my second book by Patrick Ness (the first being A Monster Calls) and I haven't enjoyed either of them, so maybe his types of stories and his writing style just don't work for me. I still intend to check out The Knife of Never Letting Go before I make that call for sure, but so far it doesn't look good for him, unfortunately. 

Review: LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus

 

Rating: 1/5 stars

DNF at 5%. 

I picked up this book solely because it’s Barnes and Noble’s 2022 Book of the Year and I wanted to see what was so special about it.

But then in chapter three, only a half hour into the audiobook, there’s a graphic rape scene and I had to put the book down. I cannot read books involving sexual assault and had I known this book contained that I wouldn’t have picked it up at all.

The worst part was that after it happened, the main character is talking to a police officer and he asks her, “Why don’t you tell me what you think happened?” And then he asks her if she would like to make a statement of regret (for stabbing the guy with a pencil) because it will look better for her. And she said it was self-defense because she was attacked and he didn’t believe her, of course not because this book is set in the 1950s.

I don’t care how good or funny Lessons in Chemistry supposedly is, or what the main character accomplishes or overcomes throughout the novel; I will not continue reading a book that contains sexual assault in such a misogynistic and unchallenged way, regardless of what year the book is set in. I haven’t seen anyone else talk about this scene that takes place so early on in the story, but it is there, and it made me very uncomfortable and upset while I was reading, and it is the sole reason why I will not be continuing with the book.

Review: A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON by Alexandra Rowland

 

Rating: 2/5 stars

DNF at 41%.

I really wanted to like this book. Stand-alone political fantasy romance between a prince and his bodyguard? Sounds like my kind of story. Unfortunately, I was really bored with this one. 

I first considered DNFing around the 25% mark but then I read some reviews that said the first 30% was pretty slow, so I decided to wait until at least 40% before making the decision to give it a fair chance. It never got better for me though.

I also read many reviews that said this book was more romance-focused than fantasy-focused, but I did not find that to be the case whatsoever. I was expecting a great romantic story here but no romantic interests were even thought about during the entire time I was reading. I know the partnership is between Evemer and Kadou, but they hadn’t even started liking each other or thinking about each other in any special way by the 40% mark. That doesn’t sound like more romance than fantasy to me. . . .

Another issue I had here was that the worldbuilding could have been great, but it was really lacking. I don’t feel like I know this world at all, which is really sad for an epic fantasy story. There was also a magic system that involved sensing metals or something along those lines but it was so sparsely talked about and so undeveloped that I forgot it existed for a good portion of the story and I’m still not totally sure what it is exactly.

A Taste of Gold and Iron was heavily political and slow-moving and did not deliver on the romantic or worldbuilding fronts. I love political fantasy, but this book was just so boring and poorly developed, in my opinion, that I sadly could not continue. 

Review: LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD by Ava Dellaira

Rating: 2/5 stars

DNF after 27%.

I stopped on page 70, but then I read the last 16 pages, so altogether I read 27% of the book.

I hardly ever read young adult contemporary stories anymore, but this is one I’ve owned for eight years and I wanted to give it a chance before I give it away. I do enjoy epistolary novels, but that was about the only thing I liked here.

Laurel is given an English assignment to write a letter to a dead person, and she ends up writing a whole book of letters to a whole bunch of dead people, all of them well-known before my time, so while I was familiar with their names, I wasn’t familiar with any of their songs, poems, stories, etc. which led to me having zero attachment to them as characters.

Around page 60, right before I decided I wasn’t going to be finishing this book, I started getting pretty bored. This book is ultimately about dealing with grief as Laurel grieves for her dead sister, and I’ve found that grief is a topic I’m never very interested in reading about. I’m also so over books about high-schoolers drinking and smoking and doing drugs. It’s 100% unrelatable to me and uninteresting to me.

Overall, I’m glad I gave Love Letters to the Dead a chance, but I’m also glad I didn’t read the whole thing, especially after I read the ending and realized I was completely satisfied not knowing what happened in the middle. I’m not really sure what audience would enjoy this book, maybe younger teens dealing with grief? I don’t know, but I do know that it wasn’t for me. 

Top 5 Books I Read in 2022

1. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

This is hands down the best book I read in 2022. I finished this 400-page novel in less than 48 hours, which is very quick for me. I was so absorbed in the characters and the story that I couldn't stop reading. Check this one out if you like video games (or if you don’t), '90s nostalgia, Japanese culture and influences, academic settings, grandiloquent language choices, Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson, a character-based narrative, friendships that define and consume you, and love in all its many forms. Read my full review here. 

2. A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

This standalone prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree completely blew me away. I loved it even more than the first one, which is also one of my favorite books. This novel features multiple POVs, dragons, political intrigue, sapphic romance, motherly love, snowy adventures, hard decisions, and lifelong friendships. Read my full review here. 

3. Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R. F. Kuang 

This book has one of the best dark academia settings I've ever read. I loved this story. It was slower-paced but very rich and full of incredible characters. If you like history, linguistics, translation theory, Oxford in the 1800s, magic based on words' meanings, language etymology, very academic settings, and discourses on colonization, then you should check out this tome. Read my full review here. 

4. The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson 

The concluding novel to the Wax and Wayne era of Mistborn books was the most cosmere-aware novel to date, full of so many cross-references and easter eggs to Sanderson's other stories. I flew through this book and loved the ending. If you like magic based on different kinds of metals, western fantasy settings, intricate worldbuilding, unrivaled humorous banter, heists and adventures, and incredible characters, then read the Mistborn series, but definitely start with book one, not this one! Read my full review here. 

5. The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah 

I came to the realization this year that I love Arabian-inspired fantasy adventure stories set in the desert and full of djinn magic, and that's all thanks to this novel. This is a debut adult fantasy about a journey across a sea of shifting sands to find an ancient relic in a hidden jinn city. I loved the story and I loved the characters and I loved the magic and political intrigue and setting. It was all so much fun, and I recommend checking it out if you enjoy the desert fantasy genre. I can't wait for the sequel to be released. Read my full review here. 

2022 Reading Goals Review + Yearly Reading Stats

Reading Goals Review

My first goal was to read 100 books. I managed to read 152 books this year!! 

View my Goodreads Year in Books here to see all the specific titles I read in 2022!

My second goal was to read my TBR pile. I had 476 books on my physical TBR list on January 1, 2022. I wanted to reduce that number as much as possible and also read any new hardcover books within one month of purchase. The ultimate goal was to read more from my TBR than I added to it. Unfortunately, I did not accomplish this goal as my TBR at the end of the year was at 532. 

My third goal was to complete the Buzzword Readathon created by Kayla from Books and Lala, which I did. The prompts and books I read for each one are listed below. I also gave myself the added challenge of only choosing books from my physical TBR list, which I successfully did for every month. 

January: She Who Rides the Storm by Caitlin Sangster 

February: And I Darken by Kiersten White

March: The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor

April: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

May: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

June: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

July: Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians by Janci Patterson & Brandon Sanderson 

August: Poster Girl by Veronica Roth

September: The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew 

October: Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

November: Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

December: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Yearly Statistics

Number of books I read in 2022: 152
Number of those books that I listened to on audio: 78
Number of books I read from my TBR: 73
Number of frontlist titles I read (published in 2022 or 2023): 
Number of ARCs I read before the publication date: 29
Number of series I started: 28
Number of series I completed: 17
Number of books I DNFed: 8
Number of books I reread: 4
Number of books I acquired this year: 187
Amount of money spent on books this year: $1,481.82
Number of books I unhauled this year: 49
Number of books on my TBR at the beginning of 2022: 476
Number of books on my TBR at the end of 2022: 532

Books I read that were . . .
Middle Grade: 10
Young Adult: 37
Adult: 83
Manga: 21

*Note that I categorize anything not specifically labeled as middle grade or young adult as an adult title, such as nonfiction, humor, graphic novels, or religious books that could be enjoyed by any age group. 
**Also note that I added manga as its own category this year since I read an abnormal amount of manga and it could arguably fit into any age group and I didn't want to skew the numbers. 

Graphic Novels: 10
Short Stories or Novellas: 18
Nonfiction Titles: 9

Star Ratings:
1 star: 15 books
2 stars: 20 books
3 stars: 34 books
4 stars: 53 books 
5 stars: 30 books 

Reading Survey

Favorite book of the year: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Least favorite book of the year: Nothing but Blackened Teeth 
Most surprising book of the year: Carrie Soto Is Back 
Most disappointing book of the year: The Blood Trials 
Longest book of the year: Oathbringer (1,233 pages) 
Shortest book of the year: No Intention of Dying (15 pages) 
Book that was on my TBR the longest that I read: Memoirs of a Geisha (10+ years)
Biggest accomplishment: A Day of Fallen Night 
Most read genre: Fantasy (54%) 

Reading Reflections

I had a great reading year this year! I managed to read a ton of ARCs, I think more than any other year, and that kept me from buying quite so many books if I read an ARC but then didn't love it enough to purchase a copy. I did buy a ton of books this year, but I believe I am honing my reading tastes and I am confident I will enjoy the majority of those books, whereas in previous years I would buy books if they were on sale or if I had heard good things about them without taking my own feelings into account. I'm proud of my reading this year and managing to finish so many books from my TBR and so many ARCs before release day as well. Let's hope next year is as prosperous. 

Review: EMILY WILDE'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES by Heather Fawcett

 

Rating: 3.5/5 stars 

Emily Wilde is a dryadologist from Cambridge on a research trip in the early 1900s on a tiny island in northern Scandinavia off the coast of Norway, researching their Hidden Ones, or their faeries, for her faerie encyclopaedia. One day, Emily’s academic counterpart Wendell (Is he a rival? A friend?) arrives at her cabin with his two assistants and insists on helping her with her field research. Their camaraderie and discoveries end up changing the lives of all those who live in the tiny village they’re staying in, as well as all those who reside through the door in the faerie realms. 

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia is a more academic-focused take on fae, at least for the first half of the book. Emily and Wendell are trying to learn as much as they can about the faeries that live in these northern regions, and the novel is written in journal-like entries that Emily is recording for her research. There are also footnotes, as if this book were a real academic encyclopaedia. 

This book reminded me of a grown-up version of The Spiderwick Chronicles. It’s about fae, but it focuses more on the tiny sprite variety of faeries. There are “courtly fae” as they are called in this book, the adult romantic type, and there are “common fae,” the smaller varieties of fae found in the wild. The common fae are more the focus of Emily’s research, but both types are heavily present in this novel. 

I really enjoyed the first 75% of the story and overall had no complaints, but the last 25% lost me. I wish the focus of the novel had remained on the academic side of common fae and less on the courtly fae toward the end. The whole Hidden King and courtly politics bit felt cliched and overdone, in my opinion, and it pulled the story in a different direction than felt natural. I thought Heather Fawcett had a unique idea for writing a fae story about the smaller more traditional types of faeries, but then the adult-sized romantic and courtly fae came into play, and the story kind of lost its magical quality for me and started to feel like all the other fae novels out there. I liked the beginning and middle a lot more when the story was more focused on the common fae and the research aspect. 

The novel did not end on a cliffhanger, even though this is the first of a series. I have no idea what the sequel will be about since this volume tied up the plot it presented at the beginning, but I also don’t feel a large inclination to continue the series. I like neat endings, and since there weren’t any loose threads left, and since I was kind of turned off by the direction the story went in anyway, I am likely going to just treat this book like a standalone in my mind. 

Overall, I did enjoy Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries quite a bit and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a soft and wholesome novel about faeries. The story features a mix of folklore, history, romance, and fantasy set in a lush and cozy wintery landscape. I thought the book was well-written and had good characters, for the most part. It read a little younger than I expected it to and the plot went in a direction I wasn’t entirely pleased with, but overall I still had a fun time reading this book and I think many people will really enjoy it as well.