It’s the first Thursday of the month. Time to report!
What is the best book you read in January 2022 and why did you love it? It doesn’t have to be a newly published book, or even SFF, or even fiction. We just want to share some great reading material.
Feel free to post a full review of the book here, or a link to the review on your blog, or just write a few sentences about why you thought it was awesome.
And don’t forget that we always have plenty more reading recommendations on our Fanlit Faves page and our 5-Star SFF page.
As always, one commenter with a U.S. mailing address will choose a book from our stacks. If you’re outside the U.S., we’ll send you a $5 Amazon gift card.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tann was definitely the best book I read. I’ve had an arc for ages, but I had been putting off reading it. Wow am I glad I finally decided to read it for the release. I can hardly believe this is a debut novel because it was stunning! While there were a lot of huge time jumps, it was gripping throughout, with so many twists and action scenes, I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. I have such an attachment to these characters and I can’t wait to read the sequel.
I’ve been wanting to read this. Is it YA or adult? I couldn’t really tell from the description and I want to know what I’m getting into
I think it would fall into YA, but I would definitely recommend it to everyone. There is a love triangle that is a sizeable part of the plot.
There weren’t as many new books that I was interested in so I did quite a bit of rereading including some Wells (Fall of Ile-Rien and Fugitive Telemetry).
Not quite in genre but maybe adjacent was Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall, a wild romp set in the Regency era. The Valentine, Duke of Malvern, has always expected to marry the neighbor’s daughter when she came of age as their parents wished. That time has come. Oddly, she dislikes his unemotional proposal and then bolts with her best friend. Her twin, Bonny (Bonaventure), rousts out the Duke to chase after her and do a *real* romantic proposal. Hall says that he wrote this in reaction to the godawful mess that was/is the pandemic.
January was a good month with three 5-star reads, all for different reasons so I’m not even going to try to choose the best “one”
Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi
Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham/Ty Franck)
The Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham
Old Bones- Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs.
Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #1)- Mark Lawrence
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams. Somehow I never read this when it came out.
No 5-star reads in January except for a lovely little cocktail book called “Storied Sips.” But I did enjoy:
>>>”City of Ink” by Elsa Hart, the next in the Li Du series, ancient China
>>>”Gifts” by Ursula K LeGuin, an unusual fantasy
>>>”Arthur & George” by Julian Barnes, hard to explain without spoiling, but I really enjoyed it
I think the Gifts trilogy is a shockingly overlooked group of books by LeGuin. And I loved Arthur and George (really most anything Barnes writes, honestly)
Somehow, in “Arthur & George,” I was able to be unaware of just who the main characters were until they were revealed – doesn’t happen too often!
The much-vaunted House in the Cerulean Sea. A very good read, and just as heartwarming as everyone says!
“The Children on the Hill” by Jennifer McMahon, which is about some children growing up at an elite asylum for the insane, and the aftermath of their time there. It’s basically your classic thriller, with multiple startling revelations towards the end. You will be wondering if monsters actually exist–is there a werewolf?, a trickster?, maybe some sort of Frankenstein’s Monster?
“Where the Drowned Girls Go,” the latest entry in the “Wayward Children” series by Seanan McGuire was amazing! Anyone who has been reading this series since “Every Heart A Doorway” has been waiting to “visit” the “sister school.”
Cora is a character who is dealing with trauma of the past and the present. Worried her Door will not reappear, she asks the Headmaster of her school to transfer to the sister school in Maine. Cora is warned of the different atmosphere, but she wants to forget her trauma.
This book is an expansion of the world-building the author provides in this series; and, it reminds readers of the “dangers” some of these “Travelers” experience in other Worlds. Themes of trauma, identity, body image and free will are explored tremendously in this book.
This is one of the best books in this series so far! And, I’m looking forward to reading more books in the series!
“Russian for Dummies”, quite handy when writing about a visitor to Russia.
Babylon 5: The Shadow Within by Jeanne Cavalos tells the story of what happened to Captain Sheridan’s wife Anna aboard the Icarus and also how Mr Morden started working for the Shadows. Threads from this book later appear in the Passing of the Techno-mages trilgy, also by Cavalos. I spoke with her a little at World Fantasy Convention.
Anne Perry weaves a tale of Victorian mystery, gun-running, and medical experimentation in “Corridors of the Night”.
Distinguished Professor, if you live in the USA, you win a book of your choice from our stacks. If your address is outside of the USA, you will get a $5 Amazon gift card.
Please contact me (Marion) with your choice and a US address. Happy reading!
SandyG, I still have THE TWISTED ONES, which you won in the January 19 giveaway. Let me know if you’re interested in the book.
contact me (Marion) and let me know. Thanks!