January 2026 Reading Wrap Up

04 Feb 2026 Leave a comment

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

The beginning of January gave me pneumonia, so while I didn’t feel well and missed work, I DID have more time to read. The second half of the month left me busier though, so I didn’t quite meet my goal of finishing 6 books for the month. These are the books I finished in January:

Since it takes me so long to get to reviews lately, I thought I’d give you a preview of what I thought by listing how many stars I gave my recent reads. Here are my ratings for what I read in January with purchase links:

When I set my reading goals for 2025, I estimated that I could read 6 books a month (72 for the year). Of course, being unrealistic about my reading goals, I then put 9 books on my to-be-read list for January. Even with that, I feel like I did well with my reading, having started 2 additional books from that list, and leaving only 2 that I haven’t started yet.

I’m currently enjoying the trade paperback edition of The Will of the Many by James Islington. I’m about 200 pages into this one. Then my audiobook journey through the Outlander saga continues with #7 – An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon (paid links). I have 26 hours left of 46, putting me around 43% of the way through the book. If I add my progress for these two books up, I think that should count as a sixth book for January.

The two from my unrealistic list that I didn’t get to were Quicksilver by Callie Hart and Alchemised by SenLinYu (paid links). I still want to read these books, so I’ll have to figure out where to squeeze them in.

I’m going to limit my list for February to only 6 books, and half of them are under 400 pages, so maybe I’ll manage to read them all? Of course I have to finish those I’m currently reading too. Here are the books I’m planning to read in February:

  • A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge – 613 pages, e-book – This is a classic science fiction novel that I received from Net Galley quite a while ago. I’m slowly catching up on my review reading.
  • The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow – 320 pages, hardcover – I have read a ton of stellar reviews for this book and am very excited to start it.
  • Grievar’s Blood by Alexander Darwin – 13 hr, 31 min, audiobook – This is the second novel in a series I started a while ago that was a mashup of fantasy and MMA.
  • The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett – 410 pages, e-book – This novel won both the 2025 Hugo and World Fantasy Awards for Best Novel. It is a selection for an upcoming book club discussion.
  • Pilgrimage: The Book of the People by Zenna Henderson – 255 pages, paperback – This is a selection for an upcoming book club discussion and is a classic published in 1961.
  • The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst – 384 pages, e-book – This is a cozy fantasy novel by the author of The Spellshop and was given to me for review by Net Galley. It will be published on March 31.

I did really well in keeping with my new rule to only buy the number of books I read in the previous month minus one. In December I read 5 books, and then for January I only acquired 4 new ones:

  • Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
  • The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
  • Pilgrimage: The Book of the People by Zenna Henderson
  • Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibanez (Fairy Loot)

You can see that there is significant overlap in my recent reading and the books I needed to obtain. I might have requested a book on Net Galley, but it hasn’t been approved, so it doesn’t count yet!

Coming up later this month on this blog are reviews of Slow Gods by Claire North, Katabasis by R.F. Kuang, and Detour by Jeff Rake and Rob Hart.

What are you reading this week? Are there any new books that you’re looking forward to reading? Let me know in the comments.

November, December 2025 Reading Wrap-Up

27 Dec 2025 2 Comments

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

As promised in my previous post, here is a summary of my reading for the last two months of the year. I made better progress in my reading by being more intentional about it and by also limiting my mindless screen time. Here are the books I read in November and December (paid links):

  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab – I enjoyed this one a lot but it took me a little while to get into it. You can find my review of it here, and a purchase link here.
  • Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh – this was a science fiction story that twisted my expectations and was maybe one of my favorite books I read this year. I’ll have a review up eventually (really!).
  • Katabasis by R.F. Kuang – I had been looking forward to this book from the author of Babel and Yellowface. It wasn’t my favorite book by the author and I’m working on a review.
  • The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler – this was a novella that we read for one of my book clubs and recently won a Hugo Award. I enjoyed it but was surprised that it won the Hugo.
  • A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon – this was the sixth book in the Outlander series. I’ve been gradually making my way through these in audiobook format.
  • Twelve Months by Jim Butcher – this is the new book (#18) in The Dresden Files series and I was really excited to get this as an ARC from NetGalley. This will be one of my first reviews in 2026 and the book is out January 20th. You can pre-order it here.

I also expect to finish The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi before the end of the month (paid link). I’m listening to the audiobook and have less than an hour left to go, so I’m counting that one as finished for the purposes of this post.

I just started A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab yesterday (paid link). This book is a pick for an upcoming book club discussion. If I read it faster than I anticipate, then I might also count this one as read in 2025. We’ll see how much free time I have in the next few days.

I’ll definitely post more about my upcoming reading plans in my Books to Read in 2026 post that will be up just after New Year’s Day, but here is a sneak peek of my next few planned reads (paid links):

  • An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon – I plan to start the next (7th) book in the Outlander series as an audiobook once I finish The Kaiju Preservation Society.
  • Slow Gods by Claire North – this is a science fiction novel by an author that will be new to me and was sent to me courtesy of NetGalley.
  • Swordheart by T. Kingfisher – this book was so pretty that I had to buy it a few months ago. I should probably read it and not just stare at it.
  • Quicksilver by Callie Hart – I’ve been told by a few people that I need to read this romantasy book, and I believe there is a sequel out now as well.

I have a few other books on my list for January, but I don’t know exactly which ones I’ll read. I’m trying to narrow down my to-be-read list for 2026, but that means I have to either make hard choice OR just find more time to read!

What books have you read this year that surprised you? Did you try to squeeze in any quick reads by the end of the year? Let me know in the comments!

August, September, October 2025 Reading Wrap Up

09 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

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

Every year I struggle with my reading and blogging when August or September comes around. While I thought I’d do better with reading in August since I’d be laid up after a surgery, the medications made me sleepier than I would have liked, so my reading suffered. Then September comes around and is always a busy month for some reason. So better late than never, here are the books I’ve been reading since August.

In August I did finish the four books shown below, although Rogue Protocol was technically a novella.

  • The Feeding by Anthony Ryan – You can find my review of this one here and a purchase link here.
  • Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver – My review is here and purchase link is here.
  • The Book That Held Her Heart by Mark Lawrence – This was the third and final book in The Library Trilogy and was quite good. I hope to review it soon and you can find a purchase link here.
  • Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells – This was the third novella in the Murderbot Diaries series. I haven’t reviewed any of these books yet, but I did watch the recent Apple TV series. You can find the show here and a purchase link for this third book here.

For September, I read three books, but one was a struggle and I DNF’d (did not finish) it about 1/3 of the way through.

  • The Nightshade God by Hannah Whitten – This was the anticipated finale in The Nightshade Crown series. My review of it is here and you can find a purchase link here.
  • What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller – I’ve read a couple of this author’s YA books (Warrior of the Wild, Blade of Secrets, Master of Iron) and this was her first adult novel (paid links). It is a stand-alone and I’ll have a review up soon. You can follow a purchase link here.
  • Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders – While I’ve enjoyed this author’s other books, with All the Birds in the Sky being one of my favorite books of 2019 (paid link), this is the book that I struggled with. I’ll have a review up soon with an explanation.

October should have been when I caught up, but the month continued to be crazy and I only finished two books:

  • The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong – This was a stand-alone novel as well. I recently reviewed the author’s first novel, The Teller of Small Fortunes, and found it to be surprisingly good (review here) for one of the first “cozy fantasy” novels I’ve read (paid link). This new book follows in the same vein and I’ll have a review here soon. This is a purchase link.
  • Crossroads of Ravens by Andrzej Sapkowski – This is the new prequel novel in The Witcher series about a young Geralt on one of his first adventures. I just finished the audiobook a few days ago and you can find a paid link for it here.

At the end of October I succumbed to the temptation to read six books at once. I’m still working on 5 of them (purchase links included below):

  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab – This is the first book that I’ve read by this author and I have about 50 pages left to go. It took some time to get into, but became more interesting about halfway through. I only need to find a dedicated hour to finish it.
  • Katabasis by R.F. Kuang – I have been a fan of this author since I read Babel (review here / purchase link here) and her new novel is a stand-alone dark academia tale that reads like Dante’s Inferno so far.
  • Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh – I was supposed to read this novel for a book club discussion, but didn’t finish it in time. It is a page-turner space opera tale that won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2024.
  • Twelve Months by Jim Butcher – This is the latest (book #18) installment in The Dresden Files, a well-known urban fantasy series, that I have early thanks to NetGalley. I was excited to start this book, but the beginning reminded me of the tragedy of the previous book, so it has been slow going to get into it so far.
  • A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon – This is the 6th book in the Outlander series and I’m more than halfway through it in audiobook format.

While it is only a short story, I just finished The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal (paid link) (technically this was read in November).

I’m trying to finish the year by reaching my goal of reading 50 books. I only have 11 left to go, so with two months remaining, I think I can do it! First I need to finish the current books above. Here are some of the other ones that I may read in November (purchase links):

Are there books on this post that you’ve read? What did you think? Which ones should I review here first?

What other books do you think I should try to squeeze in this year? Let me know in the comments!

Book Review – Artificial Wisdom

14 Sep 2025 1 Comment

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

Reading Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver was not in my plans for the year since I had never heard of either the book or the author (paid link). This novel was suggested to me by NetGalley and the description did sound like something I might like, so I agreed to read it. Find out what I thought below.

I read the e-book edition.

Here is the blurb:

It’s 2050, a decade after a heatwave that killed four hundred million across the Persian Gulf, including journalist Marcus Tully’s wife. Now he must uncover the truth: was the disaster natural? Or is the weather now a weapon of genocide?

A whistleblower pulls Tully into a murder investigation at the centre of an election battle for a global dictator, with a mandate to prevent a climate apocalypse. A former US President campaigns against the first AI politician for the position, but someone is trying to sway the outcome.

Tully must convince the world to face the truth and make hard choices about the future of the species. But will humanity ultimately choose salvation over freedom, whatever the cost?

I loved so much of this book and (not knowing much of what to expect going in) found myself swept up in a wild sci-fi thriller following a group of investigative reporters as they followed a lead with huge political ramifications. Set in a near future where only the ultra-rich can protect themselves from the coming climate catastrophe, the plot is filled with surprising turns and unpredictable betrayals.

Marcus Tully worked well as a protagonist for me, although we do get some chapters from other points of view. The personal tragedy in his past is used to provide sympathy, show his flaws, and lead him deeper into schemes that he only partially understands. One of his colleagues is also a main player in the events, and the others were as developed as they needed to be for their more distant involvement.

For much of the book, it is difficult to know the identity of the antagonist, which is often a problem for me in novels. However, in this book it worked well because it deepened the suspense by making the enemy a hidden threat. I did figure out part of the ending before reaching it, but as in much of the book, the full truth twisted the part I had guessed into something more interesting.

This book also incorporated timely issues like the use of AI, climate change, and capitalism and corporate greed without ever becoming completely about any of them.

My one criticism of this book was that the final part of the ending didn’t work for me. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I felt like it didn’t provide the answers I had wanted, although the questions that the book asked were hard ones. It wasn’t a cliff-hanger, but rather an anti-climactic conclusion after all the action and suspense that led me through the book. It does look like a sequel is planned, so I can hope that that will give me the resolution I’m looking for. I’d still highly recommend this book – other readers might love the finale, as a quick scan of other online reviews shows.

I could see this book being developed into a movie or television series. What books have you read that you think would work well on the big screen? Let me know in the comments.

You can find more of my reviews here.

July 2025 Reading Wrap Up

06 Aug 2025 2 Comments

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

I felt like I struggled with my July reading, but when I sat down here to write about it, it turned out that I did finish four books. While this number doesn’t get me ahead on my unrealistic reading goals, it is steady progress that could land me at 50 books read for the year. Three of the four books that I read were audiobooks: Columbus Day by Craig Alanson, Orbital by Samantha Harvey, and To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (paid links).

The only non-audiobook that I read in July was Artificial Condition, the second book in the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (paid links). I have been on medication that makes me tend to fall asleep when I sit/lay down to read, so I think that is part of the explanation for my reading struggles this month. I also had a lot to do at work, so fewer hours of downtime for reading.

Total pages read in July = 1,192.

I’ve been trying to get through The Book That Held Her Heart by Mark Lawrence, the third and final book in The Library Trilogy (paid links). The book is fascinating and I can’t wait to see how he ends this series. However, it is also a hardcover, and that means that I’m less likely to read it in bed due to the size and generally lower light conditions. The e-book solution to my reading slump was to start The Feeding by Anthony Ryan (paid link). I’ve had trouble getting into this one so far, but in the past few days I’ve been making more steady progress.

Currently reading:

I just started the sixth book (audiobook) in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series – A Breath of Snow and Ashes. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get through it in August because it is 57 hours, 48 minutes long. The other books that I might read in August are shown below.

I’m particularly excited for several of these! The Nightshade God by Hannah Whitten is the conclusion to a series I’ve really enjoyed (The Nightshade Crown) (paid links). You can find my reviews of the earlier books below:

I also found Julie Leong’s cozy fantasy story, The Teller of Small Fortunes, to be a surprising hit with me, so her new stand-alone novel – The Keeper of Magical Things – is also at the top of my upcoming list, thanks to Net Galley. You can find my review here (paid links).

What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller and Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders were also given to me for review courtesy of Net Galley. These are both by authors I’ve read before and these new novels looked exciting. The other books on this list are also at the top of my mind, but I don’t know which ones I’ll start. It seems like every time I have a plan for what to read next, it spontaneously changes!

One of my book clubs has been reading the Murderbot Diaries, so I have the third book, Rogue Protocol, also on my list for this month (paid link). If you are interested in joining our Science Fiction Women of Central Jersey Club discussion on August 24, take a look here.

I was doing so well with my book acquisition problem until yesterday found me at a local Barnes & Noble. I had already picked up The Nightshade God and Lessons in Magic and Disaster, as well as the latest Fairy Loot subscription box installment – A Dance of Lies by Brittney Arena (paid link).

I couldn’t help myself and left the book store with three more stand-alone novels: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell, and The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (paid links).

For August, I’m hopeful that I’ll get a lot of reading done. I’m having surgery next week and will have some enforced rest. So despite the anticipated drowsiness of pain medications, I should have more time to read!

What are you planning to read for the end of summer? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Let me know in the comments.

June 2025 Reading Wrap Up

01 Jul 2025 2 Comments

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

I didn’t do too badly with my June reading, and with the end of June, this also brings us to the halfway point of 2025. Despite my unrealistic goal of 96 books that I set on this post here, I am doing really well with my reading with 25 books completed so far, thereby putting me on track to read 50 books for the year. That is realistically the highest number I’ll ever hit unless I start reading significantly shorter books, quit my day job, or stop doing any writing, exercise, or cooking.

Overall I’m happy with my reading progress for the year so far! I’ve even managed to keep up with my posts and book reviews here (more or less). On top of that, I put together an e-book of one of my own short stories that is one of my favorite things that I’ve written. You can find my story, Renewal, by following this link.

In June, I finished listening to The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst as an audiobook. I finally had a chance to pick up the second book in Mark Lawrence’s Library Trilogy with The Book That Broke the World. You can find my review of the first book, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, here. Then I finished up Inverse by Margot Conor, one of the members of my writing group. With my recent back problems, I needed something easy to read to finish up the month, so I jumped into the third book in the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas – A Court of Wings and Ruin (paid links).

Total pages read in June = 2,014.

I’m currently reading only two books. Expeditionary Force: Columbus Day is an audiobook that starts a military science fiction series, and I only have 6 hours left to go. The Book That Held Her Heart is the final book in Mark Lawrence’s Library series, and I’m less than 100 pages into it (paid links).

Looking ahead for the next month, I have a few books that I’m definitely planning to read in July, either for book club discussions or as upcoming releases that I’m reviewing for Net Galley. The ones that are book club picks include To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose and Artificial Condition (Murderbot Diaries #2) by Martha Wells. I received an ARC of The Feeding by Anthony Ryan and an e-book copy of Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver from Net Galley to review (paid links).

I expect that I’ll start the next audiobook in the Outlander series with A Breath of Snow and Ashes (#6) sometime in July, and then if I’m doing really well, perhaps the next book in The Wheel of Time series with The Path of Daggers (#8) (paid links). There are plenty of other books that I’ve had on my upcoming reads list, and I may also pick up one of those, depending on my mood later in July.

Of course, I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t pick up some new books this month. Orbital by Samantha Harvey is about astronauts and won the Booker Prize recently, so I picked this up in audiobook format. It’s quite short (5 hours), so I might use it to break up my Outlander listening (paid link). Artificial Wisdom is one of the books I already mentioned receiving from Net Galley.

After I enjoyed The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong so much (review here), I was ecstatic to see that the publisher approved me for a copy of the author’s upcoming book, The Keeper of Magical Things, on Net Galley. Then the latest surprise book that I received from Fairy Loot is the new bestseller Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. I’ll put a coupe of photos of the special edition below.

How have you done with your own reading goals for the year so far? What books are you most looking forward to reading later this year? Let me know in the comments!

Book Review – Sunrise on the Reaping

29 Jun 2025 Leave a comment

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

I know that author Suzanne Collins has written other books outside of the world of Panem, but (probably) like a lot of people, I have only read those in her hit Hunger Games series. I found the original trilogy of books to be a solid read, but nothing earth-shattering. I never reviewed any of them here, but if you need to catch up, you can find purchase links to all of them below. Since then, she has written two prequel novels that can mostly be read as stand-alones, although knowledge of the characters from the main series will add to your enjoyment of the books. The second prequel (Sunrise on the Reaping) was just released this spring and you can find my review of it below (paid links).

I read the hardcover edition.

Here is the blurb:

When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

If you know the character of Haymitch from the main Hunger Games series, you will know going into this book that this isn’t a happy story. But are any of these books, really?

This novel tells us Haymitch’s backstory and how he survived and won the Hunger Games for District 12, but lost everything else that was important to him. This book also shows us another step in the evolution of the Hunger Games and how the event became the spectacle that is seen in the original series.

I enjoyed reading this, despite the tragic nature of the story. I find it interesting that the author can create a fresh story around the same concept of the Hunger Games where kids from the districts are pitted against each other and the creations of the game masters until only one victor is left alive. One of the points of this book is to show how someone that is seemingly powerless can still resist and fight against those in authority. At the same time, it shows the possible price that one must pay by demonstrating against those in power.

I’d recommend this book if you’ve read the main Hunger Games series and didn’t hate the ending of the third book. While Sunrise on the Reaping is a stand-alone novel, it would be best to start with the earlier books if you are new to this series.

Have you read any of Suzanne Collins’ other series? Which would you recommend? Let me know in the comments.

You can find more of my reviews here.

May 2025 Reading Wrap Up

09 Jun 2025 Leave a comment

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

I did a little better with my reading in May, finishing five books total. Of those books, one was the massive fifth book in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series – The Fiery Cross. I also finished the newest book in the Hunger Games world – Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. I should have reviews of these up in the next few weeks (paid links).

Two of the books that I read in May were a bit shorter – Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher and All Systems Red (first in The Murderbot Diaries series) by Martha Wells. I had wanted to read these award-winning books for a while, and the start of the TV series on Apple TV got me to finally pick up All Systems Red. The last book I squeezed in for the month was Verdant Divided by Doc Honour, the second book in the Empathic Humanity series (paid links).

A scene from Apple TV’s Murderbot show.

For June so far, I have been listening to The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst as a significantly shorter audiobook than anything in the Outlander series. I should finish that in the next couple of days. I’m reading Inverse by Margot Conor on my Kindle, and I have been resisting the urge to read more books at once (paid links).

Looking ahead for the rest of the month, I have some of the same books that I had posted for reading in May, because I will just never have enough time to read what I want to. First up is The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence. For my next audiobook, I’m going to listen to Expeditionary Force: Columbus Day by Craig Alanson. Of course this is the start of another (18 book) series (which I don’t need to become invested in, but oh well), but it was recommended by my brother. After that, I’m not sure which books I’ll pick up, but you can see some of my options in the graphic below (paid links).

I might need to immediately finish Mark Lawrence’s Library Trilogy with the final volume, The Book That Held her Heart, depending on how the second book ends. Or I could delve back into ACOTAR with the third book, A Court of Wings and Ruin, by Sarah J. Maas. I think that both Quicksilver by Callie Hart and The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson are stand-alone novels, which makes a nice one-time commitment. I love reading long series, but well… they’re really long sometimes (paid links).

Depending on how the month goes, I could also plunge into the second book in Ed McDonald’s Redwinter Chronicles, with Traitor of Redwinter. Will I be ready to commit to another Outlander volume? The sixth audiobook, A Breath of Snow and Ashes , is nearly 58 hours long (paid links).

Because I can never have enough books, here are my new acquisitions that I have to squeeze into my reading plans somewhere.

What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller was sent to me as an ARC from NetGalley. I’ve enjoyed this author’s other books and this looks to be her first foray into more adult fiction. I received The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig through my Fairy Loot subscription box. I’ve been hearing a lot about this book recently, and this will be a new author for me to read. Lastly, I was feeling sorry for myself with some back problems, so I picked up this special edition of Swordheart by T. Kingfisher to help make myself feel better. It is very pretty, and the green-edged pages are calling to me (paid links).

How do you decide what to read next? How do you resist acquiring more books when you already have too many? Let me know in the comments.

March/April 2025 Reading Wrap Up

30 Apr 2025 1 Comment

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

Somehow March flew past and I now find myself sitting at the end of April, but with many fewer books read that I would have liked. This is not truly a surprise, as I always start off my year of reading strongly, then falter as other responsibilities turn up. I’m hoping to have cleared out some of those tasks though and perhaps May will be a better month for me in terms of reading and writing.

I did finish three books in March and April. These were Sistersong by Lucy Holland, A Court of Mist and Fury (book #2 in the ACOTAR series) by Sarah J. Maas, and A Crown of Swords (book #7 in The Wheel of Time series) by Robert Jordan (paid links). The one that got me bogged down was A Crown of Swords, coming in at 880 pages, but now I can say that I’m halfway through The Wheel of Time. I never made it past book #8 in the past.

I’m still slowly working my way through the Outlander series with book #5 – The Fiery Cross (paid links). When I last checked, I had about 20 hours of the audiobook left to go. I need to be better about putting this on when I’m doing mindless housework or cooking. When I leave it only for times I am driving, I’m not making much progress.

I just started Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher and Sunrise on the Reaping, the new Hunger Games novel by Suzanne Collins, and I think these will both be quick reads (paid links).

What else might I read in May? This is my list, in rough order. First up will be Verdant Divided (Empathic Humanity #2) by Doc Honour and Inverse by Margot Conor, both novels written by authors in my critique group. Then I’m excited to turn back to Mark Lawrence’s Library series with #2 – The Book That Broke the World (paid links).

I may need to take a break from Outlander once I finish book #5, and Expeditionary Force: Columbus Day by Craig Alanson is a space opera series that was recommended to me by my brother. I picked this up on audiobook and it certainly looks different than Outlander. If the month is going well, then I might get to the other books on my list: The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson, Traitor of Redwinter (The Redwinter Chronicles #2) by Ed McDonald, and A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (paid links).

Somehow with all of these books that I haven’t read yet, I still picked up some new books in the past few months. My recent acquisitions through the monthly subscription box, Fairy Loot, include Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan, The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amelie Wen Zhao, Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake, and This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara (paid links).

I also received The Book That Held Her Heart by Mark Lawrence, an ARC of The Feeding by Anthony Ryan (through NetGalley), Quicksilver by Callie Hart, and Vault’s Promise by Cameron Coral (paid links). I’ll have to fit these into my reading plans somehow!

What have you read lately and enjoyed? What books are on your to-be-read list that you can’t wait to start? Let me know in the comments.

Book Review – Recursion

22 Mar 2025 1 Comment

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

I read Recursion by Blake Crouch last month for a book club discussion (paid link). I’ve read and enjoyed a couple of the author’s other books in the past and you can see my reviews of those below:

  • Dark Matter – review here; link to purchase here
  • Upgrade – review here; link to purchase here
I read the paperback edition.

Here is the blurb:

Memory makes reality.

That’s what NYC cop Barry Sutton is learning, as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.

That’s what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent.

As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face to face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds, but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.

But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?

At once a relentless pageturner and an intricate science-fiction puzzlebox about time, identity, and memory, Recursion is a thriller as only Blake Crouch could imagine it—and his most ambitious, mind-boggling, irresistible work to date.

This book follows the point-of-view of the two characters in the blurb above and starts off as a linear story. However, it turns into something much more complicated and convoluted as the truth of Helena’s memory-based research and technology becomes more clear.

Without wanting to give too much away, the story features a villain who is a rather over-the-top billionaire, questions about who should be able to make decisions about the use of dangerous technology, and time travel of a sort.

I enjoyed this book and I think of Blake Crouch’s novels and sci-fi thrillers because they draw me in with their quick pacing. The downside of this is that I tend to read them so fast that I don’t see the plot holes that I suspect are there, given the complex nature of the story. While this book brought up intriguing questions about who should use an advanced technology and why, I also read so quickly that I didn’t think these issues through as much as I might have liked. This did give my book club plenty of room for discussion, but part of me still wishes I had read this more slowly.

The characters in this book were well-drawn enough for me, given the fast pace of the story. They all have their own tragic memories and backstory that drive their actions. This book also uses those moments that provoke shared generational trauma, such as the Challenger disaster, together with more personal stories to convey the power of memory.

I did enjoy the ending of the novel, and felt that it drew everything together in a satisfying way. Some of the scenes toward the end become quite graphic and gruesome though, so approach this book carefully if that is something you’d rather not read.

Have you read any books by Blake Crouch? Which was your favorite? I think I still liked Dark Matter the best of those I’ve read. Let’s discuss in the comments!

Find more of my book reviews here.

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