Isabella Andersen

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• Books I Read in January 2025February 7, 2025

  My goal this year is to read 52 books, about one book per week. I started strong with 6 books in January, though I will admit, as we’re well into February by now, that my reading has since slowed while I introduce a new rescue cat into our home.

  

  Anyway, onto the books!

  

  1. The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson

  Rating: 4 stars

  I’ve gotten into the habit of reading a short book on January to get ahead of my goal and keep the motivation flowing. This year was no different; the version of Haunting of Hill House that I read is 158 pages.

  This isn’t my first Shirley Jackson, shout out to We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and my fiance and I were watching the Netflix show at the time. It seemed like the way to go.

  Haunting of Hill House is about a group of people who were selected for their experience with the supernatural by one Dr. Montague to assist with research in a supposedly haunted house. While the story focuses on Eleanor, each assistant deals with the horrors that unfold in their own way.

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  My Storygraph Review

  I like to start the year strong by reading a shorter book on January 1st. This one had come through at my library end of December, and I was in the middle of the Netflix show, so I figured why not.
  
  Pretty good. It’s Shirley Jackson, so you can kind of guess what you’re getting: tense story with a big, quick climax that makes you want to puke a bit.
  
  I liked the tense elements, and this book did actually scare me.
  
  The characters were a bit tough. They were supposed to be somewhat unlikeable, until you sort of felt for them, at which point they all started being assholes for no reason. I didn’t really think that fit in with the story’s previous development, but what do I know?
  
  Still, I enjoyed reading this and am glad I chose it for book 1 of my 52-book goal this year.

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  I love the mystery and suspense Jackson wove into her stories. The book wasn’t as scary as the show, but they were such different entities that it’s hard to even compare them. Overall, I’d recommend this to everyone. Give it a try.

  

  2. A Deadly Education – Naomi Novik

  Rating: 3.75 stars

  I read the first two books in this series in January after my former manager recommended it.

  After the first page, I figured there was no possible way I’d finish the book. I can’t even tell you how many times I cringed. Still, I like to give books 10% or 100 pages, whichever comes first, before I DNF.

  Am I glad I persisted? Unsure at this point.

  Anyway, A Deadly Education follows Galadriel, or El, the prophesied evil one who is supposed to pretty much cause the end of everything.

  Set in the Scholomance, a school for magical children, the book tells the story of a group of teenagers who are just trying to survive while literally everything tries to kill them. No matter my complaints, the dark vibes of this story and the vivid descriptions of the school were irresistible.

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  My Storygraph Review

  It was hard to rate this book. At the beginning, I wasn’t sure if I would even finish. However, at some point, I did become hooked. I enjoyed the story, and the characters, but I would’ve liked to see some more truly bad characters. For a story about someone who’s supposed to end the world, there was a surprising lack of evil people. Also, parts of the end of the book didn’t make sense at all to me. I kept thinking wait, when did it say that? Rereading was no help at those points. In the end, though, I enjoyed this and will read the next book in the series.

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  This book was sort of billed as Harry Potter if Hogwarts were actively eating its students, which sounded enticing, especially considering just how much danger Harry and his classmates were constantly in, even though everyone kept telling everyone else that Hogwarts was the safest place for these kids.

  I don’t know. I still want to love this series. It sounded like just the thing for me! Maybe it was the execution?

  This is the second Novik book I’ve read, and just like Spinning Silver, I found myself drawn into the fantasy world but constantly rereading sections. The way El narrates in lengthy descriptions and only short clips of dialog or action is difficult to follow when you live with aphantasia. Still, I read the second, and I’ll finish the series as soon as the next book is available at my library.

  

  3. Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents – Lindsay C. Gibson

  Rating: 3.5 stars

  Another short one to start off my year, I read Adult Children to work on my own emotional maturity, not to heal from anything my parents did or didn’t do.

  If I hadn’t already been working on understanding my emotional state, this would’ve been entirely new information for me.

  But, I have, and it wasn’t.

  Still, I learned some valuable things about the parents of people I love.

  This book describes emotionally immature parenting styles, tells patient stories, and offers tips for interacting with each type of parent.

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  My Storygraph Review

  I got this book from the library to assess my own emotional maturity. In some ways, it was eye opening, but there were parts that were repetitive when it would’ve been nice to move on to the next thing. Overall, read this if you think you should. If you haven’t yet started working on your emotions, this will probably be an informative read.

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  I’d recommend Adult Children to anyone who struggles with emotional overwhelm or leftover childhood trauma, as well as parents who want to learn how to connect emotionally with their children.

  

  4. Warrior of Legend – Kendare Blake

  Rating: 4 stars

  Have I made it my life’s mission to read everything Kendare Blake has ever written? Absolutely.

  Warrior of legend is the second and final Heromaker book. The first book in this duology, Champion of fate, was my first read last year, I believe. (It was not a short read to get the month started.)

  Look, I like magical girl anime, so what’s not to love about this book?

  Warrior of Legend follows Reed, now known as Machianthe, an immortal Aristene who helps mortal heroes achieve greatness.

  Just having joined the Aristene, Reed feels pressure to push herself, and her heroes, beyond their limits at a frightening clip. When an immense force threatens the Aristene, Reed must rise higher than even she knows is possible to save her kind. But in the process, she might lose everyone she loves.

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  My Storygraph Review

  It takes a while to get going, but once it picks up, this is an entertaining read. I like the throwbacks to Fennbirn. This book really made me want to reread that series. My only complaint is that the ebook I bought could’ve used an editor and proofreader. It was frustrating.

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  Aside from typos and editing issues, I enjoyed this book, and the series. Blake really immerses the reader in her worlds. I can’t rate it as highly as the Three Dark Crowns series, which will forever have my heart, but I enjoyed the world, the characters, (even if they did spend an entire book making all the worst possible decisions), and the ending. I’d recommend to fantasy and YA fans.

  P.S. There’s a twist at the end of this that will cut out your heart, if you’re into that sort of thing.

  

  5. Beautyland – Marie-Helene Bertino

  Rating: 4.5 stars

  I don’t even know how to talk about Beautyland.

  It’s a story about an alien. It’s about motherhood? Or daughterhood? Or love? Relationships? Existing in the world as a woman? It’s gorgeous.

  The book follows a woman/extraterrestrial starting at childhood as she navigates the world. As she grows, experiences friendships and relationships, Adina details her experience to a mysterious group of overlords, from whom she awaits further instructions. 

  The writing style is beautiful. The plot, excellent.

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  My Storygraph Review

  Beautiful

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  I would recommend this book to every woman in the world. Read it twice. I know I will.

  Beautyland was my favorite book of January. What could compare?

  

  6. The Last Graduate

  Rating: 3.5 stars

  I finished The Last Graduate on January 31st. I haven’t started the third book in this series yet, but during the second, I recognized the pattern I mentioned when discussing the first book. Novik squeezes in a sliver of dialogue or action between pages-long descriptions or postulations.

  The pattern started to get to me about halfway through. I understand that the narrator is a high schooler and we’re dealing with her train of thought, but damn, dude. I had really had enough by the end.

  The book follows A Deadly Education, tagging along with El as she strives to complete her final year, keep her friends safe, and graduate the Scholomance.

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  My Storygraph Review

  Started to get annoyed halfway through when the pattern of single paragraph of action or dialogue followed by pages of explanation forced itself into my perception. The end was action-packed and had my heart racing though.

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  Anyway, that’s everything I’ve read so far this year. It’s been a ride, and I can’t wait to see what February brings.

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