There are two months of the year that historically bad times for my reading and both precede months of major celebrations. One is August (just about everyone I know has a birthday in September). The other is November. This year hasn’t proved any different, though a last-minute surge meant that my overall TBR stats broke even with last month.
Mt TBR Status
Mt TBR @ 1 January 2020: 427
Mt TBR @ 31 October: 420
Mt TBR @ 30 November: 420
Items Read
150. Unclaimed by Courtney Milan. Historical f/m romance. Second book in the Turner series. Reread.
151. Unraveled by Courtney Milan. Historical f/m romance. Third book in the Turner series. A tightly repressed judge finds himself falling for a young woman being coerced into interfering with criminal proceedings by the local crime boss. This was a bit of a change of tone from the rest of the series, leaning into thriller territory a bit more. But it was packed full of feels and a delight to read.
153. The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. YA speculative fiction. A prince living on a technological island in the sky crashes to the land below and into the life of a young magician, the last of her people’s living gods. I really struggled to get into this book and suspect it was a case of me rather than the book. It’s fairly standard YA fare: action, betrayal, romance.
154. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Magical realism. Book club pick. In 1920s Mexico, a poor young woman accidentally frees the Mayan god of death. She must set out on a road trip to collect his missing parts before he drains the life from her. This was a brilliant story, full of nuance. The balance between the romance elements and Casiopea’s independence was deftly handled. Her antagonistic cousin was shown as having understandable motives, while not letting him off the hook for his actions. Highly recommended.
155. Birthday Gift by Courtney Milan. Historical fiction. Prequel short story to the Turner series. Reread.
156. Out of the Frying Pan by Courtney Milan. Historical fiction. Short story following the Turner series. Richard Dalrymple starts to realise fear has led him into becoming a bit of a terrible person. Not necessary for the series, but satisfying nonetheless.
158. Wrapped Up in You by Talia Hibbert. Contemporary romance novella. A superstar actor returns home to England for Christmas with his twin best friends, with the intention of wooing the recently-divorced Abbie. If Will wasn’t modelled after a British version of Chris Evans, I will give up drinking tea. This book was chock-full of feels, stomping a little on my heart for good measure. I especially appreciated Will’s earnestness and was entertained by the way Abbie’s grandmother kept trying to throw them together. A perfect read for the festive season.
159. Jung and the Tarot by Sallie Nichols. Non-fiction. Less a survey of Jung’s relationship to the tarot than a highly subjective interpretation of the Major Arcana using a few of his tools. While interesting in places, it wasn’t really what I was looking for. Also, being written in 1980, I found it very dated at times.
160. Travelogues by Kathleen Jennings. The subtitle sums it up best: vignettes from trains in motion. Part poetry sketchbook, part travel journal. These were composed from a series of tweets made while journeying in the US and the UK. There are some beautiful turns of phrase and the writer shows her training as an artist through her attention to colour.
Items Acquired
Good Neighbors by Stephanie Burgis
Mission Improper by Bec McMaster
The Mech Who Loved Me by Bec McMaster
The Gentle Wolf by Pia Foxhall
Frostgilded by Stephanie BurgisWrapped Up in You by Talia Hibbert