Books I Read in December 2022

Hello my friends! We are firmly in 2023, which means I need to create a 2023 Reading List and Goals post. I'm stoked for the potential of this year, but fully aware it may not top last year's reading total. I read nine books this month, bringing my annual total to 122. That's unreal. Especially considering I started out the year with a goal of 50 books. Then, I bumped it up to 75. Then, 100. And after 100, I just decided to see where I ended up. I watched a lot less TV in 2022, but I would say I more than made up for it in the amount of books I read.

Anyway. Onto my last monthly round-up of 2022.

Red Island House by Andrea Lee

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Shelves: Historical Fiction, Modern Literature, Short Stories

Review: Red Island House takes place in a fictional town on the coast of Madagascar, and follows Shay, a Black American professor in Italy as she marries a man who owns a vacation home in Madagascar and builds a life with him. Red Island House follows them while they raise a family, vacation in Madagascar, struggle through the ups and downs of life, build friendships, and live their lives in very different parts of the world. Each chapter is rich with detail, and I found the commentary on what it means to be a local vs. a tourist in both their vacation home in Madagascar, and Shay's presence as an American living in Italy to be intriguing. The character development is done really well, as some characters are only present for short periods during the novel and yet everyone feels fully rounded as people. The description of each place is also beautiful. It's unlike a lot of books that I've read recently.

The audiobook narration for this was done really well given the different languages and accents present. I really enjoyed listening to this and would probably recommend the audiobook if you're not familiar with Italian and French in particular.

This novel feels like short stories that fit into an overarching narrative. I liked the conversations this book had on identity, marriage and love and relationships as separate yet related entities, the difference between something that's foreign vs. people who are foreigners, ancestry and privilege, and other themes related to the privilege that comes along with anyone who comes to a place for temporary escape and pleasure while not helping to contribute positively to the economy or well-being of the people in that place. While sometimes I found myself disengaging with the book, overall I really enjoyed the time I spent with it.

Sirens & Muses by Antonia Angress

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Shelves: Favorites, Historical Fiction, LGBTQIA+, Modern Literature

Review: I would categorize Sirens & Muses as a light academia read. It's set in a small New England liberal arts school like most dark academia books and it follows four characters, three of which are pretentious. However, it doesn't feel as heavy or is it as high stakes as most dark academia stuff I've read. There isn't anything super serious like a murder, but there is discussion about depression and the creative process, which I think are important in their own rights.

I was really happily surprised to see how bi representation was written about. It didn't feel like a big deal to read about it--the relationships just where. But outside of that, there aren't too many diverse characters. I enjoyed two perspectives the most, while the other two I could take or leave for the majority of the book. Overall, though, I liked the ways the characters were written.

Per usual on my taste with books, this is slow and descriptive. If you're looking for a fast-paced read, this is not it. I did really appreciate the art knowledge here, particularly with painting, and I so wished these pieces were real so I could look them up. It was a quick read and I enjoyed being in this world. A nice little change of pace from the dark academia reads I'm used to.

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Shelves: Classic Literature

Review: After having read three of Steinbeck's books this year, I think his writing is a masterclass in character development, imagery, and descriptive writing. All three of the books I read were short but mastered storytelling through character-driven narratives and image-packed sentences. It's incredible.

But, did I enjoy the characters? Not always. I found most of them didn't age well--with racial slurs and antiquated behaviors, were infuriating to read about, and/or didn't hold my interest through the narratives. So while I enjoyed the characters better in Cannery Row over Tortilla Flat, and the overall storyline was more enjoyable, it still wasn't fully attention-grabbing or holding for me. I felt like I was mostly listening/reading to observe Steinbeck's writing style, which I separated from the overall story arc.

I feel like I'll consult his work in the future just for the ways in which he writes and not necessarily for his stories. Somehow, I can easily separate the craft from the work, if that even makes sense. It was really cool to dive into his work this year and I would suggest writers to do the same just for the masterful ways he captures place and character.

Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Shelves: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Modern Literature

Review: After attempting to read The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang earlier this year, and just not being able to finish it, Babel sounded more up my alley: dark academia, footnotes, British colonization and empire building, language, history. Yes, yes, yes. Even it being slower paced and character-driven, I was ready. I think Kuang is a talented author who has a lot of potential with great ideas for stories, but I think her overall execution requires some polishing and focus. Kuang takes a few main ideas (colonization and empire building, racism, the world of academia) and dives into the history of them, fleshing them out so much throughout the story, that I felt the more important areas were really left lacking. And for a book that's 545 pages long, it was a bit of a disappointment.

While I rated Babel pretty high for what it does say (which I think is needed and important), I thought it could have benefited from proper pacing and complex character development. In the epilogue, we got background details on a character that should have been presented in the beginning of the story so we were more fully invested in them and their story arc. This was in addition to reading characters that just didn't feel like they were alive and jumping off the page throughout, so when Robin, our main character, has major growth at the end of the book, part of me didn't feel it was genuine for what I knew of him.

In addition, with pacing, about 3/4 of the way through the book, I hit what I consider to be a false climax that propelled me forward but then the story dropped back into incredibly slow pacing that left me wanting when the actual climax of the story happened. So much of this story is spent rehashing the devastation of colonization, of the building of the British Empire within this magic system, of the terrible ways academia hurt and shun people of color that I felt we plodded through four academic years without much happening. Not to mention, the magic system wasn't as complex or as creative as I expected for the epic this was described as being.

In conclusion, I think there are some major areas that Babel could have improved from but it was a cool concept for a story that really explores the heart of British dominance in the 1830s. I think it's a great way to introduce readers to parts of history they maybe didn't remember learning about, or never learned about. It's a good jumping off point for people to dive deeper into the Industrial Revolution, the ways in which colonization and empire disenfranchised millions of people all over the world by westernized countries, how academia is biased and needs to work on its systems of oppression for people of color, and so many other things. Babel has a lot that it tried to achieve, and I think it will positively impact a lot of readers. So regardless of what I think of it, it's important to be out in the world for those reasons alone.

Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison

Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5 (audiobook), maybe a ⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 as a physical book

Shelves: Chick Lit, Romance

Review: I think my biggest qualms were (1) with the audiobook narrator: her male voice was so annoying to me and listening to the spicier scenes was a special kind of torture, lol, for someone who doesn't do spicy books and didn't expect as much to be in here as there was. To the normal romance reader, I feel like this spice level is not bad, but it was definitely not anticipated by me; (2) how often the color of Luka's eyes were mentioned--I get it. They're brown; and (3) how much time was spent describing things that I felt didn't matter. There was a lot of language about the ways that Luka touched Stella and how all of that made her feel, and I just felt like those words could have been put to better use elsewhere. There were whole characters and storylines that I wish had been more resolved and were barely touched on after a couple chapters.

All of that being said though, this felt like a Hallmark movie in book form if ever there was one. The writing was good, and I could picture every scene that was being set. I thought her characters felt realistic, and they were all mostly likeable. I was also excited that this took place in Maryland, particularly in an area that I was familiar with (even if it was fictional). The mention of Sheetz and Old Bay made me happy! It was a super cute story line!

Because I have zero romantic bones in my body, a lot of pining in this book was just frustrating to me. My rating for this should be taken lightly because I think a lot of people will find this friends-to-lovers story really sweet and endearing. I appreciated the FtL aspect, but I've realized I like it a lot more when it's not so blatantly obvious that they are already head-over-heels in love with each other. Also, I don't do spicy books. I was a little shocked at what spice there was and I didn't enjoy listening to the narrator . . . narrate all of that. Lol.

I probably should have physically read this book. But, you know, if romance is your thing, I thought this was overall pretty cute!

One Day in December by Josie Silver

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Beach Reads, Book Club, Chick Lit, Romance

Review: I've been wanting to read One Day in December for a while, and I'm glad I had heard that this book tackles some more serious, heavier topics before going into it because I wouldn't have expected that otherwise. I appreciated the characters and how most of them developed from the beginning of the story to the end. I felt like the ways they navigated their 20s were relatable; they were frustrating to read about while also feeling like they could have been people you actually knew. It didn't really feel like a holiday book because it covered 10 years of these characters' lives, in all seasons.

I am not a romantic so the instant love aspect was a lot, as well as the lack of communication between the characters for some important parts of the book. I understand that drives the narrative but it drove me crazy. I thought the conversations around finding someone who fits you well, and loving multiple people in multiple ways were good topics to discuss with my book club. It was a good one to talk about with friends.

Overall, though, I wasn't a big fan of our two main characters. Jack was kind of sleazy, and Laurie didn't really grow much throughout. Plus, the whole pining after one person while dating others just felt a little gross. So, not a book I'll read again nor one that I'd particularly suggest to read around the holidays.

The Shadow of Perseus by Claire Heywood

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Shelves: ARCs, Chick Lit, Historical Fiction, Modern Literature

Review: Initially, I was disappointed at the way Heywood chose to leave out the fantasy elements of this novel, choosing to make it one about human decisions rather than mixing those with divine interventions. I see the merits in that, to a degree, but I also felt like parts of the story that added depth and even power for the women in it (thinking particularly about Medusa) were stripped from it. Potential spoiler, but if Medusa didn't hold any power, why carry her head around for MONTHS as just rotting piece of flesh and bone?? By the end, though, I think the story came around and it felt like a satisfying retelling.

The writing is beautiful, but it felt disconnected. Medusa's section felt too short and a bit underdeveloped, while Andromeda and Danae kept me hoping there would be added layers to their characters that just never came around for me. I ended up skimming the majority of this because I wasn't fully able to connect to the story the way I hoped to. So, this lands somewhere in the middle as far as retellings go. A good addition to what's being published these days, but not my favorite.

This was an advanced reader copy, so thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Dutton for giving me access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Chick Lit, LGBTQIA+, Romance

Review: This is my first sapphic romcom and I really liked it! I thought the plot was engaging, I really liked the positivity throughout especially when dealing with heavy topics, and I enjoyed the characters and how they all communicated with each other through their interactions. Kiss Her Once for Me had aspects of found family, the one bed trope, fake dating, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, second chance romance (x2), and sort of the manic pixie dream girl character, and I thought they all worked together well. Although, that is a lot of tropes for one book.

There are very few stories I can read with toxic parent relationships and be fine with them, and while those relationships play pretty small roles comparatively in this book, I probably could have done without them (even for the sake of character growth). I understood why they were included, and I think they'll be useful for readers in general, they just made me feel a lot of things that I didn't anticipate feeling. I also felt a little bit of the ick over some of the relationship scenarios here EVEN IF it was a fake dating/marriage of convenience situation. And this is even more minor, but I found so many typos or grammatical errors in this one and as someone who writes for a living, those do detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

Overall, I blew through this book and thought it was a good one for the holidays!

The Atlas Paradox (The Atlas #2) by Olivie Blake

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Shelves: Fantasy, LGBTQIA+

Review: The second installment to The Atlas Six, it follows the second year of the Alexandrian Society initiates as they do required research projects for the Library of Alexandria. The characters still felt true to who they were in the first book, so if you found them unlikeable and insufferable, OR lovable and enjoyable, chances are you'll probably feel the same about them in this book too.

I thought this book felt slower and more drawn out than the first one, which is probably how it should have been assuming the third book in the series will lead to a major climactic event to end it all. It's still character driven. Something that sort of irritated me about the first one and continued to do so in this one was the way dialogue was written. It usually didn't carry a lot of substance or move the plot along much, so a lot of this book just felt dense or borderline like fluff--a placeholder until the third book comes along.

I will finish the series because I do like these characters and I am invested. I want to know how it all shakes out!

DID NOT FINISH

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

Review: DNF the audiobook at 20%. Incredibly slow with so many characters that didn't hold my interest, and narrators I wasn't crazy about.