Recent Reads | January 2022

As I've said plenty of times recently, I fell into a deep reading slump in October. But I'm happy to say that I've finally managed to get rid of it!

Granted, it only happened in the last week of January, but still. I'm in the mood to read now, which I haven't been in for so long, it's refreshing. I've also started 2022 with reading comics, something that has been one of my resolutions for years, so I'm happy I'm finally branching out. Here's everything I read last month:

1) The Steel Prince Vol. 1, V. E. Schwab (Shades of Magic comics #1)

Ever since the Shades of Magic comics came out, I've been desperate to get my hands on them. I absolutely love this world and was really excited to see how V. E. Schwab approached this story in a different and more visual format. The Steel Prince follows young Maxim Maresh before becoming the King of Red London, after being exiled by his father. As I said, I've been wanting to read this for a long time but it's never available near me, so I finally caved and got the eBook version. However, I plan on getting a physical copy of the other issues so I can carry on with this series. The eBook version didn't let me fully appreciate the art style, and I had trouble understanding a couple of scenes since I couldn't see the full page at once (not in a good size at least). Aside from that, I thought it was a great introduction to this story and had a really fun plot. I don't read comics or graphic novels that much, and that's partly because I struggle to connect with the characters seen as we don't get enough time with them, and that was definitely the case with this one. I'm still really excited to carry on with this series though. I love this world and I love getting backstories to characters we've previously encountered. 3.25/5 ⭐️

2) The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller

This book has been on my list for years, but I'll admit I've been putting it off for a long time due to the insane hype this gets. The Song of Achilles is a retelling (reimagining?) of The Illiad, and it follows Patroclus and Achilles from their childhoods until after the Battle of Troy. The highlight of this book for me was definitely Madeline Miller's writing. I wanted to highlight half the book because so many lines were simply breathtaking and I was fully immersed in the story. I also loved Patroclus and his relationship with Achilles (albeit Achilles himself wasn't the easiest character to love). I expected this book to traumatise me considering all I hear about it and, although it was heartwrenching and very sad, I wasn't that destroyed if I'm honest. Maybe the hype got in the way, or I was simply too familiar with The Illiad. I still loved it and I'm definitely reading more of Miller's works in the future. 4.5/5 ⭐️

3) Blackbird Vol. 1, Sam Humphries (Blackbird #1)

I'm not gonna lie, I started looking for very quick reads to see if I could get out of my slump, and comics were the way to go. I picked the eBook of this one after a sale and had it for a few months now, so I decided to read it even though I knew absolutely nothing about the plot. Blackbird is about Nina, who's believed in the existence of a hidden magical world her whole life. But it's only after the kidnapping of her sister that she's forced to confront her past so she can get her sister back. I was happily surprised about how much I enjoyed this. Although it's very short (as comics are) I was really intrigued and immediately wanted to pick up the sequels. The art style is also absolutely STUNNING, every frame felt like a painting. Have no idea of where the plot's going but I'm excited to find out, and happy I decided to pick this one up on a whim. 4/5 ⭐️

4) The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes #9)

And lastly, we have the final Sherlock Holmes book. I've been reading the Sherlock stories for a bit over a year now, and I really enjoyed most of them. This one is yet another collection of short stories and, although I much prefer the full novels, I loved that we got a few cases narrated by Sherlock on this one. It was great being inside his head with his matter-of-fact mentality when it comes to his brilliance, and I really enjoyed the switch. Like the rest of the books, I listened to this on audiobook, and it was just as great as the other ones. Very happy to have finally finished this series. 3.25/5 ⭐️

I didn't read that much this month, but I loved getting back into the groove of things and having a reading routine again. I really liked the books I read in January though and it's gotten me excited about reading again. How many books did you read in January? Which one was your favourite?

Love,

N.

xx