After setting my reading goal at 85 books my reading year is off to a great start! I read a whopping TWELVE books in January!!
The biggest change I made with my reading this year is switching away from Goodreads and using StoryGraph to track my reading. So far, I am really loving the cleaner interface of StoryGraph.
Another thing I really like about StoryGraph is the ability to give more precise ratings of the books I read. You can see that reflected in the books I am sharing for January. I am also really loving all the graphs and stats they provide for my reading!
Here’s a short review of the books I read in January 2024:
Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
3.5 stars (audio)
This was a book that I read on audio after hearing about it on several podcasts. I do think I would have enjoyed this more in print as I had a hard time following the plot, especially in the beginning.
This book is set in the midst of a world grappling with the effects of climate change. In Land of Milk and Honey, a chef escapes her dying career in a dreary city to take a job at a decadent mountaintop colony that is seemingly free of the world’s troubles. She is soon pushed to the center of an attempt to reshape the world. Land of Milk and Honey tackles the ethics of seeking pleasure in a dying world. AND it is also a beautifully written love letter to food and the power of a woman embracing herself and her own appetite.
The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner
4.0 stars
The London Seance Society was a really fun read! It is the story of two daring women on the hunt for truth and justice set in the 1870’s world of spiritualism. Vaudeline D’Allaire is an acclaimed spiritualist known worldwide for the conjuring spirits of murder victims to determine the identities of their killers. She is highly sought after by both widows and investigators. Lenna Wickes has traveled to Paris to study under Vaudeline D’Allaire in order to find answers about her sister’s death. Lenna accompanies D’Allaire to London as an understudy when she is summoned there to solve a high-profile murder. These two women find more than companionship as they team up to solve this mystery.
Stealing by Margaret Verble
5/0 stars
Stealing was gut-wrenching and full of heartbreak and determined survival. This novel is about a Cherokee child, Kit Crockett, who is removed from her family and sent to a Christian boarding school where she faces discrimination, abuse and religious indoctrination in the 1950’s. Throughout her ordeal at this school, Kit keeps a journal recording what she remembers and she unravels the truth of how she ended up in this treacherous place and plots a way out.
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue
4.0 stars
This is another book that I heard so much about from trusted sources that I couldn’t resist giving it a try. The Rachel Incident is the coming of age story of Rachel, who is a student working at a bookstore when the book opens. She meets her new best friend, James, working at the bookstore and the two become inseparable. The two manage the ups and downs of friendship, financial hardships and a secrecy that threatens to ruin them both. I don’t typically love coming of age stories, but this one had me hooked. No spoilers, but I especially loved the hopeful ending to this one.
All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay
4.0 stars
This novel had me enthralled from its first pages! All That is Mine I Carry With Me is a captivating mystery and complicated family story that leaves so many questions. One afternoon ten year old Miranda Larkin comes home from school to an empty house–her mother is missing. This begins the mystery that spans a lifetime and is never truly answered–what happened to Jane Larkin? Of course, her husband and Miranda’s father is the prime suspect, but he is a gifted defense attorney and is an expert at outfoxing the police. Jane’s three children–Miranda and her two brothers–are left to be raised by the man that may have killed their mother. Two decades later Jane Larkin’s remains are found and the investigation into her death is reawakened. Now the adult children are forced to choose sides and there is no right answer.
Mercury by Amy Jo Burns
5.0 stars
Mercury was a book that I was highly anticipating reading and couldn’t wait for it to release! This found family story did not disappoint one bit! In Mercury seventeen year old Marley West arrives to the small town of Mercury, Pennsylvania with her single mother looking for a place of belonging. The three Joseph brothers quickly become Marley’s whole world–she is a young wife to one brother, the “one who got away” to another and mother figure to the youngest. Years later, a surprising discovery in the church attic causes old wounds to resurface and the family’s survival hangs in the balance. The Joseph family is tried and tested and must find a way forward or build something new. This family and their imperfect love for one another stole my heart.
North Woods by Daniel Mason
4.25 stars (audio)
North Woods is a sweeping novel centered around a single house in the woods of New England. The house’s story is told through the lives of those that inhabit it across centuries. This was such a unique story and way of storytelling that it was absolutely captivating! Some stories were more compelling than others throughout the novel, but they all came together to tell one succinct and truly magical story.
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
4.5 stars
This is my third novel by Alex Michaelides, so I know what to expect. There are twists and turns and an unbelievable, possibly unlikable narrator at the center of it all. The Fury centers around a reclusive ex-movie star and her famous friends. Their “spontaneous” trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder surrounded by mystery and high drama. This thrilled was fun to read and exactly what I want from this author!
The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner
3.5 stars
The Other Mothers was a pretty typical mommy drama/thriller. It was okay for what it was, but wasn’t a favorite and isn’t a standout book for me. New mom, Tash, has been searching for a story to launch her career as a freelance journalist and she has also been searching for new friends to help navigate motherhood. She finds both in her son’s new playgroup and soon becomes entrenched in the wealthy world of these “other mothers” via coffees, cocktails, playdates, and a murder investigation.
The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
4.5 stars
I let this book sit on my self for way too long after receiving it from Book of the Month. I’m not sure why, but I ended up listening to it on audio to clear the book of my TBR shelf and I really loved it!! I find books cowritten to be so interesting and this was also a historical novel centering two female figures that I found fascinating–Mary McCloud Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt. Throughout the course of The First Ladies these two forge a friendship that endures as they each find their own footing in activism and leadership.
The Mystery Guest by Nine Prose
4.0 stars
The Mystery Guest is the follow-up to Nina Prose’s first novel The Maid. I found the protagonist, Molly to be interesting, heartfelt and authentic, so I was looking forward to reading this. As the death of a high-profile mystery writer plagues the hotel where she is employed as a maid, Molly knows that she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer’s identity and solving this murder mystery. That key is buried deep within Molly’s memory of the past where she spent time in this writer’s home. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood memories of the mansion where she and her grandmother worked side by side.
My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon
4.75 stars
This book completely freaked me all the way out in the best way! My Darling Girl is a spine-tingling psychological thriller about a woman who takes in her dying alcoholic mother and then begins to suspect demonic possession is haunting her family. The narrator here was highly questionable and, yet, I hated that no one believed her. I was creeped out during several parts of the book, especially the ending that left things hanging just a bit.