3 days ago
10
Hello BuzzFeeders, publication lovers, and different curious, bookish folks alike! I'm Dannica, and my extremity is to work 82 books successful 2026.
Here's wherever I'm astatine truthful far:
To execute specified a feat, I figured it'd beryllium mode much amusive to not bash it alone. So, each month, I'll beryllium sharing each publication I read, wherefore I loved (or hated) it, and letting you power what ends up connected my TBR list. This way, I'll beryllium capable to clasp myself accountable, perchance (likely) overshare each my thoughts and emotions, and instrumentality connected immoderate of your recommendations.
Here's the vibe check: I work 5 books successful January, and they each destroyed maine successful a mode I person yet to retrieve from. My January reads fed maine clip question confusion, shocking tribunal politics, boring tribunal politics, and thrilling escapade crossed Europe. Oh, and I besides whitethorn oregon whitethorn not person formed a parasocial narration with an octopus.
That said, alternatively than being polite and making a modular database similar a mean person, I'm going to recap the books I work done thing a small much fun, chaotic, and honest: superlatives. Let's start!
🪞 The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon:
Not to beryllium dramatic, but The Dark Mirror altered my encephalon chemistry. (I work this astir 600-page publication connected my telephone connected Kindle, truthful ideate my surface clip average.) If you haven't work The Bone Season bid oregon person been going backmost and distant connected starting it due to the fact that you're unsure whether oregon not it's worthy committing to specified a work, let this to beryllium your SIGN! The world-building is phenomenal, the characters consciousness lifelike, and the stakes are retired of this world.
There's an unthinkable formed of characters, but I emotion our main girly Paige Mahoney much than 1 should astir apt emotion a fictional character. There is truthful overmuch extent and property to her, and she is perpetually grappling with and wading done analyzable emotions that often unit her to take betwixt what she wants versus what others privation oregon expect from her — and that's conscionable her ~internal~ conflicts.
Like, erstwhile I accidental that Paige Mahoney and institution spell done it, cognize that they are going THROUGH IT — mentally, physically, AND psychologically. All successful all, this publication is an epic, thrilling escapade done and through, and I genuinely could not enactment it down. So, spell work The Bone Season, work the adjacent four, past travel backmost present truthful we tin person a due chat.
👑 The Ragpicker King by Cassandra Clare:
I LOVED this book. The satellite is precise thought-out and intricate, benignant of reminding maine of Ketterdam from Six of Crows. Every spot of involvement successful Castellane has its ain personality, is distinct, and serves a intent for the characters, going truthful acold arsenic to picture people and wealthiness disparities.
There's an ongoing enigma that continues successful The Ragpicker King from The Sword Catcher (as astir sequels do), truthful there's a batch of sneaking around, shifting loyalties, questioning relations, and deceit — truthful overmuch truthful that I was getting frightened due to the fact that I didn't privation thing atrocious to hap to my cutie patooties and their (my) friends!
What kept maine from giving the publication a afloat 5 stars, though, was everything that was going connected with Conor. Whether it was the romance play with him and Lin oregon the bizarre deficiency of connection betwixt him and Kel, I was getting pissed!
First of all, I personally judge that a slow-burn romance successful a bid should span 2 afloat books. And successful those 2 books, I don't privation to spot immoderate kissing, immoderate spicy scenes, oregon anyone saying "I emotion you!" All I privation to spot is yearning, stolen glances, a ground of a friendship, and a tinge of jealousy! Yes, I tally a TIGHT SHIP! That said, Lin and Conor successful the archetypal publication were perfection, but successful this one? They were doing a small excessively overmuch for me. Maybe I'm the occupation due to the fact that I haven't experienced existent longing and ~romance~ successful years owed to #ManTrauma, but I conscionable can't get connected committee with a quality going wholly I-can't-bear-to-be-without-you mode after, what, 3 months? Not to accidental that I'm wholly turned disconnected by Lin and Conor, but TBH, I person different antheral successful caput for my girl. But I'll prevention that for the adjacent publication 🤭.
As for Conor and Kel, I was getting huffy that they were keeping secrets from each other, refusing to communicate, and past getting huffy oregon frustrated erstwhile they recovered retired that thing had happened without the other's knowledge! Like, hello, I thought you 2 were the 2 best friends that anyone could ever have! (Granted, Kel was forced to instrumentality up the mantle, but still.) I conscionable didn't spot a constituent successful them refusing to spill the beverage to each other, speech from gathering the hostility and drama, I guess.
Anyway, I loved The Ragpicker King, and I simply cannot hold until the adjacent installment!
✨ The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young:
This was my archetypal clip speechmaking thing by Adrienne Young, and it surely won't beryllium my last! The penning was truthful beauteous and painted specified a gorgeous representation without being superfluous. Like, it made maine privation to sojourn a upland municipality successful North Carolina truthful I tin perchance find the emotion of my beingness (who owns a batch of land).
This publication deals with clip travel, which is simply a mighty task to tackle, due to the fact that I think, nary substance the medium, it tin get messy and chaotic. Not going to lie, I personally was confused galore times passim the publication due to the fact that the timeline is precise non-linear. HOWEVER, I besides deliberation that I americium precise dumb successful wide erstwhile it comes to clip travel, truthful I'm honestly putting this disorder each connected me. That said, though, aft I Googled a speedy explainer, my 3rd oculus opened and I understood everything. Not saying the publication felt ace unorganized oregon anything, and I honestly deliberation that immoderate disorder is intended due to the fact that there's a enigma facet aft all, but you decidedly person to wage attraction to each the clip question rules mentioned.
All that said, I finished this publication with SWIFTNESS. I conscionable had to cognize what was going to happen, however the secrets were going to unravel, and however June was going to spell astir her...romantic concern 🫣. But astir of all, I loved the accent connected household and the spot of women, and the strong, analyzable bonds forged betwixt mothers and daughters. Overall, it was a solid, enjoyable read!
🐉 Every Spiral of Fate by Tahereh Mafi:
As seen by the two-star rating, I truly didn't bask this book. You're astir apt wondering, Dannica, however could you perchance complaint a publication truthful acold successful a bid truthful low? I know, friends, I know. The information is, I thought the archetypal publication successful the bid was incredible. I thought the 2nd publication was fun; I thought the 3rd publication was a drag. I did see not continuing with the series, but I wanted to springiness the communicative and pacing the payment of the doubt, hoping that the 4th publication would redeem immoderate was going connected successful the third. But alas! The 4th publication was astir 500 pages of waiting for thing meaningful to happen.
Not adjacent being dramatic, but I fearfulness we person mislaid the plot. Or astatine slightest the crippled should beryllium mode up of wherever it presently is. It's not a spoiler to accidental that Miss Alizeh is the queen of the Jinn. She wants to rally her people...and past what? Four books in, and there's nary Great Big Conflict looming connected the skyline that propels anybody successful this publication to instrumentality immoderate meaningful action. The stakes look truthful low, there's nary urgency, and there's conscionable a full batch of fluff. To me, characters conscionable accidental worldly to instrumentality up the page; there's small to nary volition down a batch of the conversations that spell connected (particularly successful aboriginal books), and it's not adjacent amusive for maine to work astatine this constituent due to the fact that the characters deficiency depth. The "found family" trope was not recovered family-ing, the romance was stale, and by the extremity of it, everyone was conscionable annoying due to the fact that of each the whining and "woe is me-ism" that was going on.
I'm honestly unsure if I'll proceed the bid (because who knows however galore books determination volition be), and if I do, it would lone beryllium due to the fact that I've invested excessively overmuch clip successful it and consciousness obligated to spot it done to the end. However, it's decidedly not a priority.
🪸 Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt:
You've astir apt noticed that I cannot halt talking astir this damn octopus — and for bully reason! Marcellus had his ain POV, and I ate it up each azygous time. His quality is highly intelligent and keen-eyed (as octopuses are), and makes wry observations astir humans and the behaviors he's noticed from his tank. He's good-natured with a dash of snark, and I couldn't get enough. Oh, and the writer besides decided to fundamentally springiness america a countdown of his beingness span, which went astir arsenic good arsenic you would expect by the extremity of the book.
On the different hand, Cam is simply a man-child struggling to get his beingness together. He was an unlikable quality to maine astatine first, but arsenic his arc unraveled, I recovered that I could subordinate to him successful immoderate aspects, particularly considering Cam and I are adjacent successful age. Particularly, Cam struggling to find his spot and intent successful the satellite and feeling unit to beryllium astatine a definite constituent successful his beingness is simply a feeling I cognize each excessively well. In the book, Cam's champion person is married, financially well-off, and has a child, which yet makes Cam consciousness somewhat insecure and envious, prompting his impulsive decisions. Did helium marque maine annoyed astatine immoderate points? Yes. But that's what made him consciousness precise real.
Finally, my queen, Tova. Shelby Van Pelt does an awesome occupation creating unsocial characters, but Tova truly came to beingness for me. She's riddled with grief and loneliness and haunted by the disappearance of her son, believing that she inactive does not cognize the honorable information of what happened to him. She hesitates to judge enactment from her friends for fearfulness of being a burden, and she's intent connected keeping engaged successful an effort to soundlessness her pain. She uses her fierce independency and stoicism to effort to support radical astatine arm's length, but her processing friendships marque her recognize that possibly healing isn't astir fortifying your walls to support the grief in, but astir opening a doorway and allowing others to carnivore the value of it with you.
I adored this story, the small municipality it's acceptable in, and the characters, making it an casual five-star work for me!
Now that January is *officially* successful the books, it's clip to spot what February perchance has successful store. I've been moving connected finishing an astir 700-pager portion simultaneously debating whether I should yet work The Chronicles of Narnia bid by C.S. Lewis aft binge-watching each 3 adaptations. On apical of that, I mightiness privation to dive into a rom-com since it's the ~love month~, but I besides conscionable mightiness get into a genre I seldom ever read. The possibilities are genuinely endless!
That said, I've officially made this a squad effort and would emotion your input. Comment the emoji that correlates to your ballot beneath for what genre of publication I should see successful my monthly speechmaking slate, and I'll study backmost adjacent month! (Honestly, I'm speechmaking a phantasy publication regardless.) And if you privation to beryllium other involved, see a publication rec from the genre you voted for!
What genre of publication should I work successful February?
• 👻 Horror
• 💖 Rom-Com
• 🛸 Sci-FI
• ⚔️ MORE fantasy
• 📚 Historical Fiction
• 🦁 Girl, spell work Narnia
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