January Reviews
It’s been a very busy couple of months of bouncing between studying and work, and whilst I have been reading, my reviewing has taken the hit. So, to make it a little less stressful for me, I’ve condensed everything I have read so far in 2023 into one-paragraph reviews. Here is January:
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
For the first book I read this year, I did manage to write a full review, which you can read here!
Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith
This was my chosen text for a university assessment, chosen purely due to the fact that I love mythology rewrites and the previous Ali Smith text we read was the only one I didn’t hate. I enjoyed this book and the use of the two sisters as the narrators. The embedded narratives worked really well and only amplified the story rather than muddying it. I’m looking forward to rereading this again sometime in the future when I don’t have to read it thinking about an essay. I gave it three and a half stars.
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
This book isn’t the best-written book I’ve read recently but it is a lot of fun. It’s so full of Scottish stereotypes that it is hilarious. There were three Scottish characters in the first half of the book that all said ‘Och Aye’ which just made me giggle. I loved the mention of Greyfriars Bobby (probably one of my favourite stories). The plot itself is interesting and I am curious to see where the rest of the series goes and what other famous ghosty locations they go to. I gave this book three-point-seven-five stars.
The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
Slowly, I am making my way through the Poirot novels. Christie is an icon for a reason, her novels are very well-written. I think, maybe, being so famous her writing has been imitated so many times that things become a little predictable but this one had enough complications and red herrings that I just gave up and didn’t try to guess whodunnit. I do like that Captain Hastings is a slightly more sympathetic character than Poirot, it makes for a nice dynamic. I gave this book four stars.
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
This was my favourite book in January. I found I couldn’t put it down. I was risking motion sickness by reading on the bus, squeezing a chapter in before we opened at work. To start with, I found Lina a bit annoying and extremely oblivious. It was beyond obvious that Aaron was into her. Eventually, the characters developed and I just was so engaged. A cheesy read was exactly what I needed at the time and I got it. I know there’s a sequel but I don’t want a follow-up even if the protagonists are different. I think the book is very complete on its own. I gave it four stars.
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
This book was supposed to be a nice easy read amongst my university set texts and it ended up taking me longer than I thought it would. Despite being a children’s book, it is quite slow-paced. I picked this up in the library because it’s one of those books that belongs on a ‘have-you-read’ list and other than that I didn’t actually know a huge amount about it. So, it surprised me that a character from a Studio Ghibli movie, Arietty, was in this book. I had never made the connection before it was on the page in front of me. Overall, I gave it three and a half stars.
