January 2025 Wrap Up

It's been a really long time since I've posted anything on this blog. I've fallen off of being consistent on social media as well over the last couple of years and I've missed it, so I'm giving it all a go again! So much has happened over the last few years with personal losses, moves, and just life in general but my life has leveled out and I want to reembrace some things that I really enjoyed and miss doing. I'm back to regularly posting on my Instagram account, you can find me there at @readermonica.  My goal is to post multiple times a week over there and do my longer form reviews here. Coming back to this blog I'm also going to incorporate more of my interests as well as book reviews and features. I'm starting a small garden here at my new house so I'll share bits of that as well as snippets of other interests. Even if this turns into mostly a personal  journal for books and my own interests, I am excited to get started again, so here it goes!

 Guide Me Home by Attica Locke.

This was my first read of 2025. It's the third and final book in the Highway 59 series and it was a really nice closing book. Locke writes such good dialogue and complicated relationships. I can feel Darren's frustration with his mother and his work. There are revelations that bring better understanding in this last book that I was so happy to get. The book is on the shorter side but I didn't feel like I the story told was not complete. As always, Locke's ability to set a scene and atmosphere really puts me smack dab into the familiarity of East Texas. 

The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

I really enjoyed this one, but for me it being a stand alone left me wanting things that just couldn't be added. I wanted so much more of Misaki as a young woman fighting again wrongs with her group of classmates during her time away from home. That was the most interesting storyline for me and it was very much skimmed over with tiny glimpses of her exploits then. It would have been great to have more glimpses of her life as a wife and mother so that I could have had a deeper understanding of how she survived the years married to a man she doesn't love. Although I appreciated all of the time that we got with  Mamoru and his struggles with finding out information that goes against everything he has been taught, I was honestly disappointed that the books main focus didn't feel like it was on Misaki. It may be my fault but I really thought it was going to be more her story and it didn't totally feel that way. I wanted her to be the main focus and that's not exactly what we get in this story. This could have so easily been a trilogy or even a duology and been more enjoyable for me if we got more story. This was wonderfully written and I literally teared up twice so I have to give Wang credit for making me so emotional. I'm going to read Blood Over Bright Haven and hope that since I've tried not to know too much about it I don't have unrealistic expectations. 

Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin

As a Jemisin fan I went in knowing I would love it and I did! I'm not a Green Lantern fan and I only had a basic understanding of what the Green Lanterns were going in, but I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel. I'd recommend this to anyone who is hesitant to pick up a graphic novel because it was pure entertainment and you don't need to have any real knowledge of cannon to enjoy it. 

Magical Midlife Madness by K.F. Breene

Well, I thought that this was going to be a hit for me, but it just sort of fizzled out. It was fine, but I didn't enjoy it enough to continue the series. I'm trying to actively read books that I already own and have had sitting on my shelves for ages and this was one that I've had forever and just never read. I own book 2 but I'm not going to continue the series. This is a popular long running series and it's on KU so it's worth giving a try if you're interested in a paranormal/romantic fantasy with an older female main character which is why I wanted to read it. I personally didn't like Jessie and that put a damper on the whole reading experience. Take my opinion with a grain of salt on this one, there are LOTS of positive reviews so I'm in the minority. On the up side I can take put two books in the pile to take to the used bookstore and I'm clearing space for something new to come in; it's still a win for me. 

 Vicious Bonds by Shanora Williams

I did enjoy this audio book, but I tell you I had to take a minute and close my eyes when I realized this ended in a cliffhanger!! I don't have the second book yet, but I will be buying it as an audio book. The narrators are excellent and because of that I don't want to read this for myself, I need to experience book two the same way. There are a couple of content warnings that I want to give for consistent drug use by both of the main characters, an attempted rape on page, and general violence throughout the story. The world is interesting and the comparisons of the imagery and vibes to Pinky Blinders that I've seen are accurate, which for me is a plus. This is a don't poke at it story, just enjoy the ride and that's exactly what I did. 

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

This was another story that was fine. This series is loved by so many and I guess I can see why, but listening to just this one is enough for me to know that I can stop here. It felt like exactly what it is-a quick dip into science fiction that explores what it means to be an individual with autonomy and where the line can be drawn between humans and sentient robots with free will. I thought that it is well done, I'm just not interested in any more of it. This is also on KU if you're interested in checking it out. 

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