January!
In January I read 8 books for a total of 1,727 pages and an average of 56 pages read per day. While it was a bit of a slow start due to some DNFs, it was a solid month.
Starting the year with a firm hand by DNFing 2 books! Sadly, one of them was a Tanith book. I know! I’m just as shocked as you are. But hey, even our favorites can write something that just doesn’t grab us and I’m not going to force myself to read something she wrote if I’m truly not enjoying it. Reviews to come for pretty much all of these!
The Storm Lord
by Tanith Lee
First Sentence: The great upturned bowl of the plain’s sky was drenched with the blood of sunset.
Fantasy – published in 1976
I read this as part of my TBR Tear Down and it also fits into Vintage Sci-Fi month, which I kind of totally forgot to participate in.
Mary B.
by Katherine J. Chen
First Sentence: A child does not grow up with the knowledge that she is plain or dull or a complete simpleton until the accident of some event should reveal these unfortunate truths.
Historical fiction – published in 2018
My mum recommended this because she remembered I’m thirsty for some Austen-based fiction that does poor Mary some justice.
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling
-Audiobook-
Fantasy – published in 2007
The audiobook was finally available through my library so I could finish my re-listen.
Every Heart a Doorway
by Seanan McGuire
First Sentence: The girls were never present for the entrance interviews.
Fantasy – published in 2016
I had to re-read the Wayward Children series from the beginning to prep for the latest, In An Absent Dream!
Down Among the Sticks and Bones
by Seanan McGuire
First Sentence: People who knew Chester and Serena Wolcott socially would have placed money on the idea that the couple would never choose to have children.
Fantasy – published in 2017
This is still my reigning favorite among the Wayward Children books.
Beneath the Sugar Sky
by Seanan McGuire
First Sentence: Children have always tumbled down rabbit holes, fallen through mirrors, been swept away by unseasonal floods or carried off by tornadoes.
Fantasy – published in 2018
My first re-read of this book had me enjoying the adventure and the characters even more!
In An Absent Dream
by Seanan McGuire
First Sentence: In a house, on a street, in a town ordinary enough in every aspect, there lived a girl named Katherine Victoria Lundy.
Fantasy – published in 2019
Seanan is my queen.
The Hidden Witch
by Molly Knox Ostertag
-Graphic Novel-
Modern Fantasy – published in 2018
If you recall, I read The Witch Boy last month and loved it, so of course I was going to read this as soon as I got my little robot claws on it.
My reading didn’t really pick up until after the 20th, but I made up for lost time with shorter books and they were all fantastic!
I did have 2 DNFs:
Anackire
By Tanith Lee
First Sentence: From the beginning, as the beginning was remembered, the dark races had mastered the major continent of the planet and given it their name: Vis.
Fantasy – published in 1983
Sadly, book 2 in the Wars of Vis series really lost me.
How to Experience Death for Beginners
By Jessica Branton
First Sentence: Some people say that your life flashes before your eyes when you die.
YA Thriller/Paranormal – expected publication date: February 14,2019
This was sent to me for review and I tried to tough it out, but I simply couldn’t.
I’m also participating in the Better Reads Challenge, created by Faroukh – I do typically read every day, but it’s interesting to actually track it and really see my stats (y’all know I love book stats.) In January I read 29 out of 31 days. Pretty darn good!
I’m continuing on with my TBR Tear Down challenge this year and trying my best to stick to 2 or 3 books per month so that I’m really making time for them or deciding not to keep them, rather than just pushing them to the next month and the next month and on and on.
So this month I technically accomplished my goal! Of course, I’m not ever going to unhaul a Tanith, but I can now strike this series from my TBR, as I know I won’t be finishing it.
Non-review Highlights:
*cover images from Goodreads
Milliebot Reads 
“Starting the year with a firm hand by DNFing 2 books”
Boo! I hope your reading month is better in February!
I read Every Heart a Doorway last month but was underwhelmed with it. Don’t get me wrong, it is a fascinating concept, but it was too underdeveloped & rushed. I am curious about the worlds the children came from… I’ve debated giving the second book a go.
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Yeah I hope I don’t have to continue my DNF trend.
Ok! So! Wayward series, lol. I love the series to pieces but I actually think Doorway is the weakest of the bunch. I’m going to do a review on the most recent book, in an Absent Dream, later this month with a suggested reading order. I would actually recommend you read either Sticks and Bones (my personal fave) or Dream first (and the other second), then reread Doorway. I think those two flesh out the idea of portals much better. Then you can read Sugar Skies as it’s directly after Doorway.
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Interesting! I will admit, Sticks and Bones did sound intriguing, especially since the twins were some of the most interesting characters in Every Heart a Doorway.
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At least give that one a chance! Even if you don’t go back to Doorway or read the others, I think you should give S&B a try.
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I gasped when you mentioned DNF’ing Tanith Lee! But you’re right, even with our fav authors there can be some misses.
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Trust me, I didn’t want to. But I didn’t really enjoy book 1 and when book 2 was no better, I knew I couldn’t continue. I don’t want to feel like I’m slogging through the work of my queen! Still happy to own them and plenty more of her work to discover. It’s not the first of hers I’ve disliked either.
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