Tag Archives: my best reads

My Best Reads for January

 

Happy February, my Lovelies! Whether you struggled through January wet or dry, hopefully a few good books eased the journey into the coming longer days, as they did for me. One of the innovations I’m adding to the blog for 2022 is post at the beginning of each month about what writers love to do best – next to writing, of course. No! I’m not talking about sex, you naughty people! That is obviously in a league of its own. Writers love to read. In fact they’re passionate about reading, and almost all us wish we had more time for it.

 

Every writer will tell you that reading is as much a part of writing as putting words on the page. Every book I read makes me a better writer. But that’s a post yet to come.

 

I tend to binge read when I discover an author I really like, and January’s author for my big binge was the fabulous V. E. Schwab. If you’ve not read anything by her, then you are seriously missing out. You may recall my favorite book of 2021 happened to be one of her novels – the first of hers I’d ever read. The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue. is magical realism at its best and a great place to begin to get to know this amazing writer.  Imagine making a deal with the devil to live a life different from the one being forced up on you, then finding yourself cursed with immortality, always to remember every experience, but never to be remembered by anyone. For Addie La Rue, the only way out is to call in the deal and hand over her soul. In fact I was so impressed that I spent a great deal of my January reading with Schwab’s novels.

 

 

I’d been contemplating V. E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic series for some time, and after reading Addie La Rue, I knew it had to happen. ADSM is nothing like Addie, and yet equally skillfully written and gripping. ADSM is pure fantasy with a touch of alternate Regency England style thrown in for good measure. The trilogy is set in a world where four Different Londons exist at the same time in the same space. They are all different, all dangerous and all craving the magic only Red London has, with only three people who can travel between them. I spent a lot of time reading when I should have been sleeping. Sorry/not sorry!

 

 

It wasn’t enough. I had to have more. Sooooo, I read her duology, The Archived, written as Victoria Schwab, and more sleep was lost in more delectable late-night reading. The Archived is YA urban fantasy at its best with a dark and gripping twist on the afterlife. Unputdownable.

 

 

Yup, my book-loving compadres, V. E. Schwab is, hands down, my choice for January’s Best Author of the Month. If you’re looking for some seriously fun, totally gripping reading that will keep you reading far to late into the night, be sure to check out V. E. Schwab.

 

I’m hoping to have something special for you next week, so please check in to find out my favorite condiments for the month. 🙂 Just kidding. But who doesn’t like a good condiment recommendation, right?