Hi, friends! I'm back off my break as of today and I'm ready to get back into posting. Today we're starting off nice and simple with just some mini reviews of first reads of 2024. We're going to jump straight in and we'll talk more about my break in my January wrap up.
The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke
My first read of the year was this buddy read with Helen that I was late to finish—I was sick and then distracted, but I got to it and that's the main thing! This was an adorable read. I love middle grade books that have some fantasy and magic with just a touch of a creepy atmosphere or unsettling thing about them, like Malamander, Nevemoor etc. and now this one. I love that it's set in Amsterdam and its surrounds as it gives it something a little different. Of course, the characters are a big part of this story and I loved them all. I think Milou was my favourite and I think she just reminded me of a few of my other favourite middle grade protagonists. If this was a series, I think she'd definitely earn her place amongst them. So glad that I was able to read this with Helen and that we both enjoyed it!
Mrs McGinty's Dead (Hercule Poirot #32) by Agatha Christie
This one started out so promising. I really enjoyed the way Poirot was bought into investigate, it was interesting to have something a little different. I still enjoyed most of it once all the investigations started but by the end, I just felt a little underwhelmed by everything. I've been reading a lot of crime lately, much more than I usually would and looking back at it now I probably should've slipped a few more books between this one and The Man Who Died Twice (my previous crime read). This one felt flat in comparison and a bit like almost every other Poirot case so far. I've been reading the series in order and I'm still hoping Christie may be able to pull out a few more good surprises before the end.
Hostage To Pleasure (Psy-Changeling #5) by Nalini Singh
I think this is only the second series I've ever done this with, but I've decided to DNF this one and move on to the next book instead. I've started this one three times and I've never gotten past about page 70. I really don't know what it is about this one but I just can't get into it. I know if I keep trying to push through that I'll never actually finish this one and I think at this point I'd rather move on with the rest of the series and maybe try swinging back around to this one after I'm further along. I'm hoping to pick up the next one in February and hopefully I'll enjoy it more. As always, I don't give my DNFs star ratings.
Salvation (Small Town Packs #1) by Cassie Laelyn
I have been in a huge slump since the end of November, but particularly in the last few weeks. I wasn't getting through anything I was picking up and I finally just put everything aside for this one. It's very short at 198 pages so it was easy to get through which is exactly what I needed. With it being so short it's more of a novella that a fully fleshed out idea. Because of that, there's not a lot of character development or explanation of the shifter world. I wasn't really expecting any of that since it's so short so I enjoyed just switching off my critical thinking and instead just enjoying the story. It was just a fun read. I managed to stick with it which is more than I can say for anything else I've tried lately and hopefully this'll knock me out of that slump finally.
Reclaim (Small Town Packs #2) by Cassie Laelyn
I picked this one up immediately after finishing the first. I almost never read series back to back but I was hoping continuing with this one might help break my slump. I think I enjoyed this one a little more than the first. I liked Brax and Kali more than I did Noah and Mia. I think their romance is a little more believable and there's some more pent up feelings between the two of them which always makes for a good read. On the whole, this was a lot like the first—it's a quick read, good for those reading moods where you just want to switch off and have fun. I'm interested to see where the third book is going to go and I'll be picking that up in the next few days too.
And that's it. What were your first reads of the new year?
No comments:
Post a Comment