January 2025 Reading Wrap-Up

31 Jan 2025 2 Comments

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

While having the flu in January was unfortunate for many reasons, it did give me more down time to do a lot of reading. I finished 8 books for the month, and although they weren’t quite the ones I had initially planned to read, I still completed the number I had aimed for.

Most of the books that I read in January were physical copies (actually all but Daughter of Redwinter). I have too many books on my shelves that I haven’t read, so reading some of the beautiful hardcovers that I own was a goal for me. Here is what I completed in January:

One of my goals for the early part of 2025 was to catch up on a few book reviews for Net Galley. Daughter of Redwinter was one of these books, and this review will be posting the week after next. Ancillary Justice was a book that I’ve wanted to read for a while and was chosen for one of my book clubs. Unfortunately I couldn’t make the discussion, but I’ll have a review of that one up soon also. Recursion is the pick for the next meeting of this same book club and I’m excited to discuss this one in a few days (paid links).

Of course I had to pick up Onyx Storm when it was released, and as I’m writing this post, I have a couple hundred pages left to go in it (paid link). But I’m assuming I’ll finish it by the end of January. The Art of Tommie Soule is a niche book I had been slowly working through as I have been relearning how to paint fantasy miniatures. I had put it back on my shelf, but picked it up and finished it this week.

I am also in the middle of two audiobooks, but did not finish either one in January.

I have less than ten hours to go in Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead. I had taken a break from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon to listen to some other books. Each one is so long, but I have been making steady progress on these. I will resume book #5 – The Fiery Cross as soon as I finish Great Circle (paid links).

Other books that had been on my list for January that I didn’t get to were House of Blight by Maxym M. Martineau (an advance copy for Net Galley) and The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong (paid links). These will be the first ones I read in early February.

Looking ahead here are the other books that I have in my queue for February:

I plan to resume my read-through of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series. Book #7 (A Crown of Swords) is next. I have one more Net Galley book to review (Knife Children) that is short, and then a few stand-alones planned. Two of the books for the month are ones written by a couple of my writing critique partners (Inverse by Margot Conor and Verdant Divided by Doc Honour), and I’m excited to see the results of all their hard work. Lastly, The Space Between Worlds is for an upcoming book club discussion of the second book in this series (paid links).

Here’s hoping to a lot of time to read (but without the flu) for February!

What books are you looking forward to for the next month? Let me know in the comments.

Book Review – Dawn

30 Jan 2025 2 Comments

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

I read Dawn by Octavia E. Butler for a book club discussion at the end of 2024. I had too many physical books that I needed to read, so I listened to this one as an audiobook, narrated by Julienne Irons. Dawn is the first book in the Xenogenesis or Lilith’s Brood series (paid links).

I previously read Parable of the Sower by this same author (paid link) and you can find my review of it here.

I listened to the audiobook edition.

Here is the blurb:

When Lilith lyapo wakes from a centuries-long sleep, she finds herself aboard the vast spaceship of the Oankali. She discovers that the Oankali—a seemingly benevolent alien race—intervened in the fate of the humanity hundreds of years ago, saving everyone who survived a nuclear war from a dying, ruined Earth and then putting them into a deep sleep. After learning all they could about Earth and its beings, the Oankali healed the planet, cured cancer, increased human strength, and they now want Lilith to lead her people back to Earth—but salvation comes at a price.

Hopeful and thought-provoking, this post-apocalyptic narrative deftly explores gender and race through the eyes of characters struggling to adapt during a pivotal time of crisis and change.

I have so many thoughts about this book! It made for a great discussion with the book club. This is a hard book to say that I enjoyed because it was quite an uncomfortable read. The Oankali claim to care for the humans that they saved and to have our best interests in mind. But Lilith discovers that if she disagrees with the aliens, they can never accept her arguments and will keep gaslighting her and manipulating her until she is ultimately forced to agree with their decisions. All of her agency is an illusion. Yet at the same time, how much does she owe on behalf of humanity to the aliens who saved our species and our planet from our own destruction?

This book also deals with the topic of sexual consent quite a lot for being first published in 1987. The aliens claim that their species needs to exchange genetic information with each new species that they encounter as they travel through the galaxy. This means that they ask Lilith to have a part-human, part-Oankali baby as part of their conditions for returning the surviving humans to Earth. The aliens also act as match makers, trying to set her up with different men, oblivious to her own choice in this. If the price of mankind’s survival is to interbreed with aliens, then is our species truly surviving?

I loved how Lilith becomes an unreliable narrator to the other humans when they awaken. Her initial doubts about the aliens are duplicated by the other humans and she is self-aware enough to realize how she must sound to them, but cannot convince them that she isn’t under the control of the Oankali (because she is, even if she tries not to be). The factions that developed between the different people and how the group acted when placed into this situation was fascinating.

I thought that some of the science ideas in this book were also novel. One example was that the Oankali are fascinated with cancer and how it allows cells to proliferate. They cure Lilith of a tumor she didn’t know that she had, as well as eliminate her genetic predisposition to cancer. They use cancer as inspiration for their own medical advances.

This story continues in two more books, Adulthood Rites (#2) and Imago (#3), and I plan to read those later this year (paid links). Have you read anything by Octavia E. Butler? Let me know in the comments!

Find more of my reviews here.

Graphic Novel Review – The Boys Vol. 1

28 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Comics, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I didn’t read very many graphic novels in 2024, but I did finish reading The Boys Volume 1 Omnibus by Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson (artist), Peter Snejbjerg (artist), Rodney Ramos (inker), Tony Avina (colorist), Greg Thompson (letterer), and Simon Bowland (letterer). I have been a fan of the television series on Amazon Prime, so I thought I’d see how the original source material compared to that (paid links).

I read the graphic novel edition.

Here is the blurb:

In a world where costumed heroes soar through the sky and masked vigilantes prowl the night, someone’s got to make sure the “supes” don’t get out of line. And someone will! Billy Butcher, Wee Hughie, Mother’s Milk, The Frenchman, and The Female are The A CIA-backed team of very dangerous people, each one dedicated to the struggle against the most dangerous force on Earth – superpowers!

Some superheroes have to be watched. Some have to be controlled. And some of them – sometimes – need to be taken out of the picture. That’s when you call in The Boys! After the opening story arc introducing Hughie to the team (issues 1-6), Dark avenger Tek-Knight and his ex-partner Swingwing are in trouble (issues 7-14). Big trouble. One has lost control of his terrifyingly overactive sex-drive, and the other might just be a murderer. It’s up to Hughie and Butcher to work out which is which, in Get Some.

Then, in Glorious Five-Year Plan, The Boys travel to Russia – where their corporate opponents are working with the mob, in a super-conspiracy that threatens to spiral lethally out of control. Good thing our heroes have Love Sausage on their side.

Of course, the show has made changes, but at the heart of it, The Boys source material contains the same over-the-top, irreverent, and profane story that I expected. This first volume starts off with the introduction of Hughie, much like the show. However, there is significantly less focus on The Seven in this opening volume than I would have expected. Yes – it does feature Starlight’s introduction to The Seven, and it’s even more horrific than in the show, but little else involving that most elite supe team happens in this book.

If you’ve watched the show, you’ll be familiar with how The Boys infiltrate Tek Knight’s twisted not-quite-Bat-Cave, as well as their trip to Russia with the help of Little Nina. In the original story told in this graphic novel, these events happen earlier and for different reasons, but you can see how these versions inspired what happened later in the show.

I’m not sure that I need to read more issues of this series since this first volume satisfied my curiosity. The show definitely becomes more political and I didn’t see much of that in this first graphic novel, although that may be because it was published in 2006.

Have you read any of The Boys? Should I keep going with this series? Let me know in the comments.

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – The Saint of Bright Doors

24 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera is a stand-alone novel that won the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Novel (paid link). It was also nominated for the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novel. The premise sounded intriguing, so I picked it up. I have not read anything else by this author.

I read the e-book edition.

Here is the blurb:

Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy.

He walked among invisible devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen.

Everything in Luriat is more than it seems. Group therapy is recruitment for a revolutionary cadre. Junk email hints at the arrival of a god. Every door is laden with potential, and once closed may never open again. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, looming portals through which a cold wind blows. In this unknowable metropolis, Fetter will discover what kind of man he is, and his discovery will rewrite the world.

I enjoyed the beginning of this book, but as the story evolved, I found myself getting less invested in what happened. The initial premise finds the narrator, Fetter, in the city of Luriat where he attends therapy sessions for people with special powers who thought they were destined for something great, only to later discover that they aren’t that special after all. I liked that idea and was entranced by the beginning of the story.

Fetter becomes caught up with a group of rebels who let him indulge his fascination with the Bright Doors that mysteriously appear throughout Luriat. I had hoped for more from this plot line, but the investigation of the doors fizzled as Fetter became obsessed with murdering the leader of a religious cult, who was coincidentally his father. Nothing about this goes well for him, and he has to abandon everything he built in Luriat.

I read that this book was described as part of the magical realism genre, and perhaps this genre is not for me. This is not the first time that I’ve struggled with a magical realism book (see my review of On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu here). The Saint of Bright Doors introduced many ideas and mysteries, but then never delivered with any explanation or greater purpose to any of it. Fetter’s reality shifts and becomes more surreal, but by the end of the book I didn’t care about what happened to him.

I would still consider reading another book by this author, but only if it was not considered magical realism.

You can find more of my book reviews here.

Book Review – The Gods Below

21 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Gods Below is the first book in a new series (The Hollow Covenant) by Andrea Stewart (paid links). I have not read the author’s previous books, but received this as a beautiful hardcover edition from Fairy Loot.

As a reminder, if you don’t want to miss all my book-related posts, you can find me now on Instagram as @ihazabookproblem (here is a link).

I read the hardcover Fairy Loot edition.

Here is the blurb:

A divine war shattered the world leaving humanity in ruins. Desperate for hope, they struck a deal with the devious god Kluehnn: He would restore the world to its former glory, but at a price so steep it would keep the mortals indebted to him for eternity. And as each land was transformed, so too were its people changed into strange new forms – if they survived at all.

Hakara is not willing to pay such a price. Desperate to protect herself and her sister, Rasha, she flees her homeland for the safety of a neighboring kingdom. But when tragedy separates them, Hakara is forced to abandon her beloved sister to an unknown fate.

Alone and desperate for answers on the wrong side of the world, Hakara discovers she can channel the magic from the mysterious gems they are forced to mine for Kluehnn. With that discovery comes another: her sister is alive, and the rebels plotting to destroy the God Pact can help rescue her.

But only if Hakara goes to war against a god.

My favorite part of this book was the unique worldbuilding and magic system. The mystical and dangerous barrier between realms reminds me of the Shadowfold from Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone books. I really liked how vastly different the realms become when they are transformed in the aftermath of their “restoration”.

The magic used by Hakara and others involves the ingestion of gems which echoed Brandon Sanderson’s magic system in his Mistborn series. However, this author’s version felt more organic and natural to the setting than in Sanderson’s version.

As far as characters go, this book introduces multiple viewpoints, setting up a complicated series. I enjoyed Hakara as someone who is sympathetic, determined, and resourceful. She uses her skills creatively and struggles throughout the story. Her sister Rasha offers us a view into Kluehnn’s followers and a restored realm.

Mullayne’s viewpoint follows an aspect of the story that does not directly connect to the rest of the characters, but still serves an important purpose. Thassir is the mysterious and powerful stranger whom Hakara is pointedly NOT attracted to (guess where this goes?). The best parts of Thassir’s character are the mystery of his background and that he absolutely LOVES cats. In one particular scene, he risks all of the group’s careful planning to burst from hiding and prevent a cat from triggering a trap they had set.

I think of all the characters, I was least enamored with Sheuan, the desperate daughter of a failing clan and an informant for the rebels in a threatened realm. She betrays Mullayne’s trust in her bid to improve her clan’s situation. She also has a romance subplot that was very abrupt and unbelievable to me.

This book ends with action and some of the smaller plot threads are pulled together, but the larger story isn’t over. This is definitely the beginning of a series and NOT a stand-alone read.

I want to keep reading to discover more of Thassir’s background. I want to find out if Hakara and her sister can ever reconcile. And I want to see more of this world that Andrea Stewart has created.

Have you read any books by Andrea Stewart? Which ones would you recommend? Let me know in the comments.

Find more of my reviews here.

Books to Read in 2025

17 Jan 2025 4 Comments

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Each year, I take the books that I didn’t have time to read and roll them over onto my to-be-read list for the next year. This results in a constantly growing list of books for each successive year, so some judicious trimming is always needed. I also set myself a number of books to read for the year and note that in my Goodreads Challenge.

For 2025, I had to pare down my initial list of books to read (no surprise, there). I decided to aim to read two books a week which is eight a month, multiplied out for the year equals 96 books. While I might be able to maintain that pace for one month, I know that it isn’t a realistic goal for the year. Several factors contribute to my reading speed, mainly the length of some of the fantasy books that I like. I try to space these epics out, but when I’m trying to finish something like The Wheel of Time series, I have to keep going back to these long works frequently.

After cutting several dozen out, here is my current list of 94 books I plan to read in 2025:

I know that this list will change as the year goes on. I was able to account for some upcoming releases I’m already aware of, and some book club picks, but I can’t know all of those yet. I intentionally cut out new series as much as I could manage, trying instead to focus on reading those I’ve already started.

Looking back at this same post from 2024, I had 113 books on that list and read 24 of those (and 36 books total), so I generally stick with my initial to-be-read list for 2/3 of what I read throughout the year.

I want to make sure I read a couple of “classics” this year, so I’ve included Frankenstein and The Lord of the Flies. My graphic also fails to include a few books that I already finished this year pictured below:

How do you choose which books you’re going to read? What books are you most excited about reading in 2024? Let me know in the comments (above)!

2024 Reading Year in Review

14 Jan 2025 1 Comment

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I’m a bit late with this post, but I still wanted to write up my annual look back at what I read for the year. First off, here is a nice graphic from Goodreads to summarize:

A few other stats that Goodreads provided were that the shortest book I read was The Past is Red by Catherynne M. Valente at 155 pages, while the longest was Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time #6) by Robert Jordan at 1,011 pages.

The average book length that I read was 481 pages, although I think this is not a terribly accurate statistic, because I don’t always put the correct edition of what I’ve read into Goodreads.

My total number of books read in 2024 is down a little compared to recent years as you can see below:

  • 2023 = 48
  • 2022 = 39
  • 2021 = 43
  • 2020 = 39
  • 2019 = 43

So what did I read in 2024? Here is a graphic of all 36 books (not quite in reverse chronological order that I read them):

Here are a few more interesting statistics about what I read in 2024:

  • Science fiction or fantasy genre = 28
  • Historical fiction = 4
  • Mainstream = 2
  • Genre fiction with some romance = 14
  • Non-fiction = 2
  • Classics = none
  • Audiobooks = 6
  • Graphic novels = 1
  • Part of a series = 25*
  • Stand-alones (or could be read as one) = 13
  • Completed reading of a series OR kept up with the series as each book was published = 5*

* I counted individual books here.

I’m counting The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo as fantasy and NOT historical fiction, because magic is a significant component of the story. The Outlander series fills out the historical fiction because although these books contain time travel, the plot mostly concerns other aspects.

I made a note that some of these books contained an element of romance, but none were pure romance novels. I often make an effort to read something considered a classic, but I think that the closest I came in 2024 was God Emperor of Dune, and that only fits under classic science fiction by its proximity to the original Dune novel.

What were the BEST books I read in 2024? Here are my top three:

You can find my reviews of each of these, as well as (paid) links if you want to pick up your own copy:

  • Yellowface by R.F. Kuang: review here, link to purchase here
  • The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune: review here, link to purchase here
  • Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: review here, link to purchase here

Some of my other favorites from the year are below, also with links where applicable:

  • Starter Villain by John Scalzi: review here, link to purchase here
  • Outlander (series) by Diana Gabaldon: reviews (Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn), link to purchase (series) here
  • Starling House by Alix E. Harrow: review here, link to purchase here
  • The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten: review here, link to purchase here
  • The Core by Peter V. Brett: review here, link to purchase (series) here
  • Dawn by Octavia E. Butler: review coming soon, link to purchase here
  • Ever the Night Road by Michael Breen: review here, link to purchase here

Up next will be my look ahead at my reading for 2025: too many books, unrealistic goals, starting more series than I can finish, and much more!

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